Chapter 10 - Language comprehension

Question 1

Syntax

Answer 1

The set of rules concerning word order to create well-formed sentences

Question 2

Grammar

Answer 2

The set of rules governing the structure of a language (especially syntax and inflections)

Question 3

Inflections

Answer 3

Grammatical changes to nouns or verbs (e.g., adding s to a noun to indicate plural; adding ed to a verb to indicate past tense).

Question 4

Parsing

Answer 4

Analysing the syntactical or grammatical structure of sentences

Question 5

Morphology

Answer 5

The study of words and how they are formed from morphemes.

Question 6

Verb bias

Answer 6

An imbalance in the frequency with which a verb is associated with different syntactic structures.

Question 7

Pragmatics

Answer 7

The study of the ways language is used and understood in the real world including a consideration of its intended meaning; in general, the impact of contextual factors on meaning.

Question 8

Figurative language

Answer 8

Language that is not intended to be taken literally; examples include metaphor, irony and idiom.

Question 9

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Answer 9

A disorder involving difficulties in social interaction and communication and repetitive patterns of behaviour and thinking.

Question 10

Central coherence

Answer 10

The ability to make use of all the information when interpreting an utterance or situation.

Question 11

Asperger Syndrome

Answer 11

An ASD involving problems with social communication in spite of at least average intelligence and no delays in language development.

Question 12

Metaphor interference effect

Answer 12

The finding that it takes longer to judge whether metaphorical sentences are literally true or false than control sentences.

Question 13

Common ground

Answer 13

Shared knowledge and beliefs possessed by a speaker and a listener; its use facilitates communication.

Question 14

Egocentric heuristic

Answer 14

A strategy used by listeners in which they interpret what they hear based on their own knowledge rather than knowledge shared with the speaker.

Question 15

Discourse

Answer 15

A language that is a minimum of several sentences in length; it includes written text and connected speech.

Question 16

Logical inferences

Answer 16

Inferences that follow necessarily from the meanings of word (e.g., a bachelor is a man who is unmarried).

Question 17

Bridging inferences

Answer 17

Inferences or conclusions drawn to increase coherence between the current and preceding part of a text; also known as backward inferences.

Question 18

Elaborative inferences

Answer 18

Inferences based on our knowledge of the world that involve adding details to a text that is being read (or speech being listened to).

Question 19

Predictive inferences

Answer 19

Expectations concerning what will happen next (e.g., a new event) when reading text or listening to someone.

Question 20

Mental model

Answer 20

An internal representation of some possible situation or event in the world having the same structure as that situation or event.

Question 21

Anaphor

Answer 21

A word or phrase that refers back to a previous word or phrase (e.g., a pronoun may refer back to a given individual mentioned earlier).

Question 22

Rationalisation

Answer 22

In Bartlett’s theory, errors in story recall that conform to the rememberer’s cultural expectations.

Question 23

Proposition

Answer 23

A statement making an assertion or denial which can be true or false.