chapter 9 Flashcards
phonology
study of how sounds (and signs) are organized and used in natural languages
morphology
the study of words, the rules for how they’re formed, and the relationship between words
syntax
set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences and how words can be combined- exists independent of meaning
lack of invariance problem:
there is no consistent relation between the physical features of the sounds and how the sounds are perceived. ex) same sounds produced differently in context
phoneme
smallest units of sound that are recognizable as speech and have impact on the meaning
allophone
one set of possible spoken sounds to produce single phoneme
speech segmentation problem:
there are no reliable physical cues to the boundaries between words
onomatopoeia
a word that phonetically resembles the sound it describes
Phonesthesia
clusters of words that share Sound and Meaning elements
sound symbolism
Sounds that carry meaning with them. ex) bouba and kiki
Morpheme
Smallest meaningful units of language. Free morphemes: words. Bound morphemes: word parts with meaning (-ed, -s, etc)
Over-generalization errors in morphology
Children will assume all patterns of language apply with no exception. ex) he eated
Recursion
a syntactic process that allows for a finite number of words to create an infinite amount of sentences , invokes an instance of itself
syntax; Surface Structure
how a sentence is worded
syntax: Deep structure
the meaning of a sentence
pragmatics
study of how language is used and understood in context
illocutionary act
what the speaker is trying to do with their words, intended meaning
locutionary act
what is actually said, literal meaning
Nativist Theory of Language Acquisition
language acquisition is best explained as an innate, biological capacity
genetic dysphasia- evidence of NTLA
syndrome characterized by inability to learn grammatical structure of sentences
critical period-evidence of NTLA
period during which receptivity to learning is optimal
Interactionist Theory of Language Acquisition
Environment, experiences, and interactions play a role in language development
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
language shapes the nature of thought
Classical Theory
categories are well-defined. Has “necessary” and “sufficient” rules for membership
Family Resemblance Theory
category members need not all share a definitional feature, but they tend to have several features in common
neural correlates for Animate objects
heightened lateral occipital cortex activation
neural correlates for Inanimate objects
heightened ventral medial temporal lobe activation
Theory of Mind
the understanding that people’s minds produce representations of the world that guide their behaviors
What is activated when making social-moral decisions?
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex
Heuristic
fast and efficient strategies that do not guarantee a solution will be reached, “mental shortcuts”
Algorithm
well-defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem
availability bias
items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently
Framing Effect
people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased
loss aversion
we care more about avoiding losses than achieving equal-sized gain
Prospect Theory
we choose risks when evaluating losses and avoid risks when evaluating gains
