Language

Question 1

5 components of Language:

Answer 1

1. Phonology
2. Morphology
3. Semantics
4. Syntax
5. Pragmatics

Question 2

Phonology

Answer 2

refers to the actual sound of language
(phonemes)
children learn to separate environment noise from other human created sounds like coughing

Question 3

Morphology

Answer 3

refers to the structure of words

Many words are composed of multiple building blocks called morphemes

Question 4

Semantics

Answer 4

refers to the association of meaning with a word
child learning that certain combination of phonemes reprint certain physical objects or events

ex: one can see this skill developing in young children as they may refer to all women as mommy.

Question 5

Syntax

Answer 5

refers to how words are put together to form sentences

Question 6

Pragmatics

Answer 6

refers to the dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledge
The manner in which we speak may differ depending on the audience and our relationship to that audience.

Imagine asking to share a seat on a bus. Depending on whom weak, we may word the request in wildly different ways:
To a stranger: Pardon me, do you mind if I share this seat?
To a friend: hey move over!

Pragmatics are also affected by prosody - the rhythm, cadence and inflection of our voices

Question 7

Timeline of language acquisition

9-12 months:

Answer 7

babbling

Question 8

Timeline of language acquisition

12-18 months:

Answer 8

about one word per month

Question 9

Timeline of language acquisition

18-20 months:

Answer 9

“explosion of language” and combining words

Question 10

Timeline of language acquisition

2-3 years:

Answer 10

longer sentences (3 words or more)

Question 11

Timeline of language acquisition

5 years:

Answer 11

language rules largely mastered

Question 12

Error of growth

Answer 12

when a child applies a grammatical rule (often a morpheme) in a situation where it does not apply

runned instead of ran
funner instead of more fun

Question 13

Nativist (Biological) Theory

Answer 13

explains language acquisition as being innate and controlled by language acquisition device (LAD)

Question 14

Nativist’s believe in critical period.. critical period means:

Answer 14

happens between 2years of age and puberty

states that if no language exposure occurs at this time, later training is largely ineffective

Question 15

Nativist’s believe in sensitive period.. sensitive period means:

Answer 15

happens after puberty

a time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability

Question 16

Learning (Behaviorist) Theory

Answer 16

proposed by B.F. Skinner through operant conditioning

explains language acquisition as being controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers

Question 17

Social Interactionist Theory

Answer 17

explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others

Question 18

Whorfian (linguistic relativity) hypothesis

Answer 18

states that the lends through which we view and interpret the world is created by language

language affects the way we think rather than the other way around

Question 19

Speech areas in the brain are found in the _______ hemisphere

Answer 19

dominant

Question 20

Broca’s area

Answer 20

controls motor function of speech

Question 21

Damage in Brocas area results in

Answer 21

Broca’s aphasia

Question 22

Broca’s (expressive) aphasia

Answer 22

a nonfluent aphasia in which generating each word requires great effort

Question 23

Wernicke’s area

Answer 23

controls language comprehension

Question 24

Damage in Wernicke’s area results in

Answer 24

Wernicke’s aphasia

Question 25

Wernicke’s (repetitive) aphasia

Answer 25

a fluent, nonsensical aphasia with lack of comprehension

Question 26

arcuate fasciculus

Answer 26

connects the Wernicke’s area with the Broca’s area

Question 27

Damage in the arcuate fasciculus results in

Answer 27

conduction aphasia

Question 28

Conduction aphasia

Answer 28

when the patient is unable to repeat something that has been said because the connection between these two regions has been lost

Question 29

Two brain areas responsible for speech production and language comprehension:

Answer 29

Broca’s area

Wernicke’s area