Chapter 8: Language & Communication Flashcards
Psycholinguistics
The study of cognitive underpinning of human language .
4 Criterias of Language
Communicative, structured, creative, referential and meaningful.
Phonemes
Basic units of sounds
Phonology
Rules that govern how sounds can be combined within a language. Babies distinguish a wider range of phonemes, but by 6 months, they gradually loose this ability
Morphemes
Smallest units of meaningful sounds
Morphology
Rules by which morphemes can be combined into words
Prosody
Intonation patterns affects meaning
Pragmatics
How communicative function depends on:
1. what speaker knows,
2. what listener knows,
3. what the speaker knows about what the listener knows,
4. what the listener knows about what the speaker knows.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
“Language shapes how we think”
Common grounds
When the speaker and listener shares the same knowledge
Curse of knowledge
When experts struggle to explain things in a way for a beginner to understand
Aphasia
A condition where you cant produce or understand language
Broca’s aphasia
Difficulty speaking fluently, producing correct sounds, finding the right words
Wernicke’s aphasia
Difficulty understanding the meaning of words or sentences
Mild aphasia (anomic)
Difficulty finding the words they want to say
Severe aphasia (global)
Great difficulty both producing and comprehending spoken language
Mental Lexicon
Linking words to real world representation
How are mental lexicons accessed?
Through phonological access and orthographical access (sound and written form)
Semantic Priming
Exposure to words affects how we respond to related stimulus
Affective priming
Words are influenced by previous items with the same emotional tone
Syntax
Rules for structuring sentences
Grammar
Broader set of rules that govern languages
Creative->productivity
Produce and understand completely new sentences
Creative->recursion
Ability to embed language structures within each other
Language Acquisition-Markov Models
Predict the next word based on probability
Language Acquisition->Finite State Grammars
Sentence follows a strict sequence
Poverty Stimulus
Children dont get enough info from their environment to learn language purely through exposure
Lack of Negative Evidence
Children arent criticised for wrong grammar
Critical Period
Optimal time for children to learn the values of a particular language because their brains are equipped
Universal Grammar
A set on innate rules that help convert thoughts into structured language
Language Acquisition Device
Inborn ability that drives humans to learn and master their native language
