Language Flashcards
(29 cards)
5 components of Language:
- Phonology
- Morphology
- Semantics
- Syntax
- Pragmatics
Phonology
refers to the actual sound of language
(phonemes)
children learn to separate environment noise from other human created sounds like coughing
Morphology
refers to the structure of words
Many words are composed of multiple building blocks called morphemes
Semantics
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.
Syntax
refers to how words are put together to form sentences
Pragmatics
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
Timeline of language acquisition
9-12 months:
babbling
Timeline of language acquisition
12-18 months:
about one word per month
Timeline of language acquisition
18-20 months:
“explosion of language” and combining words
Timeline of language acquisition
2-3 years:
longer sentences (3 words or more)
Timeline of language acquisition
5 years:
language rules largely mastered
Error of growth
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
Nativist (Biological) Theory
explains language acquisition as being innate and controlled by language acquisition device (LAD)
Nativist’s believe in critical period.. critical period means:
happens between 2years of age and puberty
states that if no language exposure occurs at this time, later training is largely ineffective
Nativist’s believe in sensitive period.. sensitive period means:
happens after puberty
a time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability
Learning (Behaviorist) Theory
proposed by B.F. Skinner through operant conditioning
explains language acquisition as being controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers
Social Interactionist Theory
explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others
Whorfian (linguistic relativity) hypothesis
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
Speech areas in the brain are found in the _______ hemisphere
dominant
Broca’s area
controls motor function of speech
Damage in Brocas area results in
Broca’s aphasia
Broca’s (expressive) aphasia
a nonfluent aphasia in which generating each word requires great effort
Wernicke’s area
controls language comprehension
Damage in Wernicke’s area results in
Wernicke’s aphasia
