Language and Cognitive Science

1. Language and Cognitive Science By: Holly Cummings, Elizabeth Ray, and Lindsay Hines

2. What is Language? • Function • thought expression • means of communication • Properties • communicative • arbitrary (except for onomatopoeia) • self-referent (metalanguage) • dynamic • human trait only (oral speech) • Sources:http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html

3. Language and the Brain • Where is Language Processed? • Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area • right-handed- 97% chance processed in left hemisphere • left-handed- 68% chance processed in left hemisphere, 19% chance processed in right hemisphere, 13% chance processed in both • Sources: http://www.ccunix.ccu.edu.tw/~lngmyers/Lx_Brain.txt

4. Composition of Language I • What is language composed of? • phones- a speech sound considered without reference to its status as a phoneme or an allophone in a language • phonemes- the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning • phonemonics- the study of the sound system of a given language and the analysis and classification of its phonemes • Sources: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.dictionary.com

5. Composition of Language II • What is language composed of ? • morphemes- a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, or a word element, that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts • lexicon- the morphemes of a language considered as a group • vocabulary- the sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person or group • Sources:http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.dictionary.com

6. Composition of Language III • What is language composed of? • syntax- the study of the rules whereby words or other elements of a sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences (predicate, prepositional phrase..etc) • ex) “Mary is going to Bob’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.” • Sources: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.dictionary.com

7. Language Acquisition • Prenatal • response to human voices • Postnatal • cooing • babbling • one-word utterances (around 1st birthday) ex) “mama” • two-word utterances (18 mos.) ex) “Big truck” • fluent sentences (late twos and mid threes) • Sources: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Papers/Py104/Pinker.langacq.html

8. How does Language Acquisition Occur? • Learnability Theory- defines learning language as a scenario involving four parts (Gold, 1967; Osherson, Stob & Weinstein,) • a class of languages • an environment • a learning strategy • a success criterion • Sources: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Papers/Py104/Pinker.langacq.html

9. Language and Its Meaning • Semantics- the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent. The meaning or the interpretation of a word, sentence or other language form. • Theories of Meaning • Definitional Theory • Prototype Theory • Sources: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.dictionary.com

10. Analysis of Language I • Pragmatics- the study of language as it is used in a social context. • Sociolinguistics- the study of language and linguistic behavior as influenced by social and cultural factors • ex) pragmatics of a salesperson (sales “pitch”) • Sources: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.lsadc.org/Fromkin.html

11. Analysis of Language II • Speech errors • Spoonerism (Reverend William A. Spooner)-phrases, sentences, or words in language with sounds swapped • Slip of Tounge (Fromkin 1973)- word substitution • Tip of Tounge (Fromkin 1973)- feeling that a word is lost • Twist of Tounge (Fromkin 1973)- unsuccessful attempt to say a word • Sources:http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.lsadc.org/Fromkin.html

12. Language and Cognition I • Linguistic Relativity- hypothesis that the particular language one speaks influences the way one thinks about reality • syntax- the study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences • Linguistic Universals- linguistic system of an individual is shaped to a significant degree by the utterances to which that individual has been exposed. • Sources:http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.cognet.mit.edu/MITECS/Entry/lucy

13. Language and Cognition II • Bilingualism- using or able to use two languages, especially with equal or nearly equal fluency • Mental Representation • dual system hypothesis • single system hypothesis • Sources:http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/Learning/language.html http://www.cognet.mit.edu/MITECS/Entry/lucy

14. Language Pathologies I • Aphasia- denotes a class of acquired language disorders • Broca’s aphasia • Wernicke’s aphasia • Sources: http://www.hfac.uh.edu/COGSCI/lang/pathologies.html

15. Language Pathologies II • Disfluency- stammering, stuttering, and cluttering; excessive speed of delivery of speech • Agnosia- ability to perceive sounds is intact while the ability to recognize them is impaired • Aphonia- involves a complete loss of voice and may be organic or functional • Sources: http://www.hfac.uh.edu/COGSCI/lang/pathologies.html

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