2.8 Generativity and Language
The second key feature of language is generativity (also called productivity). Generativity means that we can create and understand an infinite number of meaningful sentences and utterances. Every language has a fixed or finite number of basic sounds, letters, and words. But a fluent person can generate an infinite number of completely novel sentences with those sounds, letters, and words.
| Symbolism | Generativity |
|---|---|
| Words “refer” to other things What a word “refers” to is often its meaning | We can create and understand an infinite number of meaningful sentences |
This is a great way to break down both meanings.
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