Language in context Flashcards
brain structures involved in language
Brocas and Wernickes areas
the left hemisphere is better at dealing with novel stimuli; people who have learned language later in life show more right hemisphere involvement
Aphasia and 4 types
An impairment of language functioning caused by damage to the brain
Wernickes - trouble comprehending language “fluent aphasia”, sentences follow basic structure but the words make no sense
Brocas - trouble producing language, comprehending is fine, aggramatical speech
Global - damage to both Brocas and Wernickes
Anomic - difficulty in retrieving the words for specific objects
Autism and language
Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by abnormalities in social behavior, language and cognition.
echolalia - repeating what they heard over and over
many never speek
Does language influence thinking?
there are certain language concepts that exist in one language and not in other
grammatical gender also influences the way we perceive objects - we tend to describe feminine nouns in mkre feminine terms etc
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis - Linguistic relativity
the language one speaks influences the way they think
Language and thought interact with each other throughout the life span.
Linguistic universals
Characteristic patterns across all languages
eg. all languages have nouns and verbs
2 types of bilingualism
Additive - a second language is acquired in addition to a well-developed first language
Subtractive - elements of a second language replace elements of the first language
Advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism
advantages are usually only seen in additive bilingualism - when the level of fluency is more or less the same in each language : some enhancement of executive functions
they tend to have smaller vocabularies and slower lexical access
Bilingualism : one system or two?
the single system hypothesis : two languages are represented in just one system or brain region
the dual system hypothesis : separate systems
- at least some duality
When two languages mix
Pidgin - aspects of both languages mix and are involved in each other
Creole - pidgin can develop into an official form of language with its own grammatical rules
Dialect and when does it occur
Regional variety of a language distinguished by features such as vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation.
Occurs when a single linguistic group gradually diverges towards somewhat distinctive variations
discrimination based on dialect
linguicism - when different dialects within language are given social statuses
slips of the tongue and 8 types
We have a mental plan for what we are about to say which is sometimes interrupted. each kind might occur at a different level of processing
- anticipation - “an expiring expression” instead of “inspiring”
- perservation - “he pulled a pantrum”
- substitution - “after it’s too late”
- insertion of sounds - “drownded”
- deletion of sounds - “prossing”
- spoonerism - “you have hissed my mystery lectures”
- malapropism - “naughty pine” instead of “knotty pine”
- reversal - “flutterby”
Metaphor definition
a figure of speech which describes one noun by comparing it to another, in a non-literal way, that still brings out their similarities.
Simile
a figure of speech that compares two nouns with words “like” or “as”
4 key elements of metaphors
- Tenor - topic of the metaphor
- Vehicle - the word that tenor is compared to
- Ground - the set of similarities between the tenor and the vehicle
- Tension - the set of dissimilarities
pragmatics
The study of how people use language
2 different categories of speech acts
Direct - a direct relationship between the form of the statement and the function
Indirect - we want to reach our goals by indirect requests
5 direct speech acts
- Representative - a statement of belief
- Directive - an attempt to get the listener to do something
- Commissive - commitment to engage in future action
- Expressive - a statement about the speaker’s emotional state
- Performative - a statement about making new state of affairs
4 indirect speech acts
- statements about abilities (“can you”)
- stating a desire (“I’d be grateful”)
- Stating a future action (“Would you”)
- citing reasons (“I need to know”)
Pinker’s theory of Indirect Speech: 2 purposes
- Plausible deniability
2. Relationship negotiation
Language vs communication
Language is an organized means of combining words to communicate.
Communication encompasses not only language but also non-verbal expression
4+1 maxims of successful conversations
- Maxim of quantity - make your contribution it’s informative as required but no more
- Maxim of quality - truthful
- Maxim of relation - relevant
- Maxim of manner - avoiding obscure expressions
+ only 1 speaks at a time
5 cues for lying and truth telling
truth: more time speaking, more details, admitting memory loss, first person pronouns, closer to the topic of conversation…
liars: less time speaking, more errors, more generalized terms & third person pronouns, higher voice, dilated pupils, avoiding eye contact…
