Exam 2: Language Development

Question 1

What sets humans apart from other species?

Answer 1

the creative and flexible use of symbols

Question 2

Symbols

Answer 2

Systems for representing our thoughts, feelings, and knowledge, and for communicating them to other people.

Question 3

Language

Answer 3

preeminent human symbol system

Question 4

What is the average kindergartener almost as good at as you are?

Answer 4

Using language

Question 5

At what age have most children mastered the basic structure of their native language or languages (possible bilingualism) whether spoken or signed?

Answer 5

By 5 years of age

Question 6

Language use requires what two things?

Answer 6

1. Comprehension
2. Production

Question 7

Comprehension

Answer 7

the understanding of what others are saying or signing

Question 8

Production

Answer 8

speaking or signing or writing

Question 9

Combination of pieces form a heirarchy

Answer 9

Sounds -> Words

words -> sentences

Sentences -> stories and conversations

Question 10

Generative system

Answer 10

a finite set of words can be combined to generate an infinite number of sentences

and we can express an infinite number of ideas

Question 11

If someone walks up to you and says “wrbuwerifhw iufrig8uehrhu woiruoin blickets” you would have no idea what this person has said. Why?

Answer 11

1) Have a difficult time perceiving some of the sounds (phenomes). Different languages employ different phenomes.

2) Combination of sounds does not occur in english so you have no idea how to pronounce it.

3) No idea what the sounds mean (morphemes)

4) Even if you knew the meaning of the word, you would not understand the utterance unless you knew how words are combined in the stranger’s language (syntax).

5) A full understanding of the interaction with the stranger would necessitate knowledge of the cultural rules and contextual variations. (pragmatics)

Question 12

The components of language

Answer 12

1) Phenomes- sound
2) Morphemes- meaning
3) Syntax- combination of words
4) Pragmatics -cultural rules

Question 13

What component of language differs from “rake” to “lake”?

Answer 13

one phenome difference (/r/ vs /l/

they also differ in meaning

Question 14

How many total phenomes are there? How many does english use?

Answer 14

200 total

english only uses 45 out of 200

Question 15

Morphemes

Answer 15

smallest unit of meaning

Question 16

How many morphemes are in “dog”?

How many morphemes does “dogs” contain?

Answer 16

dog: 1 morpheme

dogs: 2 morphemes
(dog- a furry entity and -s indicates plural)

Question 17

Syntax

Answer 17

permissible combinations of words from different categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc)

Question 18

By what age can children generate novel sentences with phonology, semantics, and syntax of their native language? At this age are they able to make pragmatic inferences regarding the content of their partner’s utterances?

Answer 18

Age 5; yes

Question 19

Pragmatics

Answer 19

the understanding of how language is typically used in a specific cultural context

Question 20

What is required for language?

Answer 20

1) a human brain
2) exposure to language

Only the human brain is capable of a communicative system with the complexity, structure, and generatively of language.

Only humans can achieve language but they can’t learn if they have isolation from linguistic experience.

Exposure is a crucial ingredient for successful language development.

Question 21

Language is _______ and_____.

Answer 21

1) species-specific: only humans acquire it

2) Species-universal: all humans learn language

Question 22

For the 90% of people who are right-handed, language is primarily represented and controlled by the ____ hemisphere.

Answer 22

left

Question 23

__-hemisphere specialization for most aspects of language emerges very early in life.

Answer 23

left

Question 24

Experience-dependent plasticity example: lifelong signers process sign languages in left-lateralized language centers in the brain.

What does this observation suggest?

Answer 24

the left-hemisphere brain region is not soley specialized for spoken language but are used for sign language as well.

Question 25

Sensitive period for language development

Answer 25

-early years: learning language is relatively easy
-ends between age 5 and puberty

-after this period, learning a language is less successful and more variable

Question 26

Genie, who was found at age 13 in appalling conditions in LA in 1970.

From 18mo-13 years she was locked up alone in a room and no one spoke to her.

After she was found…. what did they observe? What was her progress like with intensive training?

Does this case support the sensitive-period hypothesis?

Answer 26

Genie’s development was stuned–physically, motorically, and emotionally–and she could barely speak.

Even with training, she made some progress but her language ability never developed much beyond the level of a toddler’s.

Her case possibly supported it. Her failure to develop full, rich, language could have resulted from bizarre and inhumane treatment she suffered from linguistic deprivation.

Question 27

Strong evidence for sensitive-period hypothesis:

Brain damage recovery for children vs adults.

Different neural mechanisms in learning a 2nd language after puberty.

Answer 27

Adults are more likely to suffer permanent language impairement from brain damage than are children, bc other areas of the young brain are able to take over language functions.

Adults who learned a 2nd language after puberty use different neural mechanisms to process that language than do adults who learning their 2nd language from infancy.