language

Question 1

hyperscanning

Answer 1

when we measure brain signals of 2 or more people simultaneously and relate them to each other
with EEG or MRI

Question 2

how are humans specialised for language?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

synchronicity of language

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what is language?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

hierarchal system and syntax

Answer 5

words have different depths of meaning

syntax - conveys hierarchy in sentences

Question 6

similarities in human and animal language

Answer 6

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

Question 7

differences in human and animal language

Answer 7

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

Question 8

universality of language

Answer 8

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

Question 9

how do languages differ?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Skinner’s verbal behaviour

Answer 10

children learn language through operant conditioning

imitate speech that they hear and repeat correct speech as it is rewarded

language learnt through reinforcements

Question 11

Chomsky

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Chomsky’s universal grammar

Answer 12

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)

Question 13

Skinner or Chomsky correct?

Answer 13

both and neither

more complex
genetically and biologically encoded language readiness

learn speaking by different strategies - some learn by conditioning

Question 14

levels of processing

Answer 14

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

Question 15

levels of processing simplified

Answer 15

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

Question 16

independence of representations

Answer 16

triangle model of the lexicon
for each words we have 3 representations

orthographic
semantic
phonological

Question 17

tip of the tongue phenomenon

Answer 17

when you know what you want to say but cant remember phonological structure automatically

say or hear a word without processing meaning

Question 18

recognising boundaries in speech

Answer 18

speech segmentation

challenging if don’t know rules of language
use context to understand words with unfamiliar pronunciation

Question 19

phonemic restoration effect

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Broca’a area

Answer 20

language production - speaking
syntactic processing (ordering language units correctly)

Question 21

Broca’s aphasia

Answer 21

production aphasia

result of suffering stroke to left inferior frontal cortex

speech slow and laboured
jumbled sentence structure
difficulty understanding syntactic variations

Question 22

Wernicke’s area

Answer 22

language comprehension
semantic integration (integrating meaning to a larger representation)

Question 23

Wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 23

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)

Question 24

prediction in language

Answer 24

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

Question 25

lexical decision task

Answer 25

frequent words have faster reaction times
words predicted by context are recognised faster
(eg several fruit words in a row easier to recognise)

Question 26

eye tracking

Answer 26

less predictable words lead to longer fixation times and more regressions (looking back at previous words)

Question 27

discourse processing

Answer 27

understanding text, stories and conversations
going beyond isolated sentences

Question 28

making inferences in discourse processing

Answer 28

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

Question 29

assumptions of coherence

Answer 29

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

Question 30

importance of assumptions of coherence

Answer 30

must make assumptions otherwise communication faulty, if wrong made

assumptions stored in situation models

Question 31

coherence

Answer 31

representation of the text in ones mind that creates clear relations between parts of the text and stories main topic

Question 32

mental simulation

Answer 32

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

Question 33

physiology of simulations

Answer 33

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

Question 34

conversations

Answer 34

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

Question 35

how do speakers construct messages?

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Answer 36

nature of a cultures language influences the way people think
- language influences thought and cognition

Question 37

Berlin and Kay - basic colour terms

Answer 37

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