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

What is Language? Function Properties 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

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

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

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

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

Language Acquisition Prenatal Postnatal 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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