Language and Communication Flashcards
what is psycholinguistics?
the study of the relationship between linguistic behaviour and the psychological processes thought to underlie it (ie. memory, attention)
aim to find out about the structures/processes that underlie a humans ability to speak and understand language
the perception of speech
recognition and discrimination of speech sounds
acoustic cues and context
named so because of it reliance on the perceptual system
sounds and sound sequences are analysed and identified as they relate to meaning
more than auditory perception
- meaning plays a crucial role in the identification of speech sounds
the perception of speech:
recognition of speech sounds
Phonology
study of principles that govern the organisation of sounds in a language and how sounds vary
the perception of speech:
recognition of speech sounds
Phonemes
minimum unit of sound (perceptually discriminable) that conveys meaning in a particular language
P vs. B in PAT vs BAT
the perception of speech:
recognition of speech sounds
problems in decoding include
speech is not discrete
phonic segments (sound segments at the level of pronunciation) can variate in different words
pronunciations may differ
speech is not always clear but w can selectively attend and meaning pays a role
the perception of speech:
Context in continuous speech
speech is to communicate - listen for meaning
effect of content of recognition: the top-down-process
- the use of contextualised information in pattern recognition
syntax and semantics interact to to affect perception
Understanding the Meaning of Language
syntax
the rules according to which, words are arranged to convey relationship within and between sentences
syntax of a language is acquired implicitly
syntactic cues:
- word order
- word class (n, adj, v) affixes
- word meaning/semantics (strong cue to syntax and subsequent interpretation of sentence)
- prosody (rhythm, intonation, stress)
Understanding the Meaning of Language:
meaning is conveyed by
Meaning conveyed by a number of things • Syntax • Prosody (stress, rhythm, pitch) • Rules of conversation • Shared world knowledge • Non-verbal cues (non-verbal communication)
Understanding the Meaning of Language:
pragmatics
use and comprehension of language in everyday life
Understanding the Meaning of Language:
how do syntax and semantics relate?
surface structure - grammatical structure of sentence (concrete)
deep structure- underlying meaning of a sentence (abstract)
Transformational rules - rules showing relationship between sentences with the same meaning but different surface structures
Slips of the tongue - insight into mechanisms of speech planning
How does the brain embody language?
Aphasia
Broca’s Aphasia
- able to comprehend speech but unable to produce their own speech
Wernicke’s aphasia
- unable to comprehend speech and written language but production of speech is superficially okay but meaningless
Global aphasia
- Damage to broca’s and wenicke’s area
- all of speech and language is effected
Child Language acquisition:
what does a child need to learn
phonology (systems of sound)
morphology (combining sounds into meaningful words)
syntax (combining words into sentences)
semantics (meaning system)
Pragmatics (appropriate use of language)
Nonverbal communication
Child Language acquisition:
Infants’ speech perception
typical order that responses to different stimuli appear
Neonate
- startle response, head turning , preference for mothers voice, soothed by voice, can discriminate speech sounds
1-2 month
- smiles in response to speech
3-7 month
- response differentially to tone of voice
8-12 months
- responds to name, ‘no’, phrases from routine, recognises some words
Child Language acquisition:
Prelinguistic communication: intentionality
evidence suggests intentional communication begins at 6 months
types of intentionaliy shown (latter part of year 1)
- rejection (pushing toy away
- request (greeting, gesture to obtain, lifting arms to be held)
- comment (pointing at object repeatedly to get adult to attend)
Child Language acquisition:
first words and meaning
emerge between 9-12 months
Protowords
- preverbal vocalisations used consistently in set situations and containing certain sound patterns. not meaningful to others - invented by he child
First words
- mostly refer to concrete objects in the environment
overestensions and underestensions
- occur when inferences go wrong
Child Language acquisition:
acquisition of grammar
Holophrases
- one word sentences ( child can name, request, demand, question with the single word)
- tend to refer to a familiar action
use of non verbal gestures
initially one work at a time (12-15 months)
vocalulary spurt at 18 months (~50 words)
telegraphic speech
- two word stage
overregularisation
- more rules of language are inferred (foots, hitted, goed)
- reflects active participation in learning language rules
Child Language acquisition:
Linguistic environment
child directed speech = motherese
- exaggerated intonation and pitch (babies preference)
- creates two way interaction
adults interpret any vocalisation as meaningful
adults speech
- refers to concrete objects and events
- changes with perception of child’s linguistic competencies
- involves joint attention
- can include recasting of children’s speech
Child Language acquisition:
Behaviourist theories
skinner
- language learned through stimulus response contingencies which are reinforces
Mechanisms
- Classical conditioning, operant conditioning , imitation
Child Language acquisition:
Nativist theories
chomsky
- universal grammar - innate set of linguistic principles that is shared across cultures
- language acquisition device (LAD: inborn mechanism for acquiring language)
Child Language acquisition:
Interactionist theories
cognitive theory
- language as aspect of general cognitive development - does depend of maturation and experience
social communication theory
- communication and social context of language use are critical
Types of interactionist theories
- both children’s innate abilities and the environment shape the development of language
Bilingualism, language, and thought:
The bilingual child
no negative effect on language development - bilingual children have equal vocabularies
positive effects on cognition
apparent disadvantages in processing speed but not when controlling social class
higher metalinguistic awareness
second language acquisition
Critical period = age 2-13
- age of acquisition determine proficiency
