Language Pt 1 Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is Language?
A collection of symbols and rules for combining symbols, which can express an infinite variety of messages
What is the Difference Between Communication and Language?
Communication does not necessarily need a language
Language needs communication!
What is Grammar?
A set of rules for producing correct sentences in a language
Development of Language in Infants
- At 6 months infants begin to babble (phonemes like ma)
- Around 8 months infants begin to recognize and store common word forms
- Around 12 months they begin using their first words
- Around 18 months a Vocab Spurt begins due to the realization that everything has a name
What are the Three Critical Aspects of Language?
- Symbolic
- Generative
- Structured
What is Symbolic (Critical Aspect of Language)?
The use of symbols, such as spoken or written words, to represent ideas
What is Generative (critical aspect of language)?
The capability to produce many different messages by combining symbols in different ways
What is Structured (critical aspect of language)?
The organization imposed on a language by its grammatical rules
What are Phonemes?
The smallest units of speech in a language that can be distinguished perceptually
Ex). Pa, ba, ma, etc
What are Morphemes?
The smallest unit of meaning in a language
- Each morpheme in a word produces a change in meaning
- This process allows us to form new words without actually knowing the word
Grammar
Originally thought of as paired associates (two words that need to be remembered)
What did Chomsky say about paired associates?
He thought that using paired associates is unreasonable
- There are infinite # of sentences in a language
- Words that are non-adjacent can still be related
- Result is a HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE
What is Broca’s Aphasia?
A language disorder attributed to damage in the frontal lobe of the brain that results in the inability to properly use GRAMMAR
- Cannot string the words together
What is Wernicke’s Aphasia?
A language disorder attributed to damage in the temporal lobe of the brain that results in damage of proper use of SEMANTIC MEANING
- Choosing wrong words during speech production
