Question:
Which of the given statements support the Design Features proposed by Hockett?
Which of the given statements support the Design Features proposed by Hockett?
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Hockett’s design features of language highlight key characteristics such as productivity, displacement, and arbitrariness, which are unique to human communication.
Updated On: Nov 21, 2025
- Humans produce as many sentences as they have acquired.
- Sentences cannot be broken into smaller units as they have specific meaning.
- Humans can talk about things that are not in their immediate vicinity.
- Linguistic units do not bear any direct resemblance to the things they represent.
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The Correct Option is A, C, D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding Hockett's Design Features.
Hockett proposed several key design features that distinguish human language, including the productivity of language, displacement, and the arbitrariness of linguistic units.
Step 2: Analyzing the options.
- (1) Humans produce as many sentences as they have acquired: This is correct because humans can produce an infinite number of sentences based on the language they have learned (productivity).
- (2) Sentences cannot be broken into smaller units as they have specific meaning: This is incorrect. Sentences can be broken into smaller meaningful units (words, phrases).
- (3) Humans can talk about things that are not in their immediate vicinity: This is correct because of the feature of displacement, which allows humans to talk about things in the past, future, or abstract concepts.
- (4) Linguistic units do not bear any direct resemblance to the things they represent: This is correct because linguistic signs are arbitrary; the sound of a word does not inherently resemble the thing it refers to (arbitrariness).
Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answers are (1), (3), and (4) as they align with Hockett's design features of language.
Hockett proposed several key design features that distinguish human language, including the productivity of language, displacement, and the arbitrariness of linguistic units.
Step 2: Analyzing the options.
- (1) Humans produce as many sentences as they have acquired: This is correct because humans can produce an infinite number of sentences based on the language they have learned (productivity).
- (2) Sentences cannot be broken into smaller units as they have specific meaning: This is incorrect. Sentences can be broken into smaller meaningful units (words, phrases).
- (3) Humans can talk about things that are not in their immediate vicinity: This is correct because of the feature of displacement, which allows humans to talk about things in the past, future, or abstract concepts.
- (4) Linguistic units do not bear any direct resemblance to the things they represent: This is correct because linguistic signs are arbitrary; the sound of a word does not inherently resemble the thing it refers to (arbitrariness).
Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answers are (1), (3), and (4) as they align with Hockett's design features of language.
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