SPA 4004 Exam 1

What type of assumptions do kids make as they learn words?

- underextension -overextension -semantic feature hypothesis -word mapping -whole object assumption -taxonomic assumption -mutual exclusivity assumption -syntactic bootstrapping

Word Mapping

- whole-object assumption - taxonomic assumption - mutual exclusivity assumption

form

-How words, sentences, and sounds are organized and arranged to express yourself. -Examine things such as sentence structure, cause and phrase usage, ect.

communicative competence

-Language user's grammatical knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and the like, as well as social knowledge about how and when to use linguistic competence appropriately. -made up of four competence areas: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.

linguistic competence

-Produce and comprehend meaningful, well-formed sentences -unconscious knowledge of grammar that allows a speaker to use and understand a language -Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into phrases and sentences? ex- can be inappropriate-- "why is that man fat"

rate of semantic development- why some kids faster/slower in learning than others

-Semantic Network formation- stronger network makes it easier to learn words -Ease of new word learning- joint attention (two individuals observing an object) -Gender differences- girls start off learning more words than boys but boys catch up -Specific Language Impairment- kids developing in language bc of autism, acquired brain damage, aphasia ect. -Exposure/Poverty- more they talk the more kids will know/socioeconomic status

Nurture argument

-claim that language is primarily learned through environmental exposure, at most extreme, language is a system of behaviors learned via feedback. -experiential--IN ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCE IT -nothing in brain they have to turn on DOMAIN GENERAL

What factors can influence word learning?

-conceptual representation -phonotactic qualities -context

synaptogenesis

-creation of new synaptic connections - Each neuron connects to 100s of other neurons. begins prenatally, continues for several years after birth, then slows substantially. Like neurons, few, if any, new synaptic connections are created in adulthood.

Theory

-idea that helps describe a phenomenon. Needs to be testable, so in addition to describing a particular phenomenon, they tend to make predictions about future occurrences. -steady idea that has been researched -describes phenomenon out in world and is testable -try to prove it wrong- some theories rejected for new improved theories -- ex- no longer think sun goes round earth but earth goes round sun.

primary motor cortex- left or right or localized

-important for speech. -controls the initiation of skilled, delicate voluntary movements, including fingers hands, toes, and also speech. -motor movements- sound production AND perception of speech(right)

What are the main tasks of semantic development?

-individual's storage and learning of the meaning of words -A large number of words that are4 learned in a short amount of time 1. approx 60,000 words learned by adulthood- receptive cause dont use all 2. word meanings are easlily learned and rapidly- (learned syntax/pragmatics just now) 3. words are easily retrieved-- can know what dog is after seeing it once

occipital lobe

-involved in vision. Reading requires the visual perception of words, so vision is involved in language. This is where the what vs. where pathways originate. -holds the primary visual cortex. This cortex receives depth perception, space, shape, movement, ect.

context/joint attention

-joint attention words are easier to acquire -easier to learn the word that the adults in your world are looking at. ex: go get red ball/truck -if he's holding a red ball, and already knows ball, hearing "Do you have a red ball?" will help him learn red without following the gaze of the adult.

ipsilateral movements

-movements to the same side of the body as the muscle lies. ex- signals sent from spinal cord -left side of spine allows for movement of left hand

Nature argument

-nativist, claim that humans are biologically hardwired to learn language, language is built in when born. -At it's most extreme, they will claim that language itself is innate in the human infant and that language is switched on through interaction with the surrounding environment. DOMAIN SPECIFIC

taxonomic assumption

-objects are classified into categories -children are biased into grouping things according to their labels with similar objects. When they're given a new label they shift their attention towards taxonomic relationships. Ex: if given soup, children will group it together with a bowl and a spoon. But if you introduce a new label, instead of soup being related to a bowl or spoon, children relate it to ice cream or pudding.

receptive language

-understanding what is said to you language that is comprehended through words, sentences and meaning of what others say or what is read. -Its the ability to interpret a question as a question accurately interpreting complex grammatical forms (ex: understanding that the phrase "The boy was kicked by the girl" means that a girl did the kicking.) ex: differences in "hmm- hmm?"- think its a question but really isnt in some cultures

use

-why language occurs, or purpose of communication, social/personal needs

phonological development- building blocks

1) using sound cues to segment streams of speech (infants become aware of different sounds and positions of syllables and words. So, when theres a sentence with the phoneme /gz/, the infant knows that this sequence doesn't start a word.) 2) developing phonemic inventory (child's learning of internal representations of the phonemes of native lang. ex: 2 year old child might say both "take" and "cake" as "dake." Children gradually add more phonemes until speech is adult like.) 3) becoming phonologically aware (awareness of the phonological structure, or sound structure, of words.)

Browns 14 Morphemes

1. Present progressive (+ing) 2. Plural (s) 3. Preposition (in) 4. Preposition (on) 5. Possessive (+ 's) 6. Regular past tense (+ed) 7. Irregular past tense (eg. came, went, ran) 8. regular third person singular (-s) 9. Articles (eg. a or the) 10. Contractible copula (be) 11. Contractible auxiliary 12. Uncontractible copula (eg. Is, are, was) 13. Uncontractible auxiliary (eg. is, am, was) 14. Irregular third person (eg. Does, has)

What is unique about language?

1. acquisition rate- how fast language is learned; young children learn really fas.t 2. universality- how all human cultures have language. 3. species specificity- language is strictly human. 4. semanticity- language has no time or space- is arbitrary(based on random choice)--CAN RELATE EVENTS THAT ARE DISTANT FROM WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING. productivity- combination and how humans can produce an endless number of ideas and new constructions.

What are the different ways to study language?

1. case studies(simplest)- description of patients progress as he/she goes through treatment/ ADVANTAGE-can describe trends in development across a population. 2. observational studies- go out in world and see how people use lang in general ways-- sit on subway recording what people say ADVANTAGE- its naturalistic=collecting data on language where its actually used 3. surveys(popular for young children) ask people how they use language- take home questionnaire & caregiver writes down all words child knows/says-ADVANTAGES- used in schools to assess children's language mastery vs. language mastery at home. 4. experiments-popular bc control/decide everything/ ADVANTAGE- researcher has total control over experiment

conversational framework

1. establishment of topic 2. maintenance and shifting of topic 3. ending of conversation There's the establishment of an overall topic, so we know what we're talking about. Once the topic has been established, we can begin to use pronouns and reduce phrases instead of using whole referents. Turn-taking maintains the topic or shifts it as necessary. And when the conversation is over, we do not turn and walk away. There is a protocol for closing the conversation, saying goodbye, and moving on. -proto-conversations• (a baby coos at his mother, she answers, "Yes, you are doing a great job." They take turns in this way. The mother also helps establish the topic, saying things like, "I know you like peas. I like peas, too," during dinner, • Then, as the child develops language, the mother continues to respond to simple utterances with full-sentences, continuing to model what a real conversation looks like.)--- lead to mature conversations

what do consonants consist of?

1. place 2. manner 3. mode

steps for speech production

1. respiration/breathing 2. phonation(process of airflow passing over vocal folds) 2. resonance (vibration)- changing loudness 3. articulation (manipulation of lips/teeth/tongue etc to manipulate air flow and resonance to produce sounds)

what three parts is the brain divided into?

1.cerebrum 2.cerebellum 3.brainstem

How many morphemes does the following sentence contain? "He loved books!"

5

what are the major language areas?

Brocas Area, Wernickes Area, Primary Auditory Cortex, Primary Motor Cortex

A person with damage of Broca's area of the brain would most likely have difficulty with which aspect of language?

Coordination of movements for speech production. When a person has damage to the Broca's area, they have choppy speech with pauses, fillers, and struggled attempts to speak. Have trouble speaking but understand language when spoken to them. -brocas area is responsible for combining the movements of the articulatory structures into words

Behaviorism Theory

Developed by: B.F. Skinner -system of positive and negative reinforcement leads to language learning -founded on operant conditioning; some verbal behaviors are reinforced and others are suppressed -ex: good job vs. thats not your ball -reinforced behaviors become strengthened 1. infants have no innate knowledge of language 2. mechanisms of language acquisition is positive and negative reinforcement 3. domain GENERAL, external input- pos/neg feedback- bc they are imitating utterances NURTURE

Modularity theory

Developed by: Fodor -response to connectionism -nativist approach/ neurons doing multiple things MOST EXTREME NATIVIST VIEW/NATURE INSPIRED -theory about how the human mind is organized within the structures of the brain. -whether the brain has highly specific modules or a generalized module; each module has its own function but can interact with each other to produce combinations of functions. module = specialized problem solving device in the brain -language input promotes module growth. ANATOMICAL- part of brain only devoted to language. FUNCTIONAL-process of language diff from other skills= done throughout brain. 1. domain SPECIFIC- need exposure to language- hear it- and exposure early in life. 2. positive input- dont need whats not allowed, no feedback bc module runs input. NATURE

Competition Model Theory

Developed by: MacWhinney -response to universal grammar -repeated exposure to reliable language input strengthens children's "correct" representations of the morphology, phonology, and syntax of their language. SO children dont have innate language abilities but they do have a desire to communicate and this emerges through social interactions 1. infants bring basic cognitive function(competition) 2. domain-GENERAL/ exposure from caregiver 3. interaction between parent and caregiver, repetition NURTURE

Connectionist theory

Developed by: Rumelhart & McClellan -focus on how language is organized across the brained how connections are forged among words. -Learning happens by strengthening connections among units -neurons turn on and off/how child learns language -STRONG EXPERIENTIALIST/NURTURE CLAIM but could be nature -connections undergo constant transformation in response to language input 1. infant brings brain and ability to learn and make neural connections 2. experience and repetition, pos/neg reinforcement of being understood- not conscious-- domain-general 3. frequent input/not neg input

Usage- Based Theory

Developed by: Tomasello -Children have 2 skills that support language development 1. intention reading(joint attention)- ability to look when u point at something 2. pattern finding-know out of here and now-- "ball" can mean ball behind screen not just right here -nativist view -Children attend to and understand other people's intentions and then imitate other persons' intentional communicative actions to learn language. 1. infant brings the 2 skills and a desire to communicate 2. DOMAIN-GENERAL & NURTURE INSPIRED 3. hear words in context- wheres ball? interacting with caregiver and being social.

drawbacks of nativist theory

Doesn't account for caregiver or environmental interactions. Children deprived of social contact can't achieve complete communicative experience.

limbic lobe

KEY FUNCTIONS: attention, emotion, long term memory, motivation -Both attention and emotion are important for language. -We need to be able to attend to language to understand the meaning behind it. And we use our emotional awareness in our interpretation of pragmatic language: was that message angry? Sad? Sarcastic?

Which of the following methods used to visualize brain structures and functions can be used while the individual is asleep

MEG (a functional neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain, using sensitive magnetometers.)

is the component of language that concerns the smallest meaningful units of language.

Morphology

how is brain studied?

Neuroscience- study of the brain, subdisciplines of neuroscience o COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE: study of the neural bases of mental processes, including language • These researchers aim to understand how the brain perceives visual objects, learns to solve complex problems, and learns language, among other things o NEUROLINGUISTICS: study of the neural basis of language learning and comprehension • Researchers in this field are working to understand how language is represented by the brain and how the brain learns its first and second languages. oDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE: study of neural changes throughout the lifespan • . Not just the changes that happen in early childhood, when our brains are growing so fast and we're learning so much about the world around us, but also the changes of adolescence, and how the brain changes in older adulthood when we see cognitive declines in aging. o NEUROBIOLOGY: study of the cells of the nervous system • is the study of the cells of the nervous system. All neurobiologists are neuroscientists, but not all neuroscientists are neurobiologists. anatomical MRI, functional MRI, cell staining, EEG, MEG, PET scan, DTI, and single cell recording PET scans not so much, but all the other methods are used by scientists today. In our current setup, we are generally sacrificing spatial resolution for temporal resolution or vice versa. We can get a pretty good sense for WHERE something happens in the brain, but we don't get a sense for the TIME course over which that unfolds. Or we can have a good idea over WHEN something happens in the brain, but we don't have a good sense for exactly WHERE it's happening. Fmri- giant magnet; low temporal resoltion, high spatial resolution, non-invasive, deep structures, not cheap. MEG (you can use EEG and MEG at same time) high temporal resolution and spatial resolution, non invasive, but not deep structures, not cheap EEG-high temporal---TIMING resolution, noninvasive, cheap.

Which theorist postulated that language development is innate and dependent on a single species-specific module called the language acquisition device?

Noam Chomsky

speech chain feedback to speaker

Once the articulators produce the sound and the acoustics are in the air, those same acoustics reach the air of the speaker. The speaker then receives his own message, which is transmitted to his own brain, providing feedback as to the accuracy of his productions. This is how you know if you said, "It's roaring pain out!" instead of "It's pouring rain out!"

Which of the following statements about language is NOT true? • There is universality, in that human cultures develop a language system • Children acquire new words at a rapid rate, particularly n the first 5-7 years of life • True language is productive, in that a user can generate novel utterances • Others species, such as advanced primates, exhibit language

Others species, such as advanced primates, exhibit language

Which of the following is NOT a building block of semantic development? • Pronouncing new words • Building a lexicon • Organizing the lexicon for efficient retrieval • Learning new words

Pronouncing new words

syntax

Rules of language governing the internal organization of sentences. structure of sentences- who did what to whom(GRAMMAR) EX: hot ass girl- does not work

What are the skills that go into phonological awareness?

SKILLS: go from rhyme to syllable awareness Syllable counting rhyme detection, initial sound identification (what sounds are in cat?), initial sound collision phoneme counting skills elision (what do you get if I take the /s/ out of "spit"?).

What constitutes true language?

Socially shared, abstract symbols that represent ideas, productivity, and are rule governed.

speech chain/how speech is produced/what happens to the listener's end to understand

Speech chain- how a linguistic message is transmitted from one person's brain to another using oral communication. On the speakers' end, an idea is formulated into words, then into speech sounds (produced when air is exhaled from the lungs and causes vibration), and finally into motor commands to produce the speech sounds. Those speech sounds are then produced by the articulators and transmitted to the listener through the air using acoustics. The listener receives the acoustic transmission and transforms it into an electrical signal to be sent to the brain. The brain then comprehends this signal as the linguistic message produced by the talker. 1. illocutionary force- its intended function-- or hope to say 2. locution- linguistic form-- what you say that leaves the brain 3. prelocution force- its effect on the listener-- in the other persons brain

synaptic pruning

Starting prenatally, and continuing through the first few years, synapses are created. Infants have many more synapses than do adults. Those that are used are strengthened Those that aren't used are pruned Connections that are used become stronger and more efficient by adding myelination to the axon. Connections that are not used are pruned. Not all connections are pruned at the same time. For example, synapses in visual cortex are primarily pruned during adolescence.

Language is....

System of arbitrary symbols

phonology/phoneme

The rules of language governing the sounds used to make syllables and words. -simplest, individual sounds that make up language -(hmm), "pee" "r"

Pragmatics is the component of language that involves how it is used for social purposes.

True

Why is language both universal and specific?

Universal because: all human cultures have language. Specific because: no non-human species has language. Ex: bees cant talk but dance to show something.

cranial nerves in communication- CAN BE BOTH SENSORY AND MOTOR

Vestibulocochlear- SENSORY ACCESSORY AND HYPOGLOSSAL- MOTOR EVERYTHING ELSE IS BOTH

What is phonological awareness?

ability to attend and manipulate the sounds of speech -awareness of the individual phonemes of which language is compromised. It provides an important bridge between language development and reading achievement, particularly word reading. - may not be real words - frog and dog rhyme

brain stem

acts as a relay system---relays information from the ear to primary auditory cortex or from primary motor cortex to the cranial nerves in charge of motor movements for articulations. -located on top of spinal column

general orientation of the brain

anterior-front rostral-head superior-up dorsal-back(top of head) inferior-down ventral-body posterior-back caudal-tail

free morpheme

any morpheme that cant stand by themselves (words) ex- cat, eat, the, pumpkin-- cant be broken down further

efferent

carries info away from the brain to organs -nerves that initiate movement (MOTOR NERVES)

Semantic feature hypothesis

categorical concepts are learned in terms of semantic features such as size, shape, color, texture, movement ex: children latch on to the SHAPE more often than any thing else-- everything furry is dog/round is ball vs- adults who use everything

neuroplasticity

changes in neural pathways and synapses-- result of behavior, environment, injury- not limited to children children easier to learn new language/sport bc constantly changing synaptic pathways and synapses adults- neurons and pathways are set/ changing neural pathways takes more work but can do it ex- children can recover faster from TBI/DEVELOPMENT OF STEREOVISION can happen in adults under right training conditions

whole-object assumption

children assume a label refers to an entire object, not a part of an object. So they assume that "table" refers to the entire table, not the color, the legs, or the top. In a car, they assume it refers to the whole car, not the windows, wheels, color, doors, etc.

phonotactic qualities

children's articulation is also developing, which impacts the sounds they can produce ex: "baba" for bottle and "chu chu" for truck

proximal

close to -the closer the body part is to the torso the more proximal it is. ex: nerves that enervate your face are proximal to brain

A person with damage to the Wernicke's area of the brain would most likely have difficulty with which of the following aspects of language?

comprehension of spoken language. Would have trouble understanding speech but their speech tends to be fluent.

cerebral hemisphere

consist of the right and left hemisphere, which separated by the longitudinal fissure and connected by the corpus calosum.

right hemisphere of the brain

creativity, music, intuition and the arts

Why do nativists, or the creator of this theory, believe that language is innate?

creator: Noam Chomsky 1) thought that children are exposed to very little correctly formed language. When people speak, they constantly interrupt themselves, change their minds, make slips of the tongue and so on. Yet children manage to learn their language all the same. 2) Children do not simply copy the language that they hear around them. They deduce rules from it, which they can then use to produce sentences that they have never heard before. They do not learn a repertoire of phrases and sayings, as the behaviourists believe, but a grammar that generates an infinity of new sentences. 3) believed that universal grammar was wired into children brains. When the child begins to listen to his parents, he will unconsciously recognise which kind of a language he is dealing with - and he will set his grammar to the correct one - this is known as 'setting the parameters'.

derivational morpheme

derives new grammatical status or meaning morphemes added to words to change their syntactic class and semantic meaning, -example taking the word like and changing it to dislike, unlike, likeable, likeness, etc. ex- un-happy, use-able

mode

describes consonants as -voiced- right sound ( vibration when say mmmm) -unvoiced- left sound

Intentionality Model

developed by: Bloom -Children must be socially connected and motivated to learn to communicate about the world -learning to communicate requires cognitive effort, and its not easy- have to want to do it. 1. desire to be socially connected, cognitive effort and motivation to learn language 2. domain GENERAL & NURTURE INSPIRED-GET FROM ENVIRONMENT bc not necessarily built in-- bring motivation attention, effort and memory 3. constant interaction with caregivers and hearing language

Universal Grammar Theory

developed by: Doan Chomsky -reaction to behaviorism -POVERTY OF THE STIMULUS PROBLEM- we produce more utterances than we hear-- only produce what we hear from others -children are born with general grammatical rules and categories common to all languages 1. infants have an innate ability to learn grammar 2. domain SPECIFIC for lang grammar 3. hear the language, parents dont need to do a lot unlike behaviorism. NATURE

Cognitive theory

developed by: Piaget -focuses on development of knowledge and stages of learning -childrens cognitive development precedes their language development. -childrens speech begins as egocentric because children can view the world only from their own perspective. NURTURE inspired

Social-Interactionist theory

developed by: Vygotsky -language emerges through social interactions with peers and adults -language skills move from a social plane to a psychological plane -Initially, language and cognition are intertwined processes, but they become separate capabilities by about 2 years old. NURTURE inspired -also created zone of proximal development (ZPD)

left hemisphere of the brain

dominant for language in the majority of individuals.

bound morphemes

dont stand by themselves and must be attached to other morphemes- suffixes(-ment, -ed) and prefixes(pre, re) ex- -ed, -s, pre, ant, un, re, per, ceive, sist

as an infant's neurological system develops between birth and 18 months, the dendritic interconnections between neurons become less dense.

false

Behaviorists believe that language develops as a unique kind of human behavior.

false (behaviorists believe that language learning is simply a matter of imitation and habit formation. Language proceeds by means of the reinforcement of a stimulus-response sequence. Ex: Riding a bike.)

Nativists believe that language develops as a result of social interactions that a child experiences.

false (nativists believe that innate mechanisms are responsible for language acquisition.)

Studies of synaptogenesis suggest that the pruning of unused synaptic connections begins at approximately 15 years of age, making it more difficult to learn a second language after that time.

false (pruning does not begin at 15 years of age. Can start right at birth but usually around the age of 7. The younger you are, the easier it is to learn a second language.)

cerebellum

fine motor control/ balance -initiation of movement, sustaining movement, and procedural movements BASAL GANGLIA- structures like your thalamus and hypothalamus which are not part of the brainstem or limbic lobe but are located sub cortically.

heschl's gyrus

first cortical structure to process sound - right aud cortex- spectral info (pitch and frequency) -left aud cortex- phoneme precision (pee and bee)

The cognitivist theory of language development is domain

general

syntactic bootstrapping

grammatical knowledge provides clues to word meanings "Twas brilling, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe"--- can figure out parts of speech(nouns/verbs) and sense its bad/gross feeling

conceptual representation

iconic words are easier to learn than abstract words ex: mama/run easier than peace/justice/truth/thinking

sensitive period

in development: brain is particularly susceptible to learning or to damage. For example, a lack of binocular input during the visual sensitive period results in a loss of stereo vision. -when neuroanatomy undergoes growth or change. it's been suggested that this may be true for language, as well. As the brain is growing and pruning synapses, it's changing rapidly in response to incoming linguistic inputs. Once that process stops, around age 7 or so, if language hasn't come in, then it's not going to be acquired. The brain doesn't have the plasticity it once did, and that opportunity is gone. Adults, who still have plasticity in their brains, but not the level that children do, have more trouble learning language because it's harder for them to reorganize their neural pathways. -lack of executive control (brain hasnt matured) may be beneficial for language learning in children- by not imposing previous rules knowlege-- football game child guesses but parent knows about

grammatical(INFLECTIONAL) morphemes

include plural -s, possessives, past tense -ed, and the present progressive -ing.

manner

interaction between various articulators and the air stream ex- how is the air restricted, stop, nasal, fricative, affricative, approximate or glide • As we go from the top to the bottom of the chart, we go from the most restrictive to the least restrictive. • Plosive, also called stop = the air actually stops for a period of time, then is released in a burst; • nasal = the air is sent to the nasal cavity (this doesn't sound very restrictive, but no air is coming out your mouth at this time, it's all just bouncing around in the nasal cavity); • fricative = airflow is limited to a small constriction; • affricate = stop/plosive + fricative; • approximate (sometimes called semivowel, glide, or liquid) = no total obstruction

underextension

is limiting a word to only one instance of the category -only using a word for one object instead of all objects that belong in that category. ex: Underextension occurs when the child uses the word ball in reference to only their specific individual ball and not use it as a term for all balls

overextension

kid learned the word "ball" and knows its round so everything that is round is considered a ball to them (like the moon)

gyri vs. sulk landmarks

landmarks to differentiate the lobes from each other and to find other parts of the brain within the lobe gyrus(singular)- ridges- squiggles on brain sulcus(singular)- valleys- differentiate lobes

Wernickes area-left right or localized?

language comprehension -left temporal area of brain (language is left localized)- pictures on the right are seen by the left part of the brain

What are the four characteristics of language?

language is: 1) a system of symbols 2) shared 3) conventional (grammar) 4) a tool for human communication

temporal lobes

language processing - Primary auditory cortex is located here, which is what allows you to perceive sounds; we also see a lot of activation for reading here (lang comp) -contain the functions for processing auditory information and language comprehension. in this lobe is Wernicke's area, which has been implicated in sound comprehension

Broca's area-left right or localized?

language production -left front part of brain (language is left localized)- pictures on the right are seen by the left part of the brain.

expressive language

language that is produced in every day convos -we understand more language than we produce. -also is grammar rules that dictate how words are combined into phrases, sentences and paragraphs as well as the use of gestures and facial expressions.

What is meant by the terms speech, language, and communication?

language: a system of convention of spoken or written symbols used by people in a shared culture to communicate with one another. used to convey a message, word meaning and creation, word combinations. speech: the ability to talk, articulate, use your voice, and has fluency. It allows humans to express language and is essential for spoken communication. Involves the precise activation of muscles in four systems: respiration, phonation, resonation, and articulation. communication: sharing information among two or more persons. involves 4 basic processes: formulation, transmission, reception and comprehension.

how are lexical entries stored/ accessed?

lexicon- mental dictionary in your head where all words you use and know are stored As the human brain acquires new words they are stored in a semantic network in which entries are organized according to connective ties among them. STORED AS RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE accessed- SPREADING ACTIVATION- in which activation of specific entries spreads across the network according to the strength of connections among entries.--see blue car and realize its blue cause of ocean/sky

semantics (contextualized vs. decontextualized)

meaning, both of the word and the whole sentence. -refers to the rules of language governing the meaning of individual words and word combinations. Contextualized- language that focuses on the immediate (here and now) Decontexualized- language shared with little reliance on the context (i.e. sharing a story about an event over the phone)

content

meaning- words used and meaning behind them

Which theory of language views it as an innate capacity that is localized to domain-specific processors that are encapsulated in their functions from other processors?

modularity theory

speech

neuromuscular process by which language is turned into an acousic signal, ability to talk 1.articulation 2.voice 3.fluency

mutually exclusive assumption

objects only have one label and labels only refer to one category. ex: dog cant go into cat category-- dont understand that they are both pets. ex: an adult presents a child with two objects, a truck and a novel object. The adult asks the child to pick up the blicket. If the child already knows "truck" but has not heard "blicket" as a label for an object, the child will assume this label goes w the novel object.

Based in behaviorism, learning is considered the result of ___________________, in which reinforced behaviors are strengthened and punished behaviors are suppressed.

operant conditioning

contralateral movements

opposite side where the muscle lies. -vision, audition, touch (LEFT SIDE OF EYE GETS PROCESSED BY RIGHT SIDE OF BRAIN) Ex: Each hand is controlled by the contralateral motor cortex. (That is, the right hand is controlled by the left side of the brain, and vice versa.)

Which lobe of the brain is most specialized for: recognizing the meaning of a word, storing vocabulary, and the association cortices involved in integrating information from sensory cortices?

parietal lobe

morphology/morpheme

pertains to the rules of language governing the internal organization of words. smallest units of sound that carry meaning -either words (cat) or sounds like (s , ed, ing) -Ex: pre school, predisposition, walked, cats "s" "ed" -string them together to change meaning.

what are the five components of language?

phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

cerebrum

reasoning, problem solving, planning, and hypothesizing -organized into six lobes of four types: one frontal, one occipital, two temporal and two parietal lobes.

The component of language that concerns the meaning of individual words and word combinations is

semantics

afferent

send info towards the brain -nerves that bring in sensations (SENSORY NERVES)

What is joint attention?

shared focus of 2 people(infant and caregiver) on one object or task -When the child orients to what the adult is looking at, the adult says something about the object. -The infant vocalizes, the adult says something else about the object, and we see the beginnings of a conversation. -From this, the infant is learning establishing a topic (the shared attention), turn taking (coo, talk, coo, talk), and topic maintenance (continued discussion of the object in the shared attention).

parietal lobes

somatosensation, or your feeling of touch -KEY FUNCTIONS: perceiving and integrating sensory and perceptual information, comprehending oral and written language, and performing mathematical calculations. ex-: hand vs back sensation (poking with probes in back) - somatosensory homuncules- how much cortex devotes to diff parts of body - HAND AND FEET MOSTLY

Domain _______ theories hold that language develops because there is a particular process or mechanism by which we can learn language.

specific

What is the definition of language?

system of conventional spoken or written symbols used by people in a shared culture to communicate with one another. ** used to convey a message, social 1. word meaning-- deck (punch or house) 2.new word creation-- friendly not friender 3.word combos-- big red barn not red big barn 4. word combos by context--He'll buy books on Amazon," vs "On Amazon, he'll buy books," or "Excuse me please," vs "MOVE!

primary auditory cortex- left right or localized

takes in the sound from the external environment(left)

distal

the further away the body part is to the torso, the more distal it is. ex: nerves that enervate your feet are distal to your brain

frontal lobe

the largest of the human brain -controls fine and complex motor activates including speech output, and controlling human executive functions (reasoning, problem solving, planning, hypothesizing, being socially aware, and rationalizing. important for executive planning/planning motor movements, primary motor cortex and premotor cortex (important for human speech), and Broca's area (spoken communication and speech output). BROCAS area- language production particularly in the prefrontal areas

Domain general

the mechanisms for language apply to multiple processes -multiple parts of the brain

Domain specific

the mechanisms for language are unique to language -one part of the brain

pragmatics

the rules governing how language is used for social purposes. -turn-taking rules -eye contact -"please open door" -diff cultures have rules for whats important

Scientists believe that the left hemisphere of the brain is dominant for language in the majority of individuals.

true

The right hemisphere is thought to be most specialized for abstract language such as humor, sarcasm, and figurative language.

true

The terms language and speech are distinctive, referring to different things.

true

How do vowels and consonants differ?

vowels come before consonants because they are easier to produce- typically in first year of life -not all consonants are acquired or expressed at the same time; some emerge early in development and some emerge later. vowel = a, e i o u consonants = everything else

place

where the sound is being produced; bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palatoaveolar, palatal, glottal • As we go left-right on the chart, we go front-back in the mouth. Bilabial= two lips; labiodental = lips + teeth; dental = teeth + tongue; aveolar = aveolar ridge + tongue; palatoaveolar = soft palate + tongue; palatal = palate + tongue; glottal = epiglottis

In Vygotsky's social interactionist theory, the space between what someone can do independently and what they can do with support is called_______

zone of proximal development (ZPD)