Lecture 2 - Foundations Flashcards
Inflectional morphemes are what?
Non-lexical
Derivational morphemes are what?
Lexical
What are the two types of lexical morphemes?
Derivational (prefix/suffix) and compounding (stem+stem, black-bird, etc)
What is on line incremental parsing?
The parser constructs a syntactic structure on the basis of words, as they arrive.
What does syntax allow us to do?
Interpret sentences.
What is the genetic overlap apes share with humans?
95-98.5%
What is the IQ of an ape comparable to in humans?
A 3 year old.
What are the two main apes that linguistic research has been conducted on?
Chimpanzees and, later, bonobos.
What are the differences in temperament between chimps and bonobos?
Bonobos are more intelligent and more sociable/vocal.
Do apes have an enlarged Broca’s area. If so, what do they use it for?
Yes. Use it for complex hand movements.
Do humans have an enlarged Broca’s area. If so, what do they use it for?
Yes, in order to make complex speech sounds.
Can we teach apes to speak. Why/why not?
No, it’s near-impossible due to their different articulatory apparatus (different throats).
Who conducted research on an ape called Gua, and what did they find?
Kellog and Kellog (1933). Raised Gua with their infant son. Gua undertood a few words but could never produce any.
Who conducted research on an ape called Viky, and what did they find?
Keith and Kathy Hayes (1952).
Viky could understand words and some word combinations after 6 years.
She learned to articulate a few words (mama, papa, up, cup), but with difficulty.
Who conducted research on an ape called Washoe, and what did they find?
Garner and Garner (1969).
Washoe was caught in the wild but brought up as a human child and taught American Sign Language.
After 4 years Washoe had learned 85 signs, and could also produce some sign-combinations.
Who conducted research on an ape called Nim Chimsky, and what did they find?
Terrace et al., (1979).
Nim learned around 125 ASL signs and made combinations, although longer combinations were useless/redundant.
No novel combinations and 40% of signs were repetition - he rarely signed spontaneously.
What are some points of comparison in the language abilities between apes and humans?
- Chimps require large amounts of explicit language training, children don’t need any at all.
- Chimps rarely sign spontaneously, children do a lot.
- Little evidence of syntax in chimps, with children syntactic structure is clear.
- Chimps talk only about the here and now, and ask no questions, whereas children are very inquisitive and can be philosophical.
- Chimps are very repetitive/imitative, children are not.
What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggest?
Language shapes our thoughts
What is linguistic determinism?
Thoughts are constrained by language - it determines our thinking.
Strong version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
What is linguistic relativism?
People who speak a different language perceive and experience the world differently.
Weak version of Sapir-Whorf
Describe evidence for linguistic relativism in gender.
Boroditsky et al., (2002) - German and Spanish speakers described bridges. The word bridge has different genders in their languages.
If the object was masculine in their language, PPS were more likely to describe the bridge as jagged, strong, dangerous and sturdy.
If the object was feminine, PPS described it as beautiful, slender, elegant and fragile.
Describe evidence for linguistic relativism in drawing.
Carmichael et al., (1932) - Descriptions of ambiguous objects influence later recall.
If a shape was described as a crescent moon, it would be drawn more moon-shaped, but if it was described as the letter c it would be drawn more like a c.
+ eyeglasses vs dumbbells.
