Chapter 11 - Language Flashcards
What is language?
A system of communication using sounds or symbols and enables us to express our thoughts, feelings, and experiences
Why is the need to communicate using language considered “universal”?
Because it occurs whenever there are people
What is emphasized regarding the development of language in humans?
All humans with normal capacities develop a language and learn to follow its complex rules.
How is language described as universal across cultures?
There are more than 5,000 different languages, and there isn’t a single culture without language.
How are languages described as “unique but the same”?
Despite using different words, sounds, and rules, they share common features
Ex. nouns, verbs,
Describe the four characteristics of language.
- Productive: must be capable of expressing an infinite combination of things
- Regular: governed by a system of rules called grammar
- Discreteness: the system can be subdivided into recognizable parts- Ex. sentences into words, words into sounds
- Arbitrary: lack of necessary resemblance between a word or sentence and what it refers to
Which area of the brain is responsible for language production?
Broca’s area
What are two problems that happen during speech perception?
- the continuous nature of speech without clear pauses between words
- the variation in the pronunciation of phonemes depending on the context in which they appear
Ex. Be a big girl vs Big Earl loves his car
Which area of the brain is responsible for comprehension?
Wernicke
Which hemisphere of the brain does language tend to be localized?
Left hemisphere
What is the meaning of lexicon?
All of the words we know–mental dictionary
What factors affect our ability to hear and understand spoken words?
- the frequency of encountering a word in the past
- context it appears in
- knowledge of the meaning
What is known as the structure of a sentence?
syntax
______________ is the idea that information beyond syntax, such as word meaning and context, plays a role in how a person processes and understands sentences.
The constraint-based approach to parsing
What are some context that can impact speech perception and language comprehension?
- words with different meanings affect the interpretation of a sentence
- how story context influences comprehension
- how scene context, studied using the visual world paradigm, influences parsing, and
- how the effect of memory load and prior experience with language influences understandability.
How does the meaning of words in a sentence influence speech perception and language comprehension?
Ambiguity in word meanings can lead to multiple interpretations, making it challenging to determine the intended message
“The defendant examined by the lawyer was unclear.”
Why might this sentence impact speech perception and language comprehension?
The word “examined” allows for two possibilities: the defendant examining something or being examined by someone else.
How does the story context help overcome confusion in the sentence?
The story context aids readers in correctly comprehend the sentence, resolving any initial confusion.
What is the main idea illustrated by the example “The horse raced past the barn fell” and story context?
demonstrates how story context is crucial in resolving ambiguity during speech perception and language comprehension
What is the visual world paradigm?
A technique to explore how information in a scene influences the processing of a sentence.
What were the results regarding eye movement patterns in ambiguous vs. non-ambiguous sentences?
In ambiguous sentences, participants looked at the wrong place most of the time
Non-ambiguous sentences eliminated the confusion
What is the Structure of Language?
- Phonology/ Morphology
● Phoneme: smallest unit of sound we can make
● Morpheme: smallest unit of sound we can make that has meaning - Syntax
● Rule for how to put together sentences and phrases - Semantics
● Rules of associating meaning with sentences - Pragmatics
● Social rules of language
Using the sentence “The strangers talked to the players.” break down the structure of a sentence
Sentence: The strangers talked to the players
Phrases:
● The strangers
● talked to the players
Word: The, Stranger, Talked, To, The, Players
Morpheme:
Strange, er, talk, ed, to, the, play, er, s
Phoneme: stryng, pley, tuw
