Glossary / Lexicon

Productivity or Generativity of language

Deutsch: Produktivität oder Generativität der Sprache / Español: Productividad o Generatividad del lenguaje / Português: Produtividade ou Generatividade da linguagem / Français: Productivité ou Générativité du langage / Italiano: Produttività o Generatività del linguaggio /

Productivity or Generativity of language is the characteristic of all human languages by which they make use of a finite repertoire of sounds to produce a potentially infinite number of sentences.

In psychology, productivity or generativity of language refers to the ability of speakers to create and understand new words, phrases, and sentences that they have never heard before. This ability is one of the defining features of human language and allows us to communicate an infinite number of ideas.

Here are some examples of the productivity or generativity of language:

  1. Novel sentences: Speakers of a language can create new sentences that have never been spoken before. For example, a speaker of English could say "The purple giraffe sang a song about pizza," even though they may have never heard this sentence before.

  2. New words: Speakers can also create new words to describe new concepts or ideas. For example, the word "selfie" was not in use until the advent of smartphones with front-facing cameras, but is now a common term.

  3. Idiomatic expressions: Speakers can also create idiomatic expressions that use existing words in new ways to convey meaning. For example, the English expression "raining cats and dogs" means that it is raining heavily, even though there are no actual cats or dogs falling from the sky.

  4. Creative writing: Writers can use the productivity of language to create new and unique stories, poems, and plays that express their ideas and emotions in creative ways.

Overall, the productivity or generativity of language is a key feature of human communication that allows us to express an infinite number of ideas and thoughts. This ability has helped humans to build complex societies and cultures, share knowledge, and advance in many fields of study.