Te Reo and Mind

Question 1

what is Matauranga

Answer 1

traditional knowledge taken from the tupuna

Question 2

How can Matauranga Maori be viewed?

Answer 2

as an evolutionary branch of human Philosophy

Question 3

what is Tikanga

Answer 3

the enactment of a code of ethical behaviours that link to Matauranga
e.g. Te reo, waiata, and korero

Question 4

what is the mainstream view in cognitive science of Language and thought

Answer 4

“A common language connects the members of a community into an information-sharing network with formidable collective powers”

Question 5

what are the arguments for language being independent of cognition

Answer 5

– Powerful abstract thinking can take place without language
– Babies have concepts before language

Question 6

Berlin and Kay’s hypothesis

Answer 6

• All languages have basic colour terms.
• Basic colour terms split the range of colours into categories
• Cultural exchange can change how a language categorises colour.

Question 7

How many basic colour categories do languages generally have

Answer 7

2 to 11

Question 8

what was the challenge of Berlin and Kay’s Theory

Answer 8

• It prioritises the Western European view of colour categories.
• Some languages do not have a concept of ‘colour’ as understood in Western cultures.

Question 9

what compound words were adopted from western colour categories?

Answer 9

‘mawhero’ white red meaning pink
‘paraone’ yellow brown for orange

Question 10

Piaget (1960), stages:

Answer 10

Sensorimotor,
Preoperational,
Concrete Operational,
Formal Operational

Question 11

when does colour naming develop

Answer 11

in the Preoperational stage (ages 2-7)

Question 12

what is the importance of context in learning

Answer 12

*Children learn colours in the context of their environment
*Cultural artifacts and everyday objects play a role in colour learning

Question 13

thinking style of independent cultures

Answer 13

• Internal attributes are most noticale
• Self concept is separate from group
• Personal goals will take priority over group goals

Question 14

thinking style of interdependent cultures

Answer 14

• Social roles are most noticable
• Self concept is as part of the group
• Group goals take priority
• Relationships are crucial

Question 14

Western style of thinking

Answer 14

• Analytic
  – Focus on objects and properties
  – fact checking

Question 15

Maori style of thinking

Answer 15

• Procedural
  – Emphasising contexts and relations between interactions.
  – whanau perspectives
  – hui/wānanga

Question 16

Absolute

Answer 16

Ignoring contextual information
* Americans are better at absolute tasks

Question 17

Relative

Answer 17

Incorporating contextual information
* Japanese are better at relative tasks

Question 18

Maori cultural style

Answer 18

• Holistic/Individualistic
  – Emphasising contexts and relations between situations
• Preference for relational, procedural

Question 19

western cultural style

Answer 19

• Propositional - Analytic – Focus on objects and properties
• Preference for avoiding contradictions, determining which position is correct

Question 20

Proto-Eastern Polynesian (PEP)

Answer 20

People that stemmed from Society Islands through to Tonga, Samoa and nearby islands – NZ - had 5 basic colour categories in the 13th century.