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Ch 9 Language and Thoughtphonemes

Terms in this set (41)

phonemes
ex. ba, pa
smallest units of sound recognizable as speech rather than as random noise
morphemes
smallest menaingful units of language
deep strucutre
meaning of a sentence
surface structure
how a sentence is worded
fast mapping
process whereby children map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure, allow children to learn super quickly
telegraphic speech
chidlren after about 24 months use this, this speech does not have function morphemes, consists mainly of content words, but usually still grammatical
relationship between language developement and cognitive developement
observed shifts in early language development reflect specific characteristics of language learning, rather than general limitations of cognitive developement
ex. adopted preschoolers from China and enfants learned the language English with the same progression/milestones
behaviorist explanations of language learning
-learn language the same way we learn any other skill, thru reinforcement, shaping, extinction, operant conditioning. parents react favorably to things that sound more english
flaws:
1. parents pay more attention to truth of message than grammar
2. children genearte many more grammatical sentences than they hear; they learn rules for generating sentences
3. errors children make while learning tend to be overgeneralizations of grammatical rules
nativist explanation of langauge learning
noam chomsky
-language development is innate, biological. human language equipped with LAD (language-acquisition device), a collection of processes that facilitate language learning
-brain is specialized to acquire language rapidly thru simple exposure to speech
-explains why infants can distinguish phonemes in all human langs, even ones they've never heard, and deaf infants can make sounds
-language is harder to learn after puberty sets in
-does not expalin how language develops tho
genetic dysphasia
syndrome charactorized by inability to learn the grammatical structure of language despite having otherwise normal intelligence
shows language ability is separate from general intelligence
interactionist approach to language
-altho infants are born with innate ability to acquire speech, social interactions play a crucial role in language
-parents speak slower and clearer with children than with other adults
-deaf children developing a sign language
aphasia
difficulty in producing or comprehending language
broca's area
left frontal cortex
production of sequential patterns in vocal and sign langs
speak in content morphemes but missing funcitonal morphemes
wernicke's area
left temporal cortex
langauge comprehension whether spoken or signed
-produces grammatical speech but it doesn't make sense, may have difficulty comprehending language
linguistic relativity hypothesis
benjamin whorf
-language shapes nature of thought
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