Practice question · Multiple choice
Why does duality of patterning matter more than the other design features for a system's expressive power?
Hints
- Compare a system with one signal per message against one that combines units.
- Without duality the number of messages is capped by the size of the inventory.
Show the answer
A. A small inventory of meaningless units can be recombined into an unbounded set of meaningful ones
Why
Because it breaks the cap. One signal per message means the number of messages equals the number of signals; two layers mean 40 meaningless sounds generate tens of thousands of words. The other options describe arbitrariness, displacement, and discreteness, which are distinct Hockett features.
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More questions on Design Features: What Makes Language Language
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