1 Chapter 1 arbitrary Describes the property of language, including sign language, whereby there is no natural or intrinsic relationship between the way a word is pronounced (or signed) and its meaning
descriptive grammar A linguist’s description or model of the mental grammar, including the units, structures, and rules
An explicit statement of what speakers know about their language
prescriptive grammar, teaching grammar
grammar The mental representation of a speaker’s linguistic competence; what a speaker knows about a language, including its phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon
A linguistic description of a speaker’s mental grammar
lexicon The component of the grammar containing speakers’ knowledge about morphemes and words; a speaker’s mental dictionary