Week 2:Language

Question 1

What is top-down processing?

Answer 1

Top-down processing is the use of prior knowledge/language constraints/context to inform our perception of stimuli (Our brain fills it in for us)

Question 2

What is the TRACE Model?

Answer 2

TRACE is a parallel theory of speech perception
TRACE is a connectionist model of speech recognition
In the TRACE model, we have a simulated neural network, which is meant to mimic brain activity. Within the network, we have word ‘nodes’, which mimic the storage of our known words within our brain. In order to identify a word within the model, a single node must receive enough information to be ‘activated’.

Question 3

What are the three principles characterize human language?

Answer 3

Generativity- Allows us to use a small number of words to compose an infinite number of sentences and new ideas. (connectives and, if)
Recursion-Any sentence can be extended indefinitely by embedding clauses or phrases within or following it. (adding phrases)
Displacement-Quality of language that allows one to converse about things that do not exist. Future tense. Allows us to convey beliefs.

Question 4

What are four key aspects of language interpretation and production?

Answer 4

Phonology – the fundamental sounds that make
up spoken language
Semantics – the meaning of language
Syntax – principles that govern the structure of
language
Pragmatics – the context within which language is
used

Question 5

Explain the difference between animal and human communication

Answer 5

Animal communication is close-ended, and human communication is open-ended.

E.g. Patterson teaching Koko the Gorilla ASL. Is this communication rather than language>

Question 6

What are gender differences in

language, cognitive, and perceptual abilities?

Answer 6

• Girls do have a larger vocabulary size, relative to boys, at whichever. Variability within boys and girls is huge
• Every memory task favours women
• Spatial (object rotation) tasks favour men

Question 7

Neuropsychology: what we can learn about

language from brain-damaged patients?

Answer 7

Broca’s aphasics: difficulty with grammar

Wernicke’s aphasics: difficulty with semantics

Question 8

What are the methods for studying language?

Answer 8

mistakes of children / adults (“he goed to the store”)
• brain imaging: EEG, fMRI, MEG
• studying language perception / production of brain damaged (neuropsychological)
patients?
• temporarily damaging or enhancing brain areas (with TMS, tDCS) (volunteers)?
• building machine translation systems
• doing questionnaire experiments
• computational analyses of text corpora
• building machine translation systems
• cross-cultural studies, i.e. of colour terms and relationship to perception
• recording from monkeys (do monkeys have language?) (mirror neurons)
• eye movement studies of reading
• building computational models of reading
• Behavioural experiments

Question 9

Define Linguistics

Answer 9

The scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics

Question 10

What is Psycholinguistics?

Answer 10

The scientific study of the psychological reality of language use including:
– Language acquisition
– Use of language
– Language comprehension
– The psychological mechanisms used to process and
represent language in the mind

Question 11

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the TRACE model?

Answer 11

+:
>TRACE can explain the context effects
>It allows for the use of higher-level information to
affect lower-level information
-:
>It overestimates the influence of context and predicts top-down effects that do not exist
> E.g. the model suggests it should be hard to detect the
/t/ phoneme in the French nonword vocabutaire, but its
phonological anomaly actually mean participants
could detect this

Question 12

What is Marslen-Wilson’s Cohort Model?

Answer 12

A word can be recognised before it uniqueness point if

the context supports only one candidate in the cohort

Question 13

Phonology and Babies

Answer 13

Infants even pre-birth learn how natural sounds are divided into meaningful phonetic units. (Monitor amount they suck their dummies)

30-hour old babies exposed them to vowels that were unique to mothers language. Suck dummies harder when they listen to a FOREIGN language-able to distinguish the native and foreign language.

Children are better at phonemic discrimination.

Question 14

Phonology Acquisition

Answer 14

By the time we reach 1 year old we can no longer distinguish between non-native language distinctions. PERCEPTUALLY LIMITED. Specific language experience. Due to lack of exposure, we are unable to recognise differences.

Question 15

Syntax Structures

Answer 15

SVO- Subject, Verb, Object (English)
SOV-Subject, Object, Verb
VSO
OSV

Question 16

Define the conceptual and associative meaning

Answer 16

Associative meaning- Linguistic function of a word. The object used in exchange for goods and services-money.
Conceptual meaning- Concepts related to word Money-rich-ballin

Question 17

What are the issues with semantics?

Answer 17

• Homonyms- Spelt the same different meaning. E.g. organ(human organs or instrument) and bark(dog or tree)
• Polysemy- E.g. Bright (luminosity(high intelligence) or smart) A word or phrase that has multiple meanings usually related to the meaning of the actual word.

Question 18

How do we study semantics?

Answer 18

Semantic Association Tasks- The detection and classification of semantic relationships Word association e.g. green, grass, tree

Lexical Decision Tasks- Given a string of letters identify if its actually a word or not. SLOWER they are to recognise the word, MORE cognitive effort it takes.
e.g. WORD-yes it is a word, FSKHGVBB-no not a word

Question 19

Define Pragmatics and explain the 4 Gricean Maxims of Pragmatics

Answer 19

Study of the meaning in contexts-interpreting what the speaker means.
Gricean Maxims are the rules of conversations

1) Maxim Quality-Try to make a contribution to one that is true. Saying things that are true or it would be an ineffective conversation.
2) Maxim Quantity- Make a contribution as INFORMATIVE as is required. Don’t give more or less than what it should be.
3) Maxim of relation- BE RELEVANT, say relevant stuff
4) Maxim of Manner- Be as clear, brief and as orderly as you can. Avoid obscurity and ambiguity. Stick to the point.
- ve: Not true, people lie, not realistic.

Question 20

How do we produce speech?

Answer 20

Larynx-push air up vocal cords- the place of articulation is where phonemes are created. Tongue and roof of the mouth. (Airflow obstructed- the folds on vocal cords modulates air from lungs).

Manner of Articulation- how well airflow is obstructed (oral, nasal).

Question 21

Evaluate the TRACE Model

Answer 21

+ves: Explains context effects and allows use of higher-level information to affect lower level information

-ve: Overestimates influence of context and predicts top-down effects that do not exist,

Question 22

Evaluate the Cohort Model

Answer 22

+ve: Allows use of higher-level info to limit lower level info

-ve:
-Ignores human error e.g. people can mispronounce things
-The cross-model priming-no difference in response time
even though different contexts primed them.

Marslen-Wilson made a revised model and solved these two problems:

1) Did not influence early stages, more bottom-up
2) Words not totally eliminated from cohort (e.g. tres-) Activation level just decreases

Question 23

Language Acquisition

Answer 23

Skinner-Behaviourist- Reinforcement of Language

Chomsky- children would never acquire tools needed for processing an infinite number of sentences if language acquisition was dependent on language input alone. Internal language faculty-innate specialised cognitive structures

Question 24

History of Language Theory

Answer 24

Universal grammar-rules all languages share in common
Knowledge considered innate-FORMS FROM THE INTERNAL LANGUAGE FACULTY
Infants prefer sounds of spoken language to other sounds-could be genetic.