Speech and Language - Chapter 33

Question 1

Language

Answer 1

Associate arbitrary symbols with specific meanings
Recombine those symbols
Discuss the past and the future

Question 2

Is the brain hardwired for language?

Answer 2

Seem to be born with circuits prepared for oral language
Written language is learned and “recycles” some of the preexisting circuits
- Neural recycling hypothesis - Stanislas Dehaene

Question 3

Linguistic abilities depend on…

Answer 3

Association cortices
Temporal, parietal and frontal lobe
“Perisylvian language circuit”

Question 4

Language is lateralized to the right or left?

Answer 4

Left

Question 5

Emotional content of speech

Answer 5

Right hemisphere

Question 6

Linkage b/w sounds and their meanings

Answer 6

Left temporal and parietal cortices

Question 7

Motor commands organizing production of meaningful speech

Answer 7

LEFT frontal cortex

Question 8

Phonetics (why people have accents)

Answer 8

Phonemes - Set of unitary sounds we use to form symbols

Question 9

Grammar

Answer 9

Set of rules for use of symbol

Question 10

Syntax

Answer 10

Ordering of symbols to create meaning

Question 11

Semantics

Answer 11

Associating symbols with meaning

Question 12

Prosody

Answer 12

Providing emotional valence by varying intensity, pitch, rhythm

Question 13

Skinner - Language Acquisition

Answer 13

Language is learned through experience

Question 14

Chomsky - Language Acquisition

Answer 14

innate language faculty - universal grammar

Question 15

First year of life

Answer 15

“Universalist” linguists (phonemes)