Language

Question 1

Factors of language

Answer 1

Speech production/symbolic or representational symbols
Semantics (word meaning)
Syntax (word order)
Pragmatics (social appropriateness) (can include things such as intonation, volume)

Question 2

Phoneme

Answer 2

Unit of sound
ex: mm, bb, rr
one symbol representing 1 sound
ex: Wider
4 phonemes
w, i, d, r

Question 3

Morpheme

Answer 3

Unit of sound with meaning
phonemes together that create meaning
ex: Wider
2 morphemes
Wide- width
ER- more

Question 4

age at which children lose capacity to differentiate discrete/nuanced phonemes in languages?

Answer 4

12 months

Question 5

Age at which people lose plasticity with language?

Answer 5

12 y/o (puberty)

Question 6

auditory perception in language in children

Answer 6

• Reading and language are “overlearned skills” – hardest to unlearn, extinction
• It takes a human being for babies to take their information (don’t get it the same from TV or technology)

Question 7

how is color coded in brain?

Answer 7

Linguistically
- Color blind individuals discriminate reds and greens based on other correlates and can separate them into categories, even though the color is perceived the same
- why stroop effect can be hard

Question 8

Language and spatial information

Answer 8

Left v right – cardinal directions
Left right is egocentric – it is in relation to ourselves or others
Animals navigating out-navigate humans, possibly because of our lost sense of spatial awareness due to our linguistic coding

Question 9

Child language development (order)

Answer 9

children learn language through ACTOR-OBJECT-RECEIVER.
The boy gave a ball to the girl
The girl was given a ball by the boy
(2nd sentence doesnt compute as synonymous)

Question 10

Stages of observations of child language acquisition

Answer 10

• Eye contact; gaze
• Nursing behaviors (correct distance away from parent to make eye contact/see face)
• Awareness of environment, feelings states (e.g., hunger)
• Cooing/Crying (Babies learn they can impact their environment)
• Gestures
• Sound as impacting change - causality
• Babbling/Echolalia/Noises (ex: ninny, lalalalala, baobab. children do this because it is an enjoyable experience)
• Motherese/Baby talk (tone, volume, scoops, EYE contact and widening— healthy way to help children learn. speak to kids in this way to strengthen networks of meaning/emotions. it is a way of simplifying language)
• Intentionality (phenomena of caregivers taking innocuous sounds made by the baby, and we think they are making those sounds intentionally)
• Responding as if intelligible
• Copying/Mimicry – consonants, intonation, word patterns/sound patterns
  ——-Most common consonants M, P, B, D, G, K, T
  (bilabial consonants most common for babies)
  ——-Least common consonants L, R
• Overuse of rules – sleeped, eated; mices

Question 11

Language development theory- VYGOTSKY

Answer 11

Nature

Zone of Proximal Development: readiness to learn, and aided through social interactions

Scaffolding: teachers help children bridge gap to new knowledge

Child learns via fantasy play, explanation, mirroring

Question 12

Language development theory- CHOMSKY

Answer 12

Nature

Universal Grammar

Language Acquisition Device: basic set of language skills innate/present at birth

Learn through imitation

Question 13

Language development theory- BRUNER

Answer 13

Nature

Language Acquisition Support System –pragmatics– children do have an innate ability to learn and acquire language, but require the social interaction w/ same language users to excel in their learning.

Question 14

Language development theory- NATURE

Answer 14

Vygotsky, Chomsky, Bruner

Question 15

Language development theory- Skinner

Answer 15

Nurture

Operant Conditioning: language is a behavior– children are reinforced for words they use, and by associating words with meaning.

pos rein- word gets reward- milk, child gets milk
neg rein-removing something
punishment- told wrong word?

Question 16

Language development theory- Piaget

Answer 16

similar to skinner, says language is taught. when they have reached a neural readiness, they can learn very quickly

4 stages of learning
Sensory motor stage – uses sense, classifies objects (indexes), literal and
concrete vocabulary
Pre-operation Stage – egocentric, language skills develop
Concrete Operational – logical thinking
Formal operations – abstract reasoning (puberty)

Question 17

Automaticity

Answer 17

Weighted networks- gets stronger through the kindling effect

As you do a behavior more it becomes more automatic so you can focus on other things and do other things at the same time
Ex: we learn language implicity and then it becomes an automatic process.

**Every time you have an experience/take in stimulus (ex: look at mom while breatfeeding), you start to recognize mom in a certain way. The more that happens, the more entrenched/trained that specific pathway becomes.

Question 18

Saccades

Answer 18

eye movements move back/forth

help us determine where words start/end/spaces

Question 19

Fixations

Answer 19

Periods of fixation and movement but we only really process info during fixation

Question 20

word recognition

Answer 20

• Shape of word
• End letters are often most important (possibly to let us know when the word goes to the next word)
• We skip over about 1/3 of all words in sentences
• evidence for parallel processing

Question 21

Perceptual span

Answer 21

how much can u perceive in a window
Wider range= faster readers
Smaller range= Less skilled readers, reading disorders, older people