Chapter 9 - Language And Thinking Flashcards
What are mental representations?
Mental structures that often help us process, recall, understand, and correlate all stimuli.
What is Language?
Language describes the structured or patterned verbal communication that primarily humans use.
What are psycholinguistics?
The study between linguistic behavior and psychological processes. A common study in psycholinguistics would be language acquisition.
What is the relationship between grammar and syntax?
Syntax is a subdivision of grammar. Grammar comprises the entire system of rules for a language, including syntax. Syntax deals with the way that words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
What are semantics?
A branch of linguistics concerned with meaning, or the study of meaning in languages. Many words can convey similar/the same meanings.
What is generativity?
The ability to produce new sentences, and the ability to understand new sentences. With the ability of dynamic communication, we are able to constantly for unique sentences.
What is displacement?
The capability of language to speak about things that may not currently be present. For example, animals may communicate to alert each other of present threats however we are able to speak of things that may be happening in other parts of the world or things that may happen in the past or future.
What is the difference between surface and deep structure?
Surface structure would be the surface level of a sentence. Essentially the syntax (grammar concerns) while deep structure would be the underlying meaning of a sentence (semantics). To explain, a sentence may have a fixed order however it may have multiple different meanings or implications.
What are phonemes?
Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in a language, or how many units of sound are included in a language. Humans are born with the capability to understand and pronounce each known phoneme however we lose them through life due to lack of exposure to certain phoneme. For example, a Chinese speaker may be able to tell the difference between and pronounce à and ā tones when spoken however an English speaker may not.
What are morphemes?
Morphemes are the smallest unit of meaning in a language. An example would be the word relearning. We separate that into re-learn-ing. “Re” implies that something is being done over again. “Learn” is the acquisition of knowledge. “Ing” implies that something is currently in progress or in action.
What is bottom-up and top-down processing?
Bottom-up processing is effective to sensations-to-concepts. Processing a sensation and correlating it to an idea. Top-down processing is effective to concepts-to-sensations. Processing an idea or concept and relating it to a sensation/feeling/stimuli.
What is speech segmentation?
The process for which the brain organizes morphemes into segmented units — often applied to speech. Essentially where a word ends and a new word begins in a continuous sentence. This is critical for auditory language processing.
What are pragmatics?
The branch of linguistics that concerns the context in which certain language is used. Many sentences can vary in implication/be interpreted differently depending on context/situation. Examples of pragmatic language include sarcasm and metaphors.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a language disorder that concerns damage to certain parts of the brain (usually Broca’s or Wernicke’s areas). Aspects of language including speaking, listening, reading, or writing are affected.
What is Broca’s area?
A region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere of the brain which functions are linked to speech production. If an individual has trouble speaking sentences, that is often called Broca’s aphasia.
What is Wernicke’s area?
Wernicke’s area is the region within the left temporal lobe that assists in the ability to understand/comprehend words. Often verbal.
What are sex differences in lateralization?
Men in language are more lateralized, where knowledge on language is more concentrated in one certain hemisphere of the brain. Women have denser connections and their language is more evenly spread throughout the neural hemispheres. Men have averagely larger brains, however IQ of each sex often roams around the same value.
Who are B.F. Skinner and Noam Chomsky? What do they each believe in?
B.F. Skinner theorized that language is learnt through the cycle of reward and punishment. He believed in the blank slate theory (hypothesis) and believed that there was only the ability to learn and the ability to reinforce. Noam Chomsky believed in the language acquisition device, a genetic brain mechanism dedicated to learning language.
What is the relationship between pidgin and creole languages?
Pidgin languages are incomplete hybrid languages created through forced proximity between speakers of different languages. Communication systems with a limited range of terms. Creole languages were developed on the basis of pidgin languages, however they were fleshed out with more terms created to fill in the gaps.
What is poverty of the stimulus?
A foundation to an argument concerning the idea that linguistic input received by children does not provide enough information to specify detail that is necessary to produce grammatically correct language.
