History of Language

Question 1

what are psycholinguistics?

Answer 1

the study of a psychological process involved in language

Question 2

what is language?

Answer 2

shared symbolic system for communication

Question 3

what is communication?

Answer 3

the transfer of information from one individual to another

Question 4

what is speech?

Answer 4

spoken words

Question 5

what knowledge of language is needed to use it?

Answer 5

linguistic knowledge is mostly tacit

Question 6

tacit knowledge?

Answer 6

knowledge on how to perform specific acts

Question 7

explicit knowledge?

Answer 7

knowledge of processes of mechanisms used in these acts

Question 8

what is phonology?

Answer 8

the sound pattern of language

Question 9

what is morphology?

Answer 9

formation of words (structure)

Question 10

what is syntax?

Answer 10

arrangement of words (sentences)

Question 11

what are semantics?

Answer 11

meaning of language

Question 12

what are pragmantics?

Answer 12

context of language

Question 13

where is linguistic knowledge inferred from?

Answer 13

observing behavior

Question 14

founder of behaviorism?

Answer 14

watson

Question 15

focus of behaviorism?

Answer 15

observable behaviors

Question 16

when did psycholinguistics emerge?

Answer 16

1950’s

Question 17

challenges to behaviorism?

Answer 17

• study of attention
• verbal learning
• linguistics

Question 18

what are some factors in the emergence of cognitive science?

Answer 18

• the computer
• important papers
  -psycholinguistics

Question 19

what is the evolutionary theory?

Answer 19

• evolution through natural selection
• modern apes and humans evolved from a common ancestor

Question 20

how do we determine how characteristics of language evolved?

Answer 20

• look at ancestors
• look at other animals w common ancestor

Question 21

what is continuity theory?

Answer 21

• language developed from early protolanguages
• human ancestors had some language abilities
• language shares some characteristics w animal communication

Question 22

what is discontinuity theory?

Answer 22

• language evolved quickly and very recently
• no real relationship w nonhuman communication

Question 23

what is module language? (continuity theory)

Answer 23

specialized system for performing a certain kind of mental task

Question 24

what is interactive language? (discontinuity theory)

Answer 24

language and other cognitive processes influence each other throughout processing

Question 25

what is semanticity?

Answer 25

language symbols convey meaning

Question 26

what is arbitrariness?

Answer 26

unpredictable relationship between language symbols and meaning - there is flexibility in connections between symbols and meaning

Question 27

what does it mean to have duality of patterning?

Answer 27

symbols used at two levels - spoken languages = one level of sounds that do not carry meaning (phonemes) - these are combined into morphemes that meaning

Question 28

example of phonemes?

Answer 28

p b t a

Question 29

example of morphemes?

Answer 29

bat, cat, pat

Question 30

what is productivity?

Answer 30

creativity, language is novel

Question 31

what does novel mean?

Answer 31

long and complex sentences that deal especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events

Question 32

what is displacement?

Answer 32

we can communicate about something other than the present

Question 33

what is special about human language?

Answer 33

it is species specific, and is species uniform

Question 34

vocal approach to teaching language?

Answer 34

- gua - viki - vocal apparatus differences

Question 35

artificial language approach?

Answer 35

- sarah article (blocks used to convey meaning in spoken human language) - lana and kazi

Question 36

sign language approach?

Answer 36

- nim article - washoe

Question 37

other approaches to teaching language?

Answer 37

- videos - more research

Question 38

what view is held by most scholars?

Answer 38

continuity theory

Question 39

who is main believer in discontinuity theory?

Answer 39

noam chomsky