language

Question 1

what is language

Answer 1

a method of human communication consisting of the use and interpretation of words in a structured and conventional way

Question 2

how is language structured

Answer 2

• phonemes
• morphemes
• syntax
• semantics

Question 3

structure - what are phonemes

Answer 3

• smallest unit of speech sounds
• capable of changing the meaning of the word
• word recognition relies on combination of phonemes

Question 4

structure - what are morphemes

Answer 4

• smallest unit of meaning
• content morphemes; e.g., bake
• function morphemes: e.g, bake -er,-s

Question 5

structure - what is syntax

Answer 5

rules of ordering sentence components, which vary depending on the languange
- English has subject-verb-object-order

e.g,, the human pats the dog

Question 6

structure - what is semantics

Answer 6

how we get meaning from words

even when words are in the right order, there can still be ambiguity

Question 7

what is the mental lexicon

Answer 7

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)

Question 8

what are the functions of the mental lexicon (access, selection, integration)

Answer 8

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

Question 9

how is the mental lexicon organised?

Answer 9

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)

Question 10

organisation of mental lexicon - what are conceptual semantic networks?

Answer 10

• words are represented as nodes
• nodes are connected based on meaning
• activation spreads to each node
• there is debate over exact organisation

Question 11

what is definitional theory?

Answer 11

• each word is a bundle of meanings/semantic features
• words are integrated into categories which share features
• categories are organised hierarchically

Question 12

what is prototype theory?

Answer 12

each word categorised by how much it resembles prototype

Question 13

what can speech be comprehended through?

Answer 13

prosody = conveying meaning beyond the words themselves

interpretation of phonemes

visual cues - McGurk effect (mouth movements can influence what we hear)

Question 14

models of speech recognition - cohort model

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

models of speech recognition - TRACE model

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

understanding written words - what is the interactive activation model

Answer 16

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)

Question 17

how does context come into comprehension of words

Answer 17

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

Question 18

what are the stages of language learning

Answer 18

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

Question 19

is language learning innate?

Answer 19

likely to be combination of both

SLT: reinforcement of sounds made by children, trial and error

brain could be hard wired to learn language

Question 20

what is the critical period in language learning?

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

where in the brain is language involved?

Answer 21

primarily in left hemisphere around Sylvian fissure

broca’s area - production

wernicke’s area - comprehension

visual word form area - written word processing