COGNITION- LANGUAGE Flashcards
is a system for combining symbols (such as words) so that an infinite number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with others
LANGUAGE
allows people not only to communicate with one another but also to represent their own internal mental activity
LANGUAGE
a very important part of how people think
LANGUAGE
the system of rules governing the structure and use of a language.
GRAMMAR
according to famed linguist _, humans have an innate ability to understand and produce language through a device he calls the language acquisition device, or LAD.
Noam Chomsky
innate ability of humans to understand and produce language through a device called
language acquisition device, or LAD
an innate “program” that contained a schema for human language
language acquisition device, or LAD
children _ the language they heard against this schema (language acquisition device, or LAD) and, thus, language developed in a well-researched sequence
matched
humans may learn the specific language (English, Spanish, Mandarin, etc.) through the processes of _, _, and _
imitation, reinforcement, and shaping
the complexities of the grammar of a language are, according to Chomsky, to some degree “_” to the developing Brain
“wired in”
PHONEMES, MORPHOLOGY, SYNTAX AND PRAGMATICS
PARTS OF GRAMMAR
BASIC SOUND LANGUAGE
phonemes
study of the formation of words
morphology
rules for the order of the words
syntax
practical social expectations and uses of language
pragmatics
Basic units of sound in a language
phonemes
The difference is in how we say the sound of the a in each word.
phonemes
infants are born with the ability to recognize all phonemes, after about _ months, that ability has deteriorated and the infant recognizes only the phonemes of the language to which the infant is exposed.
9
_ for different languages are also different,
phonemes
one of the biggest problems for people who are trying to learn another language is the _ to both hear and pronounce the phonemes of that other language.
inability
Smallest units of meaning within a language
morphemes
the word playing consists of _ morphemes, play and ing.
2
system of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences
Syntax
important, as just a simple mix-up can cause sentences to be completely misunderstood.
Syntax
study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences
Semantics
Rules for determining the meaning of words and sentences.
Semantics
Sentences, for example, can have the same semantic meaning while having different _
Syntax
the practical aspects of communicating with others, or the social “niceties” of language.
Pragmatics
involves knowing things like how to take turns in a conversation,
Pragmatics
the use of gestures to emphasize a point or indicate a need for more information
Pragmatics
the different ways in which one speaks to different people.
Pragmatics
Part of the pragmatics of language includes knowing just what rhythm and emphasis to use when communicating with others, called
intonation
changing the stress or pitch of certain words or syllables of a particular word can change its _ entirely
meaning
Two very influential developmental psychologists _ and _ often debated the relationship of language and thought
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky
theorized that concepts preceded and aided the development of language.
Piaget (1926, 1962)
a child would have to have a _ for “mother” before being able to learn the word “mama.
concept or mental schema
_ become the “pegs” (nail/pin) upon which words are “hung.”
concepts or mental schema (Piaget)
Piaget also noticed that preschool children seemed to spend a great deal of time talking to _ even when playing with another child.
themselves
a process Piaget called, each child would be talking about something totally unrelated to the speech of the other
collective monologue
kind of nonsocial speech was very egocentric (from the child’s point of view only, with no regard for the listener)
collective monologue
as the child became more socially involved and less egocentric, these nonsocial speech patterns would reduce.
collective monologue
Believed almost the opposite to Jean Piaget
Lev Vygotsky
He theorized that language actually helped develop concepts and that language could also help the child learn to control behavior- including social behavior
Lev Vygotsky
the word helped form the concept
Lev Vygotsky
Once a child had learned the word “mama,” the various elements of “mama-ness”- warm, soft, food, safety, and so on-could come together around that word.
Lev Vygotsky
the _ speech of the preschool child was actually a way for the child to form thoughts and control actions.
egocentric speech Lev Vygotsky
“_ speech” was a way for children to plan their behavior and organize actions so that their goals could be obtained, vygotsky’s term for egocentric speech
“private speech”
socializing with other children would demand much more self-control and behavioral regulation on the part of the preschool child,
socializing Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky believed that _ speech would actually increase as children become more socially active in the preschool years.
private speech
Children, especially bright children, do tend to use more _ speech when learning how to socialize with other children or when working on a difficult task. Evidence of vygotsky’s belief
private speech
The hypothesis that language shapes and influences thoughts
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
The hypothesis that language shapes and influences thoughts was accepted by many theorists, with a few notable exceptions, such as _.
Jean Piaget
Edward Sapir and his student, Benjamin Lee Whorf developed?
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
This hypothesis assumes that the thought processes and concepts within any culture are determined by the words of the culture
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis / Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
thought processes and concepts are controlled by (relative to) language.
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
_ Hypothesis the words people use determine much of the way in which they think about the world around them
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
the _, Native Americans living in the Arctic, have many more words for snow than do people in other cultures.
Inuits
Inuits have _ different words for snow, whereas other estimates have ranged in the _. Unfortunately, this anecdotal evidence has turned out to be false
23 DIFFERENT WORDS, RANGED IN THE 100
_ speakers also have many different words for snow (sleet, slush, powder, dusting, and yellow to name a few)
English speakers
There have been attempts to teach animals (primates and dolphins) how to use sign language (as animals lack the vocal structure to form spoken words), but many of these attempts were simply not _
“good science.”
_ lack the vocal structure to form spoken words
ANIMALS
a bonobo chimpanzee trained to press abstract symbols on a computer keyboard, successful experiment it learned to use symbols that are abstract
Kanzi
Kanzi actually was not the original subject of the study but his _, Matata
mother
Matata did not learn many of the symbols, but Kanzi watched his mother use the keyboard and appeared to learn how to use the symbols through that _
observation
At last count, Kanzi could understand about _ spoken English words.
150 spoken English words
