Language, Reference and Meaning

Question 1

what sets humans apart from other species?

Answer 1

our capacity of symbolic thought

Question 2

what are the 3 modes of reference?

Answer 2

icon, index and symbol

Question 3

who is anne sullivan

Answer 3

teacher of helen keller

Question 4

what did seyfarth and cheney research?

Answer 4

the 3 different calls of a vervet monkey

Question 5

what is the definition of language for us?

Answer 5

mode of communication based on symbolic reference, combinatorial rules
system representing logical relationships among these symbols

Question 6

what are the 2 core components of a language?

Answer 6

word meaning (symbolic reference) and syntax (rules for combining words into sentences)

Question 7

what is a spoken word an association between?

Answer 7

co occurring sequence of sounds and an object or idea

Question 8

what are some non-symbolic forms of communication?

Answer 8

laughter, facial expressions, gestures, alarm calls

Question 9

what did pierce propose? what was his field of study?

Answer 9

3 modes of references. semiotics

Question 10

what is reference?? eg reference in the mind

Answer 10

the means by which one thing ( a sign) brings to mind another thing (the signified)

Question 11

what are the 3 modes of reference defined by?

Answer 11

the nature and the relationship between the sign and the and that which is signified

Question 12

what is iconic reference based on?

Answer 12

a physical similarity (resemblance) between the sign and what it signifies

Question 13

3 examples of iconic reference

Answer 13

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

Question 14

can languages rely completely on iconic reference? why/why not?

Answer 14

no, otherwise we could only discuss things that sound/look like the thing they are representing

Question 15

T or F ? iconic reference is not symbolic reference

Answer 15

true

Question 16

what does iconic reference form the basis for?

Answer 16

basic perceptual recognition processes

Question 17

iconic reference works through recognising what?

Answer 17

similarity and perceptual form

Question 18

what is indexical reference based on?

Answer 18

a physical or temporal contiguity (correlation, co occurrence) between a sign and what it signifies

Question 19

what do indexical reference do?

Answer 19

they indicate

Question 20

examples of indexical reference?

Answer 20

• pheromones indicated sexual receptiveness
• smoke indicates fire
• alarm calls indicate presence of predator

Question 21

what words can be used indexically? and why do they work?

Answer 21

when they point directly to their meaning eg, here, there, I, me, you, this

Question 22

during language learning, indexical referencing is vital for even verbs and nouns. why?

Answer 22

to allow the learner to pair the presence of the thing with the word they use to refer to it

Question 23

what is the whole point of symbolic reference?

Answer 23

it goes beyond the here and now, so that the words can relate to each out in the absence of iconic and indexical reference

Question 24

what is symbolic reference based upon?

Answer 24

some formal or agreed upon link (social convention)

Question 25

what does symbolic reference “hold” (function) irrespective of?

Answer 25

iconic and indexical reference

Question 26

“icons, indicies and symbols are not mutually exclusive forms of reference”.. what does this mean?

Answer 26

that a sign does not have to only be one of these things,

Question 27

what does the existence of the symbolic layer rely upon?

Answer 27

iconic and indexical references prior establishment.

Question 28

what does it mean that the symbolic level is “grounded” in the lower layers?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

why is symbolic learning hard?

Answer 29

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

Question 30

how are words defined in symbolic reference ?

Answer 30

by their relationships to other words

Question 31

what become vital in symbol learning?

Answer 31

higher order correlations

Question 32

what is an example of a higher order correlation?

Answer 32

dogs and cats both fall under the label of pet, but other animals are classified as animals but not pets (eg, lion, zebra)

Question 33

what is the main flaw with this simple/classical approach to lang learning?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

why can’t chimps talk?

Answer 34

they lack verbal dexterity, can only make vowel sounds, we can do consonants

Question 35

T or F, sign language is a symbolic system

Answer 35

true

Question 36

what did sue savage rumbaugh focus on?

Answer 36

does a chimp know that a can stand for an object that may be absent

Question 37

how did SSR go about teaching chimps the names of objects… or what the lexigrams were

Answer 37

using association, eg trainer holds up object then encourages ape to press correct lexical sign and then gave them a reward

Question 38

what is a “request task”

Answer 38

show banana, press lexigram for banana, receive banana

Question 39

T or F… requesting is not different from really knowing the referential content of the word

Answer 39

false

Question 40

what is the fading technique? why was it used?

Answer 40

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