GO6--> Language Flashcards
What is language?
is a system of communication that allows for the exchange of infinite combinations of ideas. It can be by means of sounds or body language. It is species wide and will spontaneously emerge in all normal children.
Is language spontaneous?
It does not need to be taught it does emerge spontaneously
Language is not necessary for thinking, why?
people think in words and sentences, but also in visual images, abstract concepts and other nonlinguistic forms of thought.
Is reading and writing spontaneous?
written language (reading/writing) must be taught
What does Lexeme mean?
different forms of a word that originate from one single word (Ex–> love –> loving, loved, etc)
What does morpheme mean?
any word or word part that conveys meaning and which cannot be divided into smaller elements that also convey a meaning
Give an example of a morpheme
book is a morphene; it can not be broken down further but books can be broken into “book” and “s”
There are two components of language design, what are they?
Word –> a combination between a sound and meaning
Grammer –> rules how lexemes are meaningfully combined
what is morphology in terms of language?
Describes word structures and formation; combining word and affixes to larger words (adore-able)
what does syntax mean?
meaning sequence or order; describes how sentences are constructed and relations among words
what does phonetics mean?
classification of sounds made in spoken language
what is prosody?
describe the intonation, stress, rate and rhythm, that provide speech with its melodic character
How does one go about producing a sentence?
choose words, grammatical rules encode ideas and intentions and generate articulatory commands in the motor system
How does one then comprehend a sentence?
(i) coordinate sensory information from auditory (or visual) system with grammar and words and send that info about interpretation to the memory and reasoning systems
(ii) this takes a complex pattern of information flow to many parts of the brain
Is the capacity to learn innate for children?
yes
List the critical time markers for children in terms of language development
5-7 months –> sounds
7-8 months –> well formed syllables
1-2—> first word mamma with an understanding of the connection between the word and their Mom
2 years –> speaking in rich phrase (Children language)
3 years –> often correct use of grammar with a good understanding of the basic rules
what are the two parameters in humans as to why language developed?
(i) humans exploited the environment
(ii) humans were involved in cooperation
What has language allowed for, in terms of our ancestors?
to benefit from sharing acquired information
In humans what is the right hemisphere used for?
(i) Damage to the right results in an inability to express emotion
(ii) therefore the speech is flat, lifeless and mechanical
patients who lose the left but still have the right can still sing songs and even learn new ones
In humans what is the left hemisphere used for?
96% of people use the left hemisphere for language processing (grammar, words and phonetics)
Sign language also depends on this hemisphere
ppl who lose left but not right can still sing songs and even learn new ones
In humans what is the right hemisphere used for?
(i) communicative and emotional prosody (Stress, timing and intonation)
(ii) pragmatics of language
How does the patient present if there is damage to the right hemisphere?
right anterior damage–> wrong intonation
right posterior damage –> difficulty in interpretation
difficulty in construction of sentences into a story
difficulty in understanding jokes and sarcasm