language Flashcards
what is language
a method of human communication consisting of the use and interpretation of words in a structured and conventional way
how is language structured
- phonemes
- morphemes
- syntax
- semantics
structure - what are phonemes
- smallest unit of speech sounds
- capable of changing the meaning of the word
- word recognition relies on combination of phonemes
structure - what are morphemes
- smallest unit of meaning
- content morphemes; e.g., bake
- function morphemes: e.g, bake -er,-s
structure - what is syntax
rules of ordering sentence components, which vary depending on the languange
- English has subject-verb-object-order
e.g,, the human pats the dog
structure - what is semantics
how we get meaning from words
even when words are in the right order, there can still be ambiguity
what is the mental lexicon
store of words
believed to link semantics, phonological forms (how words sound), orthographic forms (how words look) and syntax (part of grammar determining word order)
what are the functions of the mental lexicon (access, selection, integration)
lexical access:
- activation of word form, syntax, semantics
lexical selection:
- best matching representation is selected
lexical integration:
- word is placed in context of full sentence
how is the mental lexicon organised?
morphemes (small unit)
usage frequency (more frequently used words accessed easier)
phoneme neighbourhoods (words which differ by only one phoneme are stored closer together
semantic representations (words related in terms of meaning are linked)
organisation of mental lexicon - what are conceptual semantic networks?
- words are represented as nodes
- nodes are connected based on meaning
- activation spreads to each node
- there is debate over exact organisation
what is definitional theory?
- each word is a bundle of meanings/semantic features
- words are integrated into categories which share features
- categories are organised hierarchically
what is prototype theory?
each word categorised by how much it resembles prototype
what can speech be comprehended through?
prosody = conveying meaning beyond the words themselves
interpretation of phonemes
visual cues - McGurk effect (mouth movements can influence what we hear)
models of speech recognition - cohort model
- acoustic input activates word representations sequentially
- candidate words are deactivated if acoustic input is consistent
- context can narrow the pool of candidates, but this comes later
mispronunciation of a word beginning interferes with this process
models of speech recognition - TRACE model
- words are recognised based on their acoustic features, phonemes, and semantics
- as speech starts, feature and phoneme levels are activated, exciting matching and inhibiting mis-matching
understanding written words - what is the interactive activation model
visual features of letters activate or inhibit representations of individual letters
activation/inhibition of letters can activate/inhibit words
all stages can influence others
we are better able to recognise letters when they are presented in a word vs alone, and vs in a non-word (word superiority effect)
how does context come into comprehension of words
interpret words based on other words in the sentence
brain can’t store whole sentences, so interpret sentences using syntactic parsing (understanding based on order of the words)
large brain responses for unexpected words or contexts
what are the stages of language learning
babbling (6 months - 1yr) - babies begin by producing phonemes found in human language
first words (1-1 1/2 years) - using phonemes in language spoken by those around the child
telegraphic speech (1 1/2 - 2 years) - two word sentences, containing noun and verb or adjective and noun
acquiring grammar (2-4) - learning prepositions, verb forms and other rules
competent speech (4-5) - full sentences with conventional grammar, though with less complex structure
is language learning innate?
likely to be combination of both
SLT: reinforcement of sounds made by children, trial and error
brain could be hard wired to learn language
what is the critical period in language learning?
- when brain is most responsive to input
- suggested must be exposed to language from 2yrs to puberty, but recently thought to start earlier
- critical period ends when neurochemistry prevents further structural changes
where in the brain is language involved?
primarily in left hemisphere around Sylvian fissure
broca’s area - production
wernicke’s area - comprehension
visual word form area - written word processing
