Language Flashcards
Linguistics
The study of language.
A variety of theoretical approaches and methodologies.
Topics include grammatical rules, animal language, development, and computer speech recognition.
Psycholinguistics
the study of how language is used by people
Language
shared symbolic system for communication
Language Properties
Communicative. Production, transmission, and comprehension of information.
Arbitrary. Use of symbols.
Structured. A grammar specifies rules of symbol combination.
Generative. Large number of possible meanings.
Dynamic. Changes over time.
Phonemes
Smallest unit of speech without meaning. Example: “ah” in “father.”
Morphemes
Units of speech with meaning. Words or word parts. Example: “s” in “apples” makes plural.
Phonemic Competence
understanding of how to pronounce “dumb” b is silent or “ph” is “f”
Categorical Perception
sounds in the same set of boundaries are though to be the same even though they’re different
Ex’s
The Japanese perceive R and L as the same phoneme
Cool and keep start with the same category sound
Problem of Invariance
never the same word twice except in recording
Coarticulation
more than one sound is activated at a time
Grammatical rules
Language is governed by a number of rules. Collectively, these rules are called its grammar:
Phonology. Rules governing sounds.
Morphology. Rules governing word structure.
Syntax. Rules for arranging words in sentences.
Semantics. Rules for understanding meaning.
Vocal Auditory Channel
language is heard and spoken, not written
Broadcast Transmission and Directional Reception
one source to the public and we can understand who is the source
*The professor is speaking and the students are listening
range is the sound of my voice
Transitoriness
rapid fading: sound and echoic memory fade
-words don’t linger in the air,
Interchangeability
we can receive and transmit in a conversation you are a speaker and a listener
Total feedback
we hear what we say
however there is a slight (milliseconds) delay “whoops, I said that”
Specialization
words convey meaning; not sound
example: the word lion does sound like the sound a lion makes
Semanticity
convey meaning
Arbitrary
there is no reason for why a word and its definition are linked
-this is about the shape of the word or word length
Discreteness
phonemes are discrete, not ugh ugh
-we can tell the difference between sounds
Productivity
we create new sentences, including one’s we haven’t heard before
“If we encounter a new concept, can create something new”
Duality of Patterning
we recombine sounds into new ways; contrast this with Skinner—> Slang
Cultural Transmission
we get language from culture
- think of accents and various languages
- displacement is not to be studied; it isn’t as relevant and meaningful
Aphasias
Language deficits
- In Broca’s aphasia patients have problems producing speech. They have damage to Broca’s area on the lower left frontal lobe.
- In Wernicke’s aphasia patients have problems comprehending speech. They have damage to Wernicke’s area on the posterior portion of the left hemisphere.
Conduction aphasia
Damage to the area between Wernicke’s and Broca’s Areas
-Conduction aphasia is characterized by the inability to repeat words and phrases
Pragmatic Analysis
Pragmatics are the social rules of language use.
The five types of speech (Searle, 1979):
-Assertives. Assertion of a belief. (stating a certain belief)
-Directives. Instructions.
(Experts and Novices..Expert to speak to novices)
- Commissives. Commit speaker to an action. (I am going to climb that mountatin…it’s a statement of action)
- Expressives. Describe psychological states. (Kids usually able to use)
- Declaratives. The utterance is an action.
The Logogen Model
*draws connections between spoken and written langauge
Written language is not instictive
Jarvella’s Hypothesis
once a sentence is completed it is automatically filed into semantic (gist) memory and not verbatim
Gernsbacher’s comprehension
We build comprehension by gathering facts and inferences
- First we lay the foundation; this is about “so and so”
- Second we map the information such as bob caused something here or bob received something from this
- Third we encounter things that will cause change and we start all over again
Whorf’s Hypothesis
Also called linguistic relativity hypothesis: the language you know shapes the way you think about events in the world around you
-You can’t think about things you don’t have a language for
***Not true, otherwise we wouldn’t evolve language
Language adapts to suit our needs
Dysfluencies
irregularities or errors in otherwise fluent speech
Two Assumptions of Reading
- Immediacy assumption: readers try to interpret each content word of a text as that word is encountered in the passage
- Eye-mind assumption: the eye remains fixated on a word as long as that word is being actively processed during reading
Just and Carpenter Model
*Combined gaze duration across clauses
Working memory is afoot in this
We read almost in outline form
-Reading is influenced by linguistic effects (words used and style) but also cognitive effects (lexicon)
Dyslexia
impaired ability to read that is not related to low intelligence.
*Mix up letters, and can have alignment issues
Dysgraphia
impaired ability to write (including spelling).
Conversation Rules
Relevance: stay on topic; quantity: give detail; quality: be true; manner and tone: be clear
Two additional rules; respond to partner and tell when you are being treated unfairly
Topic maintenance: stick to the topic
Direct Theory and Second Order
- Direct theory: what you interpret about your partner
- Second order: what you think your partner infers about you
Primate Language use
- Some animals taught to use ASL
- **But can’t communicate about complex topics, and can’t teach language to other animals
***Showed no evidence of being able to understand human emotion
Language Acquisition
- Cooing stage. Begin to utter a wide range of sounds.
- Babbling stage. Utter a smaller set of phonemic sounds.
- One-word stage. Speak out words and morphemes.
- Two-word stage. Production of two-word sentences.
Language Deprivation
Humans and other animals have a critical period, a time in development during which language or some other cognitive skill is normally acquired.
*If you do not acquire language by 14 years old; can not acquire language at all.
Phonemic restoration effect
-listeners are unaware that a phoneme has been deleted and replaced by a non-speech sound within a sentence.
Parising
is to break a sentence into phrases
*Makes things easier to comprehend
Surface code, Text base, Situation model
- Surface code: the exact wording of the text
- Text base: ideas come by parsing out propositions
- Situation model: deep background knowledge of the context and events going on in the text
Bridging interference and Elaborate Interferences
-Bridging inference: connecting different areas of the text together
-Elaborate inferences: seek to embellish contexts
Draw up emotion or convey importance
(Expectation of one thing, but things seem to go ary.)
Minimalist Hypothesis
*when there is not obvious strategy involved only two types of inferences are used
~Believes that these interference are made automatically
