Lecture 2- Visual and auditory blocks of language

Question 1

describe the structure of language

Answer 1

• phonology (sounds )- move form sounds to phonemes to words as sounds isnt enough
• orthography (written representation of phonology- eg letters and characters)- moving from images to graphemes

Question 2

what is an allaphone

Answer 2

same phonemes vary dependant on :
where the person is from
how they say it
coarticulation (filling in missing sounds)

Question 3

whats the difference between a sound and a phoneme ?

Answer 3

=- pjhonemes distinguished by voice onset time (time from starting to produce words up until they hit the vocal chords and start vibrating)

Question 4

whatr is meant by categorical perception of phonemes

Answer 4

you either hear B or P - no inbetween

Question 5

who creatred the Logogen model

Answer 5

Morton 1964

Question 6

what are logogens

Answer 6

word detectors- which try and collect info for one word

these are linked to visual and auditory info

Question 7

describe the logogen model

Answer 7

logogen activated by sensory input (Visual or auditory info which is presented)

analysed and evidence provided

logogen model gives cues to cognitive system (bottom up processing)- cog system gives semantic info back to the logogen system

when the threshold of logogen ‘wins’ and all info about words becomes available - enters buffer and provides responses

responses could be- eg definition of ice , or knowing cream follows the word ice

Question 8

how does the logogen model relate to cognitiv systems

Answer 8

logogen model gives cues to cognitive system (bottom up processing)- cog system gives semantic info back to the logogen system

Question 9

what is a key assumption of the logogen model

Answer 9

Firing threshold depends on how often youve seen the logogen before - when threshold is reached logogen wins

Question 10

give some strengths of the logogen model

Answer 10

Begins to explain how different inputs are integrated
Can explain word frequency effects by assuming different thresholds (e.g. the threshold for “student” is lower than that for “steward”)
Allows context influence

Not an exhaustive or particularly realistic model by any means, but ideas (e.g. the threshold for word identification) are present in almost every modern model of language comprehension

Question 11

give some weaknesses of the logogen model

Answer 11

Activation can only rise, not fall

Can’t explain how nonwords can be processed

Question 12

what are the 3 levels of the cohort model

Answer 12

stage one : accessing stage

2: selection stage
3: integration stage

Question 13

who created the cohort model and when

Answer 13

Marslen- wilson (1980)

Question 14

whats the difference between the logogen model and the cohort model

Answer 14

Refinement of logogen

uses time course of speechpercep- start identifyingf words as soon as the first phoneme is heard

can correct potential errors and use this to our advantage

Question 15

when are words recognised according to the cohort model

Answer 15

at recognition point; word identification occurs only when theres no other words left matching input - at uniqueness point

Question 16

name some strengths of the Cohort model

Answer 16

Predicts (correctly) that the first phoneme should be the most important

The uniqueness point is indeed very important in speech perception

Allows some context effects: Uniqueness point is earlier for some words when context is known

Question 17

name some weaknesses of the Cohort model

Answer 17

Predicts (incorrectly) that you can’t identify a word if the first phoneme is missing

What about nonwords?

Question 18

where is brocas area

Answer 18

Left frontal lobe- close to motor cortex ( toungue and mouth)

Question 19

where is wernickes area

Answer 19

superior part of left temporal lobe- although diffferent parts of lobe now may play a part
close to auditory cortex

Question 20

whats the difference between wernickes and Brocas aphasia

Answer 20

brocas= issues with producing speech- but understand it -> slow halting speech, poor articulation, speech omits prepositions, conjunctions and other grammatical filler words

Wernickes = speak perfectly and effortlessly- but phonemes often in wrong order -> reduced comprehensions of spoken and written language

Question 21

what is meant by anomia in wernickes aphasia

Answer 21

Non meaningful speech and difficulty finding the right word

Question 22

what are the levels of the connectionist model of speech production

Answer 22

semantic level ( activating meaning of word )

lexical level (activating word)

phonological level (activates phonemes)

Question 23

what processing is used in the connectionist model

Answer 23

algorithmic model

top down and bottom up- to produce language

Question 24

what is meant by inhibitroy connections between levels in the connectionist model

Answer 24

• within levels have inhibitory connections- different nodes inhibit each other - eg higher activation and meaning of dog = less of cat and cod

nesacary to increase contrast and have a winner

Question 25

link the connectionist model of speech production to wernickes aphasia

Answer 25

in wa - spread out activation between inhibitory connection- so one word activates the meaning of another- also due to working in both ways

When connections between levels are weaker, phonological substitutions and nonwords are produced more frequently (e.g. “cod” or “coa”)
But how do patients get from one word to a semantically related one (e.g. “cat” instead of “dog”)?
Unclear, but when connection within a level are damaged more, that seems to lead to more such errors.