Languages I / Design Features: What Makes Language Language
Practice question · Select all that apply

Which follow from a communication system LACKING duality of patterning?

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  1. Three are consequences of one signal per message; one confuses duality with a different feature.
  2. Reference to the absent is displacement, which is independent.
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  • B. The number of messages is limited by the number of signals
  • C. The system cannot build long messages from short parts
  • D. Every new message requires a new signal to be learned
Why

The first three are the same limitation stated three ways. Displacement is independent, the bee dance refers to a food source that is elsewhere and in the past, and has no duality whatsoever, which is exactly why the features must be assessed separately.

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