COGNITIVE Language Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is language?
Exchange of information, stored in brain, represented as speech so other person can compute.
Spoken or signed, requires understanding of syntax.
Arbitrary set of symbols, rules for combining symbols, can be used to create infinite variety of messages.
What are Hockett’s design features of language?
- VOCAL- AUDITORY CHANNEL: all human language normally vocal. Frees up hands + more practical.
2.BROADCAST TRANSMISSION + DIRECTIONAL RECEPTION: sound goes in all directions, perceiver can localise source of speech. - RAPID FADING-TRANSITORINESS: sound ceases to exist when stop speaking.
- INTERCHANGEABILITY: competent users can repeat and understand messages.
- TOTAL FEEDBACK: speaker hears everything they’ve said.
- SPECIALIZATION: sounds produced for meaning not biological reason.
- SEMANTICITY: sounds denote certain messages.
- ARBITRARINESS: words themselves not representative of thing.
- DISCRETENESS: can be broken down and combined with others, governed by rules.
- DISPLACEMENT: talk about things not in immediate vicinity.
- PRODUCTIVITY: language not stagnant- changes.
- TRADITIONAL TRANSMISSION: language gained through social groups, teaches through social interaction.
What are the two levels speech can be analysed on?
- made up of meaningless elements; limited inventory of sounds or phonemes.
- made up of meaningful elements; virtually limitless inventory of words or morphemes.
How are humans unique it terms of use of language?
Linking words to meaning forms-> semantics.
Understand rules subtly alter meaning of phrase-> syntax.
Specific combinations carry meaning-> morphology.
Language convey meaning via way we choose to speak-> pragmatics.
What is the Sapir- Whorf Theory?
Language frames our thinking. So can grapple with difficult concepts, logical problems, philosophical debates. Language shapes way we think. Word order affects ability to remember items on list- Amici et al 2019.
What is an example of how language helps us think?
Speakers of language which front load sentences with salient information demonstrate primacy effect- revers true for languages that back load sentences.
What are mental representations of words?
Developed via experience with sensory input. Store mental representations for language are developed via experience with language. Can match mental representations to words we see or hear. They activate our mental representations of words to speak or write.
What did Lichtehim (1885) say about language function?
Speaking + Writing= production.
Reading + Understanding= comprehension.
What are the four building blocks of language?
Semantics, syntax, morphology, form.
What are semantics?
Semantic Memory Structure: Collins & Loftuc (1975): associative network model. Different words linked by meaning.
=Meanings/ concepts. By expressing concept cat, then semantic representation links to form and syntax.
What is syntax?
Grammar. Word order changes intent behind it. Phrase Structure- sentence= noun phrase + verb phrase.
Limited number of rules but put together means can have infinite unique statements.
What is Morphology?
Smallest meaningful unit of sound.
What is Form
Phonology- sound system. Roughly 40 phonemes in English.
Graphemes can be made up of number of letters.
1 Grapheme made up of several letters.
1 Phoneme can be represented y more than 1 grapheme.
=Orthography- writing system, graphemes (letters). Visual representation of phonemes.
What is pragmatics?
Meaning within meaning. Language context e.g. ‘what’s up’.
Aims to answer question why certain structure may be used.
Aims to understand quantity, quality, relation, manner. Also understanding persons violation to maxims means can interpret meaning within meaning.
What is the mental lexicon in comprehending speech?
Semantic- relevant syntax- find relevant phonology- orthographic text.
How do we communicate?
-Speak 2-3 word/ p second.
-150-200 words p/ minute.
-Peppered with ‘um’ like; pauses, hesitations.
Link activated semantically + phonologically. Related words activated in mental lexicon. Activated words compete for selection.
How is timing of speech used to test speech production?
Hesitations give insight into mental processes. More hesitation if more words in lexicon.
-> concepts compete for articulation.
-> concepts compete for articulation.
How are speech errors used to measure speech production?
Words- ‘the prongs of a fork’-> ‘the forks of a prong’.
Morphemes- ‘sliced thinly’ -> slicly thinned’.
Phonemes- ‘york library’- ‘lork yibrary’.
Concept- ‘spoon and fork’-> ‘spork’.
Exchanges normally from same category/ part of speech.
Can also occur at end of phrases.
What is the tip-of-the-tongue state?
State where know what you want to say but can’t retrieve word to say it.
When conflicting information interferes causing hesitation or tip- of- the tongue state.
Competition between related items ‘blocks’ retrieval of target word.
Longer to get related words cause more interference.
What is Global Aphasia?
Issues comprehending following a stroke. Able to speak fluidly but problems accessing words + understanding others.
In what ways is ambiguity a challenge of comprehension?
Ambiguity in speech stream, can know where one word ends + other starts. Word boundaries: impossible to know where one- word ends + another starts.
Ambiguity at word level: words sound same but different meanings. E.g. homonyms, homophones, homographs.
Explain ambiguity at phoneme level?
Words that change way they sound depending on environment. Air pushed up vocal tract + hits points in mouth forming obstruction resulting in different types of consonants.
Coarticulation: makes sounds by moving different parts of articulatory apparatus (moth, throat, tongue) sounds can become blurred or blended when we ‘articulate’ them.
Phonemes hear may change way sound depending on sounds produced before or after the phoneme.
What is categorical perception?
Sound gives way for us to work out where one sound ends + another starts.
Distinguish between sounds based on Voice Onset Time (VOT).
VOT= defined by point at which vocal cords vibrate and start relative to the release of a closure
Explain voice onset time?
B= voiced sound.
P= voiceless sound.
Can measure point at which people recognise p or b based on when voicing starts.
Children appear hardwired to recognize different phonemes based on ‘voicing’.
Is categorical perception of sounds on continuum?
Yes it filters out some ambiguity in speech stream. Range of sounds for phoneme: regional accents. Range of sounds allowed for single phoneme can differ dramatically depending on accent which it is spoken.
E.g. ‘y’ in city pronounced as /i/ or /E/.
