Language and Communication Flashcards
communication
conveying present information
types: verbal and nonverbal
what is the basis of verbal communication?
language
language
system of symbols for communication and thought
exchanges information across time and space (past, present, and future)
can transmit accumulated knowledge
symbol
a representation containing meaning without correspondence to perception
units of language
phonemes
morphemes
syntax
phonemes
sounds
100 in total; 43 used in English
morphemes
meaning
examples: words
syntax
grammar; arrangement of words
what parts of speech are considered both phonemes and morphemes?
prefixes and suffixes
what are the brain structures involved in language?
Broca’s area (language production)
Wernicke’s area (language comprehension)
BOTH STRUCTURES ARE IN THE LEFT HEMISPHERE
what are the four ideas about the relation between language and thought?
identity
modularity
general resource
whorfian
identity
language and thought are identical
modularity
language and thought are two separate entities
general resource
language is a subset of thought
whorfian
thought is a subset of language
what do collectivist societies have more words for?
interpersonal emotions
what do individualistic societies have more words for?
intrapersonal emotions
stages of language development
babbling speech sounds babbling that resembles the household language one-word telegraphic speech complete sentences
systematic errors in grammar
overextensions
underextensions
overregularizations
overextension
overly wide use of words
underextension
overly narrow use of words
overregularization
generalization of grammatical rules to irregular cues
critical period
time beyond which the phenomenon will not appear
sensitive period
time of maximal sensitivity for a phenomenon
behaviorist theory of language development
language learning is the same as all operant conditioning
key person: B.F. Skinner
nativist theory of language development
language acquisition device (LAD)
humans have innate abilities to acquire language
key person: Noam Chomsky
interactionist theory of language development
language acquisition support system (LASS)
innate facility for language is supplemented by external support
what skills do nonhuman have in communication?
receptive
productive
receptive skill
following human conditioning
productive skill
communication objects, states, and places
what are the limitations of nonhuman language use?
vocab size
term abstractness
generativity
displacement
