Intro to language

Question 1

massive vs vertical modularity

Answer 1

massive modularity:

• mind like a swiss knife
• large number of components, each well designed for solving a different problem

vertical modularity:

• modular input systems feed into a common general problem solver, where cognitive processing occurs
• language as a special form of input that’s specific to humans

Question 2

nativist view of language module (chomsky, pinker)

Answer 2

• language unlearnable: must be an innate specified language acquisition device
• depends on genetic dispositions
• applies to all languages: universal grammar

cognitive principles:

• domain-specific: respond to specific input
• encapsulated: operates completely independently from other modules

research methodology:

• cognitive neuropsychology
• patterns of impairment reflect modular cognitive architecture
• demonstrated by dissociations

Question 3

interactionist view (karmiloff-smith, aslin & newport)

Answer 3

• language cannot be innately specified
• critical contributions from environment eg language exposure
• language acquisition must be grounded in experience/interaction for learning to occur “embodied cognition”

cognitive principles:

• humans are biased to extract the statistical regularities of natural languages
• > if there’s a language module, it emerges through experience to optimise cognitive efficiency

research methodology:

• connectionist modelling
• statistical learning mechanism
• neuroconstructivism: mental structures shaped by interactions between genes and environment

Question 4

define language

Answer 4

a communication system:

• means of transmitting meaningful messages that serve an ecological function
• learnt through interaction with others who share the same system
• exhibits reciprocity

Question 5

critical properties of human language

Answer 5

a symbol system: conventional representation of an object, function, process, idea etc

• arbitrariness: form unrelated to meaning
• displacement: absent/abstract consepts
• compositionality: discrete, recombinable units
• open-ended: can create infinitely many sentences
• > generative, productive

Question 6

define psycholinguistics

Answer 6

study of the mental representations and processes involved in language eg comprehension, production, acquisition, bilingualism
->psychological function of different units/levels of language

Question 7

difficulty of investigating psycholinguistics

Answer 7

most linguistic knowledge is:

• implicit
• automatic
• untaught
• > cannot rely on speaker’s introspection
• > need methods that reveal unconscious mental processes in measurable behaviour (eg speed, accuracy, eye movement) or neural processes (eg EEG, fMRI)
• > study how behaviour breaks down with pressure or impairment

Question 8

phonetic vs phonemes

Answer 8

phonetic: the acoustic properties of sounds
phonemes: the smallest units of sound that distinguish between meanings in a specific language

all languages distinguish between vowels and consonants, but they differ in phonemic repertoire

number of phonemes can differ

which phonetic distinctions are phonemic can differ eg many asian languages do not distinguish between r and l

pitch variation is a phonemic features in some languages

Question 9

what is a word

Answer 9

• an auditory or visual symbol
• a sequence of sounds or letters that have a meaning when put together
• a representation of meaning

Question 10

units of speech production

Answer 10

phonemes and syllables

errors depend on similarity of position-specific phonemes

speech errors e.g. quick-witted cricket critic

tongue twisters e.g. pod cab cord pub

spoonerisms e.g. a lemon turd cart

Question 11

units of language meanings

Answer 11

morpheme: smallest unit of meaning
- free morpheme: can stand alone as words e.g. cat, run
- bound morpheme: must be attached to words e.g. prefixes, roots

semantics: related to meaning of words and sentences
grammar: rules that describe the structure/regularities of a language
syntax: rules about word order
discourse: a group of sentences or clauses combined in a meaningful and coherent way (clause=unit containing 1 verb)
pragmatics: contextual aspects of language eg using language in a socially appropriate way

Question 12

summary: units of language representation

Answer 12

language is complex

• multiple units of language representation are processed at once (phonemes, morphemes, words, phrases, sentences, discourse)
• different levels relevant for different aspects of language processing eg perception, comprehension, production
• knowledge implicit and many processes are automatic, unconscious