Language, Reference and Meaning Flashcards
what sets humans apart from other species?
our capacity of symbolic thought
what are the 3 modes of reference?
icon, index and symbol
who is anne sullivan
teacher of helen keller
what did seyfarth and cheney research?
the 3 different calls of a vervet monkey
what is the definition of language for us?
mode of communication based on symbolic reference, combinatorial rules
system representing logical relationships among these symbols
what are the 2 core components of a language?
word meaning (symbolic reference) and syntax (rules for combining words into sentences)
what is a spoken word an association between?
co occurring sequence of sounds and an object or idea
what are some non-symbolic forms of communication?
laughter, facial expressions, gestures, alarm calls
what did pierce propose? what was his field of study?
3 modes of references. semiotics
what is reference?? eg reference in the mind
the means by which one thing ( a sign) brings to mind another thing (the signified)
what are the 3 modes of reference defined by?
the nature and the relationship between the sign and the and that which is signified
what is iconic reference based on?
a physical similarity (resemblance) between the sign and what it signifies
3 examples of iconic reference
a painting of a scene
pantomimes - acting out the meaning of something, actions reflect in some way the thing you are wanting to bring to mind
onomatopoeia - where words sounds like the thing it refers to
can languages rely completely on iconic reference? why/why not?
no, otherwise we could only discuss things that sound/look like the thing they are representing
T or F ? iconic reference is not symbolic reference
true
what does iconic reference form the basis for?
basic perceptual recognition processes
iconic reference works through recognising what?
similarity and perceptual form
what is indexical reference based on?
a physical or temporal contiguity (correlation, co occurrence) between a sign and what it signifies
what do indexical reference do?
they indicate
examples of indexical reference?
- pheromones indicated sexual receptiveness
- smoke indicates fire
- alarm calls indicate presence of predator
what words can be used indexically? and why do they work?
when they point directly to their meaning eg, here, there, I, me, you, this
during language learning, indexical referencing is vital for even verbs and nouns. why?
to allow the learner to pair the presence of the thing with the word they use to refer to it
what is the whole point of symbolic reference?
it goes beyond the here and now, so that the words can relate to each out in the absence of iconic and indexical reference
what is symbolic reference based upon?
some formal or agreed upon link (social convention)
what does symbolic reference “hold” (function) irrespective of?
iconic and indexical reference
“icons, indicies and symbols are not mutually exclusive forms of reference”.. what does this mean?
that a sign does not have to only be one of these things,
what does the existence of the symbolic layer rely upon?
iconic and indexical references prior establishment.
what does it mean that the symbolic level is “grounded” in the lower layers?
that the 3 forms of reference co-exist within a hierarchical structure and that symbolic layer relies on the prior establishment of the other two layers
why is symbolic learning hard?
because it is not about pairing symbols (words) with an event or object, but is about relating symbols to other symbols, which means the learner is operating completely in a virtual world
how are words defined in symbolic reference ?
by their relationships to other words
what become vital in symbol learning?
higher order correlations
what is an example of a higher order correlation?
dogs and cats both fall under the label of pet, but other animals are classified as animals but not pets (eg, lion, zebra)
what is the main flaw with this simple/classical approach to lang learning?
they do not explain how we refer to associations at a much more abstract level… if it was solely based on these correlational relationships, extinction of language would occur
why can’t chimps talk?
they lack verbal dexterity, can only make vowel sounds, we can do consonants
T or F, sign language is a symbolic system
true
what did sue savage rumbaugh focus on?
does a chimp know that a can stand for an object that may be absent
how did SSR go about teaching chimps the names of objects… or what the lexigrams were
using association, eg trainer holds up object then encourages ape to press correct lexical sign and then gave them a reward
what is a “request task”
show banana, press lexigram for banana, receive banana
T or F… requesting is not different from really knowing the referential content of the word
false
what is the fading technique? why was it used?
fading out the actually receiving of the object. this was done to separate the names of things from the contingencies associated with the learning of those names, this shifting the use of the word to a more abstract level
