1. A means of communication.
Language
A means of communication.

2. Language can be…..

3. Language Structure
Phonemes
Morphemes
Grammar
Syntax

4. All languages contain….
Phonemes
Morphemes
The smallest units of sound in a language.
English has about 44 phonemes.
The smallest unit of meaningful sound.
Can be words like a or but.
prefixes or suffixes…”ed” at the end of a word means past tense
How many phonemes in cats?
How many morphemes in cats?
How many phonemes does platypus have?

5. Language Structure Grammar: The rules of a language.
Semantics - rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences.
Syntax: the order of words in a language.
A European visitor to the United States asked a taxi driver, “Can you please a ride to the airport me give?” This visitor has apparently not yet mastered the syntax of the English language.
Syntax – in English, adjectives precede nouns
Nouns precede verbs
Is this the White House or the House White?

6. Language Acquisition Stages that we learn language… Babbling Stage
make speech sounds both in and out of native language
First able to discriminate speech sounds
Holophrastic Stage/one word stage
Productive language begins (speaking meaningful words)
Receptive language (comprehension of meaning)
Telegraphic Stage/two word stage
Grammatically correct 2 word saying
Contains mostly nouns and verbs
Follows rules of syntax
Overgeneralization – extending the application of a rule to items that are excluded from it in the language norm

7. How do we learn language?

8. Operant Conditioning B.F. Skinner Association – sights and sounds
Imitation – modeling others
Reinforcement- by smiles and hugs

9. Chomsky’s Theory (nativist theory)
Inborn universal language acquisition device – In born (innate)readiness to learn grammatical rules
Languages share universal grammar
Children born with language acquisition device
settings or standards regarding the rules of language are activated
Example:

10. Statistical Learning and Critical Periods
Statistical Learning – discerning word breaks, analyzing which syllables most often go together
Critical Period – sensitive period for mastering certain aspects of language
Children not exposed to language by age 7 gradually lose ability to master any language
Learning a language as an adult you will always speak with an accent
Most easily master language as a child

11. Whorf’s Linguistic Determination Hypothesis
The idea that language determines the way we think.
The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past.
Underestimates how much thinking occurs without language

12. Thinking and Language Bilingual advantage Thinking and images
Thinking affects language, which then affects our thoughts.