Language And The Brain Flashcards
Phonology
The study of sound systems and sound change
Linguistics
The principled study of language as a system
Phonetics
The description and classification of sounds more generally and the study of production and perception
Morphology
Study of how words form
Syntax
The structure of phrases, clauses, and sentences
Semantics
The study of meaning - the relationship between linguistic signs and the things they represent
Pragmatics
Attempts to explain how we manage to communicate with language
Communal
Humans acquire language in speech communities - no one person can control or own language
Creativity
There are an infinite number of utterances from a finite set of linguistic units
Arbitrary
No natural relationship between a string of sounds and the concept behind it
Grammar
The systematic rules governing how units are combined and recombined in language
Evidence of syntax
Displacement
The ability to refer to things not physically present, removed in space or time, and the ability to talk about abstract concepts
Aphasia
Partial or total inability to either covey ideas in language or to understand language, as a result from damage to the brain
Broca’s aphasia
Hard to speak in sentences, no command of tense and verb order
Corpus callosum
Tissue that connects the brains left and right hemispheres and allows them to communicate
Cerebral cortex
A layer of gray matter covering there cerebrum that contains fissures
Frontal lobe
The front half of the brain distinct to Homo sapiens that is responsible for decision making and language/motor functions
Sylvian fissure
Feature in both hemispheres but longer on left side that divides the lobes
Wernicke’s aphasia
Lack of comprehension, speak on long and meaningless sentences, add/drop/replace words, invert sounds in words
Cerebellum
Large portion in back of brain controlling voluntary movements, balance, and posture
8 design features of all human language
- Arbitrary
- Ambiguous
- Communal
- Creative
- Discrete
- Displacement
- Grammar
- Volume
Volume
There is a high volume of units that can be combined and recombined into many more units, more than in the communication systems of other animals
Discrete
Human language is made up of separate units that can be combined and recombined
Ambiguity
Words can have multiple meanings and encompass a variety of different intentions
Date of origin of language
150,000 to 200,000 years ago - we have had language for as long as we have been biologically human
