Lecture 5 & 6 Flashcards
What does the fact of all human languages having complex rules NOT MEAN?
This does not mean the the structure is identical between languages
What does a language do if it doesn’t have a word for something?
It can always borrow from another language or create one!
Describe the case of Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign
Language (ABSL)?
- Village in Negev Desert with a very high incidence of congenital deafness
what is a key property of human language?
open-endedness! a consequence of rule-based recombination of basic units.
Is Language unique to humans?
YES
are unbounded discrete combinatorial systems
grammatical systems
characteristics of grammatical systems
- discrete parts
- systematic rules for combining parts
- unbounded
what does it mean that grammatical systems are unbounded?
Can easily generate entirely new sentences from existing parts
* Can always invent new words
* Can even change the rules
why can language always invent new words or even change the rules?
CULTURE
What do grammatical systems provide humans with?
a communicative tool of essentially
unlimited expressive power
Complex communication systems among non-
primates case studies
Honeybees, birds
Natural communication of nonhuman primates case studies
Vervet Monkeys
Attempts to teach language to nonhuman primates case studies
Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Orangutans, Bonobos
What type of messages can honeybees send?
- I’ve found some food!
- There’s X much of it.
- It’s Y distance away.
- Fly in Z direction to get to it.
What message does the round dance convey?
its the simplest dance;
1. I’ve found some food!
2. There’s X much of it.
What do other bees do when they’re alerted by the round dance?
go outside to find food source by smell.
what dance do bees use for distances < 50 meters
round dance
what dance do bees use for distances > 50 meters
waggle dance
how does the waggle dance change?
- Quantity:
more food = more vigorous dance - Distance:
shorter dance = faster flight to food - Direction:
angle of dance from top of hive = angle of food from sun
Why is bee language not strongly cultural?
- Some evidence for social learning being involved!
- But apparently much less of a role than in human language
- Bees apparently can’t learn other bee “dialects”
- Genetic component to variation
How sophisticated in the bee system?
- (potentially) infinite number of messages
- Discrete combinatorial system
But: - Very limited expressiveness
- Little cultural variation
- (“Dialects” have a genetic basis)
What two types of production do songbirds have?
calls (innate) and songs (partially learned)
set of short, simple sounds associated with
particular events and activities,
(e.g., alarm calls, flight calls when flying in a group)
* limited, closed inventory of discrete messages
* no creativity, no combinatorial system
calls (innate)
- range from a simple series of a few notes through long arias (lasting 10s or more)
- serve as an expression of territoriality,
and to attract a mate
songs (partially learned)
what helps birds acquire calls?
instinct, but they don’t know their meaning
how do baby birds know which species are dangerous?
they learn by observation when they hear calls
the process of combining elements into larger structures with meaning
combinatoriality
are there such thing as song dialects?
YES, Differences of “dialect” within a single species; fall within broad range of possibilities
available to the species
are song dialects learned?
YES, f you move a baby bird to a different area, it will learn the new dialect
why are songs partially learned?
- at 2wks will react to a few notes of their species’ song
- raised in isolation will produce a song similar to their species’ song (but not good enough to win them a mate!)
how are songs similar to language?
- Critical period during which input must be
available, or else song will not develop - Constraints on what can be learned
- Some combinatorial structure
how are songs different to language?
- Whole calls have (simple) meanings, but discrete
units essentially meaningless - Like bare phonology without syntax
- Can’t express new meanings
are vervet monkey calls innate?
YES; Vervet monkey calls and the general categories
they represent are innate
How do young vervets know which species of each predator class is dangerous?
They learn by observation
why might infant vervet monkeys deliver an aerial alarm?
because of a vulture, a stork, or even a falling leaf.
what is the learning of vervets aerial alarm similar to?
learning of bird calls
What is vervet communication used to do?
affect behavior of others; but not clear that the call system is used to affect the knowledge state of other vervets
* Vervets do not call when alone
* call more in presence of kin or offspring
What was the ape project for spoken language?
Viki
What is the case of Viki?
- Raised by psychologists
- Tried to teach her oral language, but didn’t get far…
- After much effort,
learned to say: - Mama
- Papa
- Cup
- Up
What did later attempts of teaching apes language consist of?
- non-oral languages —
- either visual symbols (Sarah, Kanzi) or
- ASL (Washoe, Koko, Nim)
- Extensive direct instruction by humans.
What is the case of koko?
- Gorilla (studied by Patterson)
- Claimed as “the ape who ‘really’ learned language, and who uses it the way humans do — swearing, using metaphors, telling jokes, making puns”
- However, Patterson has produced no data for
anyone to look at to prove this; only lists of signs - on less stringent criteria learned 250 by age 5
- on double-blind tests, gets 60% correct
What is honeybee language limited in?
- very limited in expressiveness
- Very little open-endedness
Why do vervet monkeys have distinct alarm calls?
for different threats
What did ape studies show about teaching languages to non humans?
Captive nonhuman apes don’t seem to learn
language through simple exposure. They learn some sign language over vocal language
explain the case study of Nim Chimpsky
Herbert Terrence’s plan: teach chimp language to find out how chimps think; use him as interpreter with wild chimps
* Nim Chimpsky started at 2wks old
by just being signed to
* At 9 months extensive language training began, 5
hours/day; recorded and video taped
* Data made available!
* After 3 years, had learned 125 signs
How did Nim’s mean length of utterance compare to human children?
Nim’s Mean Length of
Utterance did not rise
* Only 12% of utterances were spontaneous
* 40% were imitations of trainer and related to eating, drinking, and playing.
* No morphology, no syntax, etc.
How complex was Nim Chimpsky?
Some multi-sign combinations, but of two types:
* Repetitions of the same signs
* Or repetitions of signs made by the trainer immediately prior
what was the summary of nim chimpsky?
- Nim apparently knows lots of words but no
grammar - Discrete elements, but no combinatorial system
- Similar to Genie
- Terrence concluded that there was no evidence for syntactic abilities in chimps!!!!!!!
Explain the case of Kanzi?
- Bonobo (Savage-Rumbaugh)
- Bonobos: rarer than chimps, intelligent, elaborate
social organization, males and females share food
and child-rearing responsibilities - Tried to teach Kanzi’s mother, Matata,
but she couldn’t learn - Kanzi was around during Matata’s training b/c too
young to be separated, and learned lexigrams
What methods did Kanzi use?
No formal communication drills
* Instead, trainers carried around keyboard and
pressed lexigrams as they spoke English about what
they were doing (e.g., LIZ TICKLE KANZI)
* Kanzi used keyboard to express what he wanted
what was Kanzi like by 4 years old?
- 40 lexigrams
- comprehension of corresponding English words
- almost 100% on double-blind tests
Why was there little data for Kanzi?
He would play by himself with the keyboard, but
stop whenever people approached
What was the structure of Kanzi case study?
- Doesn’t really produce multi-lexigram sequences
- Does combine natural, iconic gestures (“come”, “go”, “chase”) with lexigrams
- Sometimes has right word-order: grab Matata (object) vs. Matata bite (subject).
- But generally, word order not based on syntax, but rather first lexigram then gesture
What did we learn from case studies of wild animals learning language?
- Nothing quite like language in nature!
- Other animals communicate all the time
- But nothing in the wild is very close to language!!!!!!!!!!
- Complex structure and very basic meanings
- Or more complex meanings and very basic structure
- Very little open-endedness
Why do we think Nonhuman primates have some remarkable abilities not previously suspected?
- They learn many symbolic, referential signs
- can learn to understand linear ordering to some extent
True or False: nonhumans are apparently cognitively incapable of learning language
TRUE, animals can’t learn language
- Whatever it is that humans share and that allows us to have Language
- Apparently absent in other known species
Universal grammar
Includes everything that underpins language!
Universal grammar
What are other versions of grammar restricted to? what are they?
core components of grammar:
- syntax
- morphology
- phonology
What are narrower versions of universal grammar restricted to?
syntax
Vocal linguistic communication
From thoughts to sound waves to thoughts..
Signed communication
From thoughts to reflected light to thoughts…
sound/gesture structure
Phonology
word structure
morphology
sentence structure
syntax
meaning structure
semantics
conversation structure
discourse
How is each part of grammar a discrete combinatorial system?
- discrete: distinct parts
- combinatorial: rules for putting the parts together
For each grammar system, what do we want to understand?
- what the parts (units) are and
- how they can (and can’t) be combined
What are two ways to study sound in language?
phonetics and phonology
what are the parts of phonetics?
- acoustic
- auditory
- articulatory
physical properties of sounds
acoustic
perception of sound by speakers
auditory
production of sounds in vocal tract
articulatory
Study of the sound systems of language
Phonology
Can phonology exist without language? which can?
NO; Phonetics could exist without language. Phonology couldn’t.
How does phonology compare to phonetics?
Phonology is in the mind. Phonetics is outside it (in the vocal tract, the air, and the ears)
The Sound System of language is
a __________________
discrete combinatorial system
how many consonants does [sh] represent?
one
what is English spelling not designed to do?
English spelling is not designed to have one-to-
one correspondence between sounds and
letters
in IPA, one symbol =
one sound
what are speech sounds shaped by?
Speech sounds are shaped by
various parts of the vocal tract
supply airstream
Lungs
(in the larynx) produce vibration
Vocal folds
passages for air to exit
oral and nasal passages
move to articulate sounds
tongue and lips
provide a passive articulator
Teeth
involve obstructing the air-flow in
one way or another (and to different degrees)
Consonants
result when the air-stream passes
through the vocal tract with little obstruction
Vowels
move to change the shape of
the vocal tract, but not to obstruct airflow
tongue and lips
What are the 4 classifiers of consonants?
- Vocal Folds (“glottal state”): voiced or voiceless?
- Nasality: oral or nasal?
- Place (which articulators involved?): bilabial, labiodental, interdental, alveolar, postalveolar, palatal, velar, glottal…?
- Manner (what kind of constriction?): stop, fricative, affricate, approximant…?
