language

Question 1

what are the five basic components of language?

Answer 1

1. phonology
2. morphology
3. semantics
4. syntax
5. pragmatics

Question 2

____________ refers to the actual sound of language

Answer 2

phonology

Question 3

T / F - there are about 30 different speech sounds oin the english language

Answer 3

false, 40

Question 4

explain categorical perception

Answer 4

when a language has subtle differenes in speech sounds that represent a chnage in meaning

Question 5

__________ is the ability to recognize a word as being the same, even if the pronunciation of the word varies

Answer 5

constancy

Question 6

______________ is the structure of words

Answer 6

morphology

Question 7

___________ refers to the association of meaning with a word

Answer 7

semantics

Question 8

__________ refers to how words are put together to form sentences

Answer 8

syntax

Question 9

____________ refers to the dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledg

Answer 9

pragmatics

*the way we speak depends on our audience

Question 10

explain the timeline of language acquisition

Answer 10

9-12 months = babbling

12-18 months = children add about one new word per month

18-20 months = “explosion of language”

2-3 years = longer sentences

5 years = language rules largely mastered

Question 11

explain Chomsky’s nativist theory

Answer 11

existence of some innate capcity for language

focused on syntactic transformations or changes in word order that retain the same meaning

*I took the MCAT, the MCAT was taken by me = ability to understand that these mean the same thing is innate

Question 12

______________ is a theortical pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules

Answer 12

language acquisition device (LAD)

Question 13

explain the difference between a critical period and a sensative period

Answer 13

critical period = 2 year to puberty, if no language exposure occurs during this time, later trianing is largely ineffective

senstitive period = time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability

Question 14

explain the learning theory (BF Skinner)

Answer 14

language acquisition by reinforcement

parents repeat and reinforce sounds that sound most like the language spoken by the parents

Question 15

explain the social interactionist theory

Answer 15

language acquisition is driven by the childs desire to communicate and behave in a social manner

as the child interacts more, the brain circuits are reinforced

Question 16

explain the worfian hypothesis

Answer 16

also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis = language affects the way we think (not the other way around)

Question 17

what part of the brain controls the motor dunction of speech?

Answer 17

brocas area

Question 18

what part of the brain is responsible for language comprehension?

Answer 18

wernickes area

Question 19

brocas ares and wernickes area are connected by ____________

Answer 19

arcuate fasciculus

Question 20

what happens to an individual if their brocas area is damaged?

Answer 20

speech comprehension is intact, but the individual will have a reduced ability to produce spoken language = brocas aphasia

Question 21

what happens to an individual if their wernickes area is damaged?

Answer 21

speech production is intact, but the patient will have a reduced ability to comprehend speech = wernickes aphasia