language Flashcards
hyperscanning
when we measure brain signals of 2 or more people simultaneously and relate them to each other
with EEG or MRI
how are humans specialised for language?
ability to imitate and learn vocalisations which are not innate to us
unusual enjoyment of rhythmic patterns
drive to synchronise to them
most children learn native language effortlessly without formal teaching
before children understand language, they understand intonation and rhythm of conversation
synchronicity of language
time course of speaker proceeds brain activity by a few seconds
however listener 2-3 seconds behind speaker
allows for encoding of information
synchronicity between speaker and listener predicts listeners comprehension and memory performance
what is language?
system of communication
using sounds or symbols to express feelings, thoughts, ideas and experiences
components combined to form larger units
governed by rules - specific ways components can be arranged
social and connected to social cognition
hierarchal system and syntax
words have different depths of meaning
syntax - conveys hierarchy in sentences
similarities in human and animal language
dialects and syntax
signal modalities
complex species specific systems
used to regulating social structures
genes linked with communication ability
- have genes encoding for ability to acquire and develop skill
differences in human and animal language
animals can only communicate in present
human can do past, present, future and hypothetical ideas
animal systems not productive
- limited signs and ways of expression
- cant make up new words or phrases
we can understand and create indefinable large numbers of words
universality of language
critical for human quality of life
drive for communication is innate in typical developing children - genes coding for drive
most humans learn first language very easily
language development universal across cultures
how do languages differ?
languages unique but the same
different words, sounds and rules
but all have same components
eg nouns, verbs
universally used for same functions of communication
Skinner’s verbal behaviour
children learn language through operant conditioning
imitate speech that they hear and repeat correct speech as it is rewarded
language learnt through reinforcements
Chomsky
ability for verbal behaviour is innate
children say sentences never spoken or rewarded by parents - unlike Skinner
children go through incorrect grammar stages despite incorrect grammar not being reinforced
Chomsky’s universal grammar
human language coded in genes
underlying basis of all language is similar
children produce sentences hey have never heard or not reinforced
heavily focused on syntax (hierarchical structure in language)
Skinner or Chomsky correct?
both and neither
more complex
genetically and biologically encoded language readiness
learn speaking by different strategies - some learn by conditioning
levels of processing
comprehension (forming semantic representation) requires decoding
decoding phonemes
classifying sounds that distinguish words, decode sounds
accessing the mental lexicon
contains all words that a person understands, access memory
lexical semantics
meaning of words, each word has at least one meaning
syntactic processing
understanding relations between words, processing hierarchy
semantics
understanding meaning of language, interpret context
discourse integration
relating and embedding meaning in context, understanding relations
levels of processing simplified
sounds - processing phonetics
phonemes - classifying relevant language sounds
words - retrieving word meaning from mental lexicon (memory system)
existing words and can interpret new words based on previous meanings
semantic
sentences - combinatorial and hierarchical processing
how its embedded and what its meaning is in this sentence
syntactic
discourse - contextual meaning integration
irony, tone, previous conversations etc
independence of representations
triangle model of the lexicon
for each words we have 3 representations
orthographic
semantic
phonological
tip of the tongue phenomenon
when you know what you want to say but cant remember phonological structure automatically
say or hear a word without processing meaning
recognising boundaries in speech
speech segmentation
challenging if don’t know rules of language
use context to understand words with unfamiliar pronunciation
phonemic restoration effect
phonemes are perceived in speech even when sounds of the phoneme is covered by a noise
brain fills in gaps of missing information
affected by contextual top down completion of missing sounds
Broca’a area
language production - speaking
syntactic processing (ordering language units correctly)
Broca’s aphasia
production aphasia
result of suffering stroke to left inferior frontal cortex
speech slow and laboured
jumbled sentence structure
difficulty understanding syntactic variations
Wernicke’s area
language comprehension
semantic integration (integrating meaning to a larger representation)
Wernicke’s aphasia
receptive aphasia
result of suffering a stroke to posterior left superior temporal cortex
speech is random and meaningless
inability to comprehend speech and writing
general impairment in understanding meaning (semantics)
prediction in language
plays large role in language processing
word probability is based on lexical frequency and contextual expectations
helps resolving:
- ambiguity
- words with multiple meanings
- interpolation in difficult conditions
- deciding on best candidate meanings
frequent words processed faster and more efficiently
lexical decision task
frequent words have faster reaction times
words predicted by context are recognised faster
(eg several fruit words in a row easier to recognise)
eye tracking
less predictable words lead to longer fixation times and more regressions (looking back at previous words)
discourse processing
understanding text, stories and conversations
going beyond isolated sentences
making inferences in discourse processing
stories consist of sentences coherent with story
sum of sentences doesn’t define whole story or conversation
need to make inferences about larger meaning to understand not just comprehend
assumptions of coherence
situation model - representations of connected events that are linked on following dimensions:
space - assume same unless stated
time - assumed same
agents - same as previous, pronouns help
causality - assume natural, outcome due to previous actions
motivation - related
importance of assumptions of coherence
must make assumptions otherwise communication faulty, if wrong made
assumptions stored in situation models
coherence
representation of the text in ones mind that creates clear relations between parts of the text and stories main topic
mental simulation
turn something you read into real life
creating a situation model in our mind
allows us to learn via language
eg reading instructions to learn or reading a book
evolutionary advantage
safer to learn via language that trying
physiology of simulations
approximately same areas of cortex activated by actual movements and by reading related action words
activation more extensive for actual movements
- reaction times faster if object coherent with sentences heard
conversations
require theory of mind:
understanding that another person has beliefs, thoughts, feelings, knowledge and other mental states
that are different from your own
ability to infer relevant mental states of others to communicate and interact with them
critical for making inferences about others intentions to interpret what they say and do
speakers attune to each other and context
- conversations are dynamic and rapid exchanges between people
how do speakers construct messages?
to include:
given information - situation in broad sense
new information - new can become given during conversation
common ground - speakers mutual knowledge, beliefs and assumptions
over course of conversations, speakers align structure of language with each other to support communication
- syntactic coordination or priming
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
nature of a cultures language influences the way people think
- language influences thought and cognition
Berlin and Kay - basic colour terms
languages differ in how many basic colour terms they have
how colours are categorised in different languages effects how those colours are perceived
eg not having separate words for blue and green
basic = no compound words, words referring to objects or words borrowed from another language
all languages have colour terms for light and dark colours
