Midterm Review Flashcards
(36 cards)
What is phonology
The contrasting relationships between speech sounds that are fundamental with in a language
What are phonemes
Phonemes are categories of meaningful contrasts in a sound
What are allophones
Contrasts in a sound that do not hold meaning and can be predicted based on context
What are morphemes
Small units of sound that hold meaning
What are segments
Any unit that can be identified (consonants, vowels, nasals, fricatives)
What is prosody
Properties of syllables and larger units of speech (pitch, stress)
What is the difference between speech perception and speech production
Speech perception is based on how we understand external stimuli while speech production is based on internal representations of sounds
What are the 4 focal features of Hockett’s Design Features of Language
Semanticity, Arbitrariness, Displacement, Productivity
What does semanticity mean
Language carries meaning that is carried within communities
What does displacement mean
We are able to talk about things that are remote in space and time
What does arbitrariness mean
Although words hold meaning, their is no reasoning for why words are linked to a specific meaning
What does productivity mean
We are able to create an infinite amount of sentences and novel uses of existing words
What is nature vs nurture
Nature is the knowledge we have built into our genes while nurture is what we gain from the environment around us
What are the 3 types of innate constraints
Representational, Architectural, Chronotopic
What do representational constraints propose
the idea that the properties of language is encoded in our genes, we expect their to be certain things
What do chronotopic constraints propose
The restriction of development ensures that certain mechanisms are available when they are currently ready for it
What do architectural constraints propose
Our genes structure infant brains to be lead them into language acquisition
What is Chomskys Poverty of the Stimulus main argument
If children acquire language through memorization, how are they able to understand frequency and syntax structures so early on
3 things infants have to learn
- Meaningful sounds of their langue’s
- Chunks of meaningful sounds (find morphemes and words)
- How to create those sounds themselves
What is the high amplitude sucking method
HAS is used on infants from birth to 4 months using a habituation dishabituation method. They give the baby a pacifier with a mechanism inside to determine the rate the baby is sucking at. When a baby finds a stimulus interesting they tend to suck faster
What is the head turn paradigm method
HT is used on infants 6-12 months and rely on anticipatory response. When a change in stimulus occurs it is accompanied by a visual stimulus and if the infant turns their head prior to the stimulus they know they hear they change
What did Eimas et al study/discover
Categorical perception.
They used HAS to detect if infants can hear the same differences as adults can in relation to VOT
They can at perceive these contrasts at one month old
What did Werker and Tees study/discover
Wanted to see if infants 8-10 months could distinguish between phonological pairs in different languages (Hindi, Salish and English) using HT
Infants age 8-10 months were able to distinguish while infants 10-12 months “lost” the ability to
What did Nazzi et al study/discover
Studied if infants were born with the innate knowledge between their own native language and other languages using HAS
Infants were successful in distinguishing between languages with difference such as English and Japanese but couldn’t between ones with similarities like English and Dutch
