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a verb, each of which may be modified by adjectives and adverbs. Some syntaxes make use of
the order in which words appear, while others do not. In English, “The man bites the dog” is
different from “The dog bites the man.” In German, however, only the article endings before the
noun matter. “Der Hund beisst den Mann” means “The dog bites the man” but so does “Den
Mann beisst der Hund.”
Words do not possess fixed meanings but change their interpretation as a function of the context
in which they are spoken. We usecontextual information—the information surrounding
language—to help us interpret it. Examples of contextual information include the knowledge
that we have and that we know that other people have, and nonverbal expressions such as facial
expressions, postures, gestures, and tone of voice. Misunderstandings can easily arise if people
aren’t attentive to contextual information or if some of it is missing, such as it may be in
newspaper headlines or in text messages.
Examples in Which Syntax Is Correct but the Interpretation Can Be Ambiguous
- Grandmother of Eight Makes Hole in One
- Milk Drinkers Turn to Powder
- Farmer Bill Dies in House
- Old School Pillars Are Replaced by Alumni
- Two Convicts Evade Noose, Jury Hung
- Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
The Biology and Development of Language
Anyone who has tried to master a second language as an adult knows the difficulty of language
learning. And yet children learn languages easily and naturally. Children who are not exposed to
language early in their lives will likely never learn one. Case studies, including Victor the “Wild
Child,” who was abandoned as a baby in France and not discovered until he was 12, and Genie, a
child whose parents kept her locked in a closet from 18 months until 13 years of age, are
(fortunately) two of the only known examples of these deprived children. Both of these children
made some progress in socialization after they were rescued, but neither of them ever developed
language (Rymer, 1993). [2]This is also why it is important to determine quickly if a child is deaf
and to begin immediately to communicate in sign language. Deaf children who are not exposed