Language Wk 7 Flashcards
What is language?
primary mode of communication in human culture
system of symbols/sounds/signs and meanings, and the rules for combining them
how is language acquired?
without specific instructions, it becomes automatic
what does language require?
coronation of physical, cognitive and social skills to produce language effectively
language symbols are …….
arbitrary
- limited sound symbolism
- onomatopoeia ‘buzz’ ‘hiss’
- Phonoesthemes: ‘flap, flee, flick, fling’
human language is ……
generative
-infinite number of ways to generate words, sentences
what is a phoneme?
the smallest unit of sound ‘th/a/t/s”
what is a morpheme?
smallest unit of meaning ‘that, short, en, ing, re, un”
what is a syntax/grammar
grammatical rules about word order and sentence structure “the red dog sat on the mat”
what are semantics?
word meaning “sea=ocean”
what is extralinguistic info?
beyond actual words, but essential for interpreting meaning “that’s a rather short skirt”
literal meaning is not always intended eg.
“my door is always open”
“it a bit cool in here”
describe some extralinguistic info that is non verbal?
can speak louder than words:
- body language
- facial expressions
- vocalisations (gasps, sighs)
when do infants start hearing muffled language?
after 5 months in the womb
can new borns recognise their mothers native language / songs
yes
describe some early learning language in infants
babbling : intentional and meaningless vocalisation
(learn to produce phonemes and intonation)
Start with all phonemes, but end up better at distinguishing phonemes of native language
•Development of motor and auditory recognition processes
learning words
6 months : understand their own name
9-12 months : understand other words
12 months: started saying their first words
12-18 months: started saying 20-100 words
24 months: several hundred words
48 months: several thousand words
what are 2 early linguistic errors ?
Phonemes:
children pronounce words imperfectly at first
-production restraints rather than knowledge
Semantics:
had to learn exactly what words mean
-overgeneralisation/overextension
-undergenralisation / underextension
what are 2 later linguistic errors
Syntax:
Holophrases: single-word phrase
No. of words gradually increases
Word order, morphological mark
Extralinguistic communication:
development more gradual
24 months, can use speaker’s looking/pointing to help understanding, emotional tone
Takes years to understand sarcasm, irony, etc
what is bilingualism
having use of two learning languages
- dominate vs balance bilinguals
what do bilinguals show?
- same progression as monolingual acquisition
- slight delay in acquiring syntax, but no vocal
- superior metalinguistic awareness (long term)
what does bilingualism do in early and late development ?
early - use same brain areas
late- use different brain areas
what is sign language ?
a complete language system.
- generative with syntactic structure
- some signs are iconic, but most are arbitrary
- language and visual spatial areas of the brain
is there a critical / sensitive period to acquire language ?
yes, anytime before the age of 7 is the easiest Time to learn a language. Rapidly declines after that
what are 4 theories of language acquisition?
1) imitation / learning theories
2) Nativist / innatist theories
3) Social pragmatic / social interactionist theories
4) General cognitive processing theories
what is imitation/ learning theory?
- language learned through imitation and classical / operant conditioning.
- parent model words / phrases; shape, reinforce and recast children responses
BUT
- children generate new words/combinations
- parents tend to reinforce correct meaning, not correct grammar.
what is nativist / innatist theories ?
- “language acquisition device”, innate neural structures for acquiring language.
- Explains rapid acquisition, similarity across children/language/modality, specialised brain areas.
BUT
- why is grammar learned so slowly?
- descriptive - doesn’t actually explain how it occurs or generates testable hypothesis.
what is general cognitive processing theories?
- Learning language is just like learning anything else
- Ability to perceive, learn, recognise patterns is enough to learn language
BUT
- children better than adults at learning language, but not everything else
- Distinct cognitive processes / brain activation occur during language processing
when bee’s ‘waggle’ dance it is telling their mate there is ……….
food
vervet monkeys share different (arbitrary) calls for different ……..
predators
can animals use arbitrary language?
yes,
chimps: use sign language, lexigrams but limitations.
bonobos: learn through observations, use language socially, but poor syntax
African grey parrot: Alex (parrot) learnt how to use language creatively. (repetition, rather than observation)
the nature of written language
'not in every culture that it must be taught' written languages can be taught: - logographic - syllabic - alphabetic (can move in different directions)
what do you need to know before learning to read?
Written words hold meaning
–Writing has direction and print divided into words
–Written symbols are a set of graphemes
–Each grapheme has its own phone
(English is the hardest language to learn, so many inconsistencies)
what are language processes and biological basis of language?
- Auditory Speech Recognition
- Visual Word Recognition
- Mental Lexicon
- Language Comprehension
- Language Production
what is visual word recognition?
- visual word form area (vmfa):
- left occipito-temporal reigns are involved in written word processing
what is mental lexicon?
the mental store of information about words
such as visual and sound forms syntactic how words combined to form chromatically permitted sentences and semantic word meaning
how does the temporal region organise words
it sorts out nouns, persons, animals, and tools.
what is the social pragmatic theory?
language leant from the environment but emphasises the social context of learning (actions, expressions, gestures)
what are the limitations of social pragmatic theory ?
social cues may be more difficult to use than theories assumes, or other non-social cues that are used
what is wernickes area and what role does it play?
- role in speech comprehension
- damage causes receptive aphasia
- when you have poor comprehension, speech sounds normal has no meaning
where does speech production occur
Broca’s aera
- damage leads to expressive aphasia
- damage to this area leads to normal comprehension, speech is meaningful but awkward and difficult to get across
what is the wernickes geschwind model?
how both of the areas for language production and language comprehension, work together to process language within the brain
