Language Part 1 Flashcards
Explain the great debate and the two views of language
language specific vs general cognition (specific area for language vs higher IQ)
nativist: emphasising the innate ability that human has to learn languages (neurobiology)
emergenists: emphasising the external environment and social settings
What are the 4 approaches of language acquisition
Behaviorists:
> believe language-learning is through incentives.
Linguistics:
questions the views of behaviourists
> Poverty of stimulus: the input that a child has is not rich enough to explain the complexity of structure and rules of the language
> Speed and universality: Children learn language rapidly, which suggest an innate language-learning system
> Creative use of language: Does not explain how children can integrate words and phases to come up with new words
Statistical learning:
> similar to behaviourists. However, they emphasise on innate learning, instead of external rewards
Social-interactions:
> Emphasises on the social interactions and settings with the parents and others.
Areas that are related to the brain
> Broca’s area (near the M1, inferior frontal gyrus)
for word articulation
Broca’s aphasia: understand the question, but cannot deliver fluently
> Wernicke’s area (in the superior temporal gyrus = primary auditory cortex)
for listening and processing words
Wernicke’s area: no problem delivering sentences in correct grammar and fluency, but does not make any sense
Not localised, overall cerebral cortex activation is observed
Explain the Logical Problem of language acquisition and potential explanations
> Refers to the question that children can understand and generate an infinite amount of sentences, whilst their input is limited.
One of the explanations: Negative feedback when grammatical mistakes. However, feedback not often given when there is grammatical mistakes occur. Even if there is, children often do not understand
Here comes the universal grammar (UG)
Explain universal grammar
> language universals: all languages have similar language grammar patterns
Humans have the innate system that stores theories and rules (parameters) that enable us to learn any grammar with limited input.
Learning a language = tuning the parameter setting
4 examples
Absolute: no language will form a question by reversing the words.
Statistical: Most languages have a sentence formation patter of SVO. OVS is rare to nonexistent
Implicational: If the language has a X property, there is a Y property
General: All languages have certain distinctions
Examples that support linguistic universal
Arrangement of adjectives:
> linguistics pov:
adjectives are arranged according to a certain order
> cognitive pov:
more of personal preferences
novel information bias (cognitive bias):
> more surprising adjectives will go ahead of the less surprising adjectives
large language model
> LLM can generate many sentences that do not violate grammatical rules = universal grammar/linguistics universal
Experiments that look at time windows of language-learning
BSL experiment:
> born BSL users perform the best in the tasks
> gradual decrease corresponding to the age, until 8
> gradual rise from 8 to L2 learners (around 12 years old)
> believe that native language helps the learning of second language
Hartstone million-people experiment:
> Can perform native-like until 11.
> Learning stable and declines once reaches late adolescence
Three elements that help language acquisition and example
input, social interactions, biological variation
Input example:
> processing efficiency, vocab size, input are correlated
> more input = better efficiency and vocab size
> better efficiency = better and quicker intake of vocab = better vocab size
less-is-more:
> reduced use of embedded sentence = facilitate understanding and learning of language
> smaller working memory + artificial grammar learning tasks
Social interaction examples
> Child-Directed Speech:
on the phonology, vocabulary and morphology when speaking to children
1st view: irrelevant. Children without CDS acquire language at the same time as others who have CDS
2nd view: relevant. Children show more interest to CDS then normal speech = linguistics feedback hypothesis
Active interactions:
American children learn Mandarin when adults are present
Learning language from TV shows depend on social interactions, age and quality
Jim wasn’t able to learn English (limited vocab and grammatical errors) through TV shows
However, with basic syntax knowledge, can be useful
Also, quality matters
Biological variation examples
genetic inheritance
SES status of the family
