Hockett
Proper noun
Meaning
Hockett (plural Hocketts)
A surname.
Examples
As a theory of phonological representation, autosegmental phonology developed a formal account of ideas that had been sketched in earlier work by several linguists, notably Bernard Bloch (1948), Charles Hockett (1955) and J. R. Firth (1948).
In 1957, Hockett became a member of Cornell's anthropology department and continued to teach anthropology and linguistics until he retired to emeritus status in 1982.
Hockett called this design feature of human language "productivity".
Hockett initially developed seven features, which were published in the 1959 paper “Animal ‘Languages’ and Human Language.”
Hockett states that no other Hominoid communication system besides human language maintains this ability.
Hockett viewed this as an advantage for human primates because it allowed for the ability to participate in other activities while simultaneously communicating through spoken language.