POL Midterm
What factors make for a good product name and why? If I were to give you a name, you should be able to describe positive/negative features of the name.
-"Like branding": researchers now agree that word recognition is a cut-throat competitive process, with multiple words becoming subconsciously activated all at once and clamoring for attention until a winner is tagged as the intended word" -Distinctive Brand name: name that doesn't live in a dense lexical neighborhood -based on neighborhood, sometimes sounds become mixed with meaning -ex: sn (nose) ex: gl- (glitter) ex: -ump (frump, lump, bump) Small: ee or i (prettier, thinner, softer, faster, weaker, bitter, more feminine than "o" large: "o" or "a" fricatives: smaller, faster, lighter, sharper, and more feminine than plosives like t -voiceless plosives and fricatives: more of the things above than voiced -disgust vowel: "yoo"
A father is looking at a bunch of toys on a table: a ball, a bottle, a doll, and a cup. His daughter asks him to give her the ball. According to the cohort model of speech perception, which of the items on the table would he be most likely to look at as he was listening to the word "ball"? Specifically, how would the distribution of looks to the objects change over the course of the word? According to the trace model of speech perception, what should happen? What actually happens? What does this tell us about the processes used in word recognition?
-According to the cohort model- the father should look at the ball and the bottle until the word is finished
??Understand the evidence for the working memory model from 4 experimental effects: phonological similarity, suppression, word length and irrelevant speech.
5 claims of the model: 1) Speech-based code -Phonological Similarity Effect: similar sounding words--> imparied recall; similarly names pictures--> impaired recall (causes interference in short-term store) 2) ??Limited Capacity -Word Length Effect: Time taken to articulate words is a key factor (STS decays in 2-3 seconds); shorter words take less time to articulate: ???easier to remember more of them (combo of both AL and STS) 3) Rehearsal -Articulatory Suppression Effect: Outer voice (occupies loop) interferes with inner voice (saying "the" over and over- can't rehearse using articulatory loop) 4) Visual Stimuli recoded as phonological -Interaction Effect (articulatory suppression effect diminishes PSE because not as many representations can get into the STS) 5) Speech stimulus goes directly into the buffer/short term store -Irrelevant Speech Effect: Hearing unrelated speech impairs recall; irrelevant speech automatically enters the store and interferes with task-related representations ** Phon similarity hurts you less than irrelevant speech; irrel speech more disruptive than music
???Most hearing humans have the ability to discriminate between two tones with different frequencies, even if they differ by only 3 Hz (vibrations per second). Some individuals have absolute pitch. This means that they are also able to identify specific pitches by their names on the musical scale. Draw two lines representing the identification and discrimination functions for an individual with perfect pitch listening to pure tones going from 326 Hz to 354 Hz (330 Hz is a prototypical E and 350 Hz is an F) in equal steps of 4 Hz. Assume that this individual will label a tone as the note to which it is closest. Draw the identification and discrimination functions (also two lines) for the same individual listening to synthesized /da/'s and /ta/'s going from 0 ms Voicing Onset Time (VOT) to 50 ms VOT in equal steps of 10 ms VOT. Explain the differences between the graphs
??? Add in chart -Categorical perception does not exist in anything but speech for humans?- so, a person with perfect pitch should be able to discriminate between each note (categorical perception- fits definition of being able to discriminate as well as one can label?)- more categories?
Are there any differences between deaf signers and hearing speakers in terms of working memory? What are they?
??? No? -It appears in some experiments that hearing speakers may have "better" working memory than signers -This actually arises from the difference in encoding between speaking and signing (temporal vs. spatial encoding)- echoic memory is longer lasting than iconic ????Does this mean it goes through visuospatial loop??
???Be able to understand what the articulatory loop model would predict for various combinations of stimuli and tasks.
???? examples? -HW example: non-linguistic signs for a native ASL signers 5 claims of the model: 1) Speech-based code 2) Limited Capacity 3) Rehearsal 4) Visual Stimuli recoded as phonological 5) Speech stimulus goes directly into the buffer/short term store
??Which of the effects observed in phonological loop for spoken language affects signed languages? What's the evidence?
All effects seen in the phonological loop in spoken language also occur in signed language 1)Formational Similarity Effect: define similarity with configuration, location, movement, orientation 2)Sign Length Effect: related to articulation time and not number of syllables in BSL 3)Articulatory Suppression Effect: -Manual Suppression Tasks -Impairs recall performance (outer voice impeding inner voice; prohibits rehearsal) 4)Interaction Effect: Formational Sim Effect diminished when pictures are presented for recall and subjects are required to simultaneously articulate a nonsense sign (??not diminished when actual signs are presented for recall) 5)Irrelevant Signing Effect: Problem: cannot sign stim signs and irrelevant signs at same time; irrel presented during rehearsal -impaired recall performance
???How do signed languages differ from spoken languages in terms of rate of 'speech'? Rate of information transfer? Iconicity? Why do these differences exist?
How do signed languages differ from spoken languages in terms of rate of 'speech'? --Hands are slower than mouth (sim of morphemes lets it communicate just as much as quickly) -Rate of Information: Layering of morphemes allows ASL to communicate more in shorter amount of times - More words per second than signs per second (but signs: more propositions per second) ----------More Inflectional morphology in ASL; More layering of meaning Iconicity: more iconic roots in ASL -ASL has arbitrary signs arising from iconic roots ???Why do these differences exist? -Iconicity: ASL is a newer language: more iconic roots -temporal (over time) vs. spatial encoding and working memory (over space); ASL is a newer language
How do systems of animal communication differ from human language?
Human Languages -large inventories -Duality of Patterning -Productive combination -learned -semanticity (intent to communicate) Non-human languages -small inventories -Wholistic (no DoP)- 1 to 1 symbol meaning -not combinatorial -innate -Affective states/danger
????What morphemes are in the words 'hotter','heater', and 'weather'? Sometimes free morphemes have multiple meanings (e.g., 'catch a ball' vs. 'attend a ball'). Do bound morphemes ever have multiple meanings?
Morpheme: smallest unit of language that has meaning. Bound morpheme: must be attached to something Free Morpheme: can stand on its own (can be a word) Hotter: Contains the morphemes: hot, -er Heater: contains the morphemes: heat, -er Weather: weather Based on this data, it appears that bound morphemes can have multiple meanings (may lead some people to say they are entirely different morphemes). Specifically, -er can mean a more extreme version of an adjective or an object/thing that makes the environment or another object have the characteristic to which it is bound.
What is the motor theory of speech perception? Is categorical perception evidence for the motor theory of speech perception? Why or why not?
Motor Theory of Speech Perception: 1) analysis by synthesis -Would explain invariance (coarticulation) 2) dedicated speech module -Could potentially be supported by categorical perception (if cat perception only exists in speech)--> BUT it is not because other animals without articulatory apparatus show form of categorical perception (chinchillas)
What is the source filter model of human speech production?
The source-filter theory describes speech production as a two stage process involving the generation of a sound source, with its own spectral shape and spectral fine structure, which is then shaped or filtered by the resonant properties of the vocal tract. Source: glottal vibration Filter: Pharynx, Oral cavity, nasal cavity, lips, teeth (resonating cavities) Simple to complex sounds
Can two allophones in one language be different phonemes in another language? Provide an example?
Two allophones in one language can be different phonemes in another language ex: /l/ and /r/ in english versus chinese ex: in hindi: dental stop and retroflex stop are different phonemes; allophones in english Allophone: different sounds that don't signify a difference in meaning Phone: basic unit of sound Phoneme: basic unit of sound that entails a difference in meaning.
a. What differentiates vowels from consonants in production?
Vowels change resonance properties (size of cavities); unrestricted vocal tract Consonants change airflow
???How do we know what vervet monkey alarm calls mean?
We know what vervet alarm calls mean because: -they only occur in the presence of a particular animal (lack of displaced reference) -and the animals react in particular ways (whether air, land, or snake)
Be able to assign a structure to a simple sentence given a set of syntactic rules.
Would this look like the letterman example??
??How does the phonological similarity and suppression effects interact, and say what this tells us about the structure of working memory in the domain of speech?
_This gives us evidence that pictorial information must go through the articulatory loop before entering the short-term store (get recoding into speech-like code) -Tells us that the articulatory loop and STS are definitely connected -For pictures: articulatory suppression effect minimizes/interferes with phonological similarity effect. -pictures are recoded int words; --speech directly in -
1) Semanticity and arbitrariness (or non-iconicity) are two related but distinct features of human language. Use an example of each to explain what these features add to language and how they are different. What capabilities would we as language users lose if languages did not have semanticity? If they did not have arbitrariness?
-Arbitrary (no inherent connection between sound and meaning) but not semantic- or onomatopeia?; cat? -Semantic (symbolic reference rather than non-symbolic reference) but not arbitrary: photo - If speakers did not have arbitrariness, language would be much more restrictive and possibly more ambiguous -2 limitations of iconicity: restrictive (hard to represent abstract concepts), ambiguous (cat photo) -If speakers did not have semanticity, language would seemingly cease to exist-as all of language is the intention to communicate. The only remaining forms of communication would be those that are inherently connected to the meaning (ex: smiling, facial expressions)
Could a language that did not have duality of patterning still be infinitely productive? If so, how? If not, why not?
-Duality of Patterning: small numbers of less meaningful units combine to form larger numbers of more meaningful units -this arises from the presence of discreteness at multiple levels of a language - If a language did not have DoP, the language could not be infinitively productive as an infinite number of entirely unique sounds do not exist (also, one would not be able to memorize them all). Without productive capacity (the ability to form novel words and sentences; allowed by rules and discreteness), would not exist.
??????What is the most unique feature of bee dance? Signature whistles? Bird song? Why?
-Honey Bee: Displaced Reference -Dolphin signature whistles: traditional transmission unique among other animals -Bird Song: traditional transmission; productivity; DoP
c) To refer to more than one "grol" we would use the word "grols".
-Inflectional morphology (bound morphemes that make a word fit in a sentence) -E.g., number, tense, and person agreement on nouns and verbs: dog, dogs kick, kicks, kicked, kicking » Don't alter grammatical category
Language is symbolic and rule-governed. Which of Hockett's features show that language is symbolic? WHich show that it is rule-governed?
-Language is symbolic: -Semanticity: symbolic reference rather than non-symbolic reference; language has the intention to communicate something that is separate from signal -Displaced Reference: language refers to language that are not in the immediate spatial area (can talk about past, future, hypothetical) Language is rule governed? -Duality of Patterning: small number of less meaningful units combine together to form large number of more meaningful units -Productivity: language is creative; can only exist with rules
????Dolphins can learn that differences in word order can convey differences in meaning. Dolphins can also learn to mimic some of the sound-based properties of English speech when they make noises (e.g. the prosody of counting). If a dolphin had the ability to mimic human speech sounds perfectly and the previously mentioned sensitivity to word order, would it be able to speak English? Why or why not?
-Language limiting step of more to it? -what is psychologically limiting? -capacity to put units together productively, syntax
What advantages do discrete combinatorial systems have relative to continuous systems? Give an example of each and explain the advantages of the discrete system?
-Language units combine as wholes not parts Discrete system: -Human language -Putty nose monkeys -can combine discrete things to create new meaning -Discrete systems allow for productivity of language (DoP--> productivity) while continuous systems only allow one message to be sent Continuous system: -Pieces of the honey bee dance: -Distance: length of straight run -Direction: angle of straight run -Richness: vigorousness of waggle -Dog tail wagging: direction of tail indicates severity of emotion
In what ways were the signing abilities of Nim Chimpsky limited? How do we know?
-Limited syntactic abilities -did not increase length per utterance like a human child would as they learn language -Possibility of mimicking instructor (like Washoe) -Limited consistency in word order; little preference + not much systematic development
???What is duplex perception? What does it suggest about the way we perceive speech?
-Motor Theory: 2 aspects -Dedicated Speech Module -Analysis by synthesis -Duplex Perception: Evidence for dedicated speech module -Can hear both speech and non-speech at same time (once you hear speech, often can't stop hearing it) -Dichotic listening task -Speech plus chirp -Steady state formant in one ear; transition critical for category determination in the other -When played: hear CV pair in one ear and chirp in the other ear (violation of disjoint allocation) -Categorical perception persists when asked to attend to formant; when asked to attend to chirp: differences depending on whether participant is in speech mode or not
What's the difference between a prescriptive and a descriptive rule? Which is more relevant to the study of the mind and why? Be able to recognize and come up with examples.
-Prescriptive rule: grammatical rules designed by scholars (what your English teach taught you) ex: never finish a sentence with a preposition; who/whom -These do not tell us much about implicit linguistic knowledge; try to dictate what we say -Descriptive rule: ex: pluralization rule in English (/z/. /s/. /Iz/) - describe the nature of our linguistic knowledge; tries to describe rule we (humans) implicitly know and already do -Descriptive knowledge is much more relevant to the study of the mind
Be able to recognize the different levels of representation for sign languages as well as spoken languages. How do sign languages differ from spoken ones? How are they the same?
-Spatial encoding rather than temporal -this is why memory for oral language is better than signed languages -Sign Language: -Arbitrary Signs from iconic roots (ex: home) 1) Sign language, like spoken language, is based on internal structure rather than strings of signs Distinctive Features of Signs: -configuration (handshape) -location (ex: summer versus dry) -movement (ex: chair vs. train) -Other possibilities: ??? orientation, facial expression Evidence that these features are real: - Slip of the tongue: Switch individual features (ex: taste good- switch motion) - ??phonological confusions: for signs with similar handshape, location, or movement (PSE??); ex: center vs. theater - ??Language specific variation: -basic inventories differ slightly - handshapes, locations, ; configuration itself can be repurposed; movements differ among different sign languages (accents from sign languages exist) Morphology in ASL -Inflectional with motion -derivational with affixes?? - can layer meaning on top of each other Differences between spoken and ASL -ASL has more inflection language; smaller morphemes?? -Hands are slower than mouth (sim of morphemes lets it communicate just as much as quickly -More iconic roots in ASL -Temporal (spoken), spatial (signed)
????Consider the spoken sentence, "All along the beaches of California they've planted tall palms to increase tourism." Upon hearing the word "palms," what happens? Are the tree and hand meanings accessed simultaneously or is only the meaning associated with tree available? What evidence supports your conclusion? What model of spoken word recognition does this support and why?
-Supports the cohort model; (bottom up processing) --Most likely, we would see that, after hearing the word palms, both tree and hand would be accessed -The is supported by results of the cross-modal lexical decision task ( prime is auditory; target is visual); and gating
??Which design features does Hockett believe human language has that the communication systems of our primate relatives do not? How does he believe they developed in humans?
-Traditional transmission: longer period of childhood helplessness (plasticity for learning) -Displacement: becomes purposive: teach children about dangers before they arise -DoP: last to develop; once system is already complicated enough; both mind and mechanisms allow for complex patterning -Productivity: blending of closed class system Transition to hunter and gatherer society; increased survival value of communicative system
What is categorical perception? How might the categorical perception of sounds aid in speech perception?
-We impose categories on physically continuous stimuli (VOT is categorical (thing that differentiates things only different in voicing); inability to distinguish things within a category -Larger VOT with unvoiced consonants (/ga/ vs /ka/) -Involves both categorical labeling and discrimination (can't discriminate them any better than you can label them) -Evidence: ABX task (Here 2 sounds- 3rd-match first or 2nd?): If they can't tell the difference: 50%; if they can-100% (only at one point) How might the categorical perception of sounds aid in speech perception? -Helps us to ignore irrelevant information -Quickly classify transient events (have for consonants and not vowels)
???Suppose an English speaking individual who was an expert with color names was asked to judge whether the spoken word he heard was a color or not. What factor or factors might make him faster to recognize the spoken color "puce" relative to "red"? What factors might make the opposite true?
-Words in surrounding neighborhood or cohort Bottom up: stim quality Same level: familiarity, frequency Top down: semantic, syntactic, morphological context less common word: fewer competitors a lot in neighborhood: bad (competitors) red is more frequent; red would be activated first (higher resting activation level) -high cohort neighborhood: will inhibit red; but also has high frequency
Draw the working memory model, and explain how the phonological loop works. ???What happens with reading??
-Zoomed into the phonological loop: Short-term Store and articulatory loop -Speech Input: goes directly into short-term store Articulatory loop (inner voice): refreshes info: if nothing is done, info decays in 2-3 seconds -Pictorial input: goes into articulatory loop before entering short-term store 5 claims of the model: 1) Speech-based code 2) Limited Capacity 3) Rehearsal 4) Visual Stimuli recoded as phonological 5) Speech stimulus goes directly into the buffer/short term store
How do modular theories of processing differ from interactive (non-modular) ones? Illustrate the difference using an example from speech perception or spoken word perception. What is the main motivation for modular theories?
-modular: independent from other parts; bottom up input; main claim is that it's separable -motor- how do we identify speech sounds -cohort: how do we access words -FLMP -Interactive Not on test: modularity: divide and conquer approach; not having to deal with whole thing at once -disadvantage: ignore info that may be useful massive: every subpart of language comprehension is modular
In many cheesy teen movies from the 1980's, there would come a point where a social outcast had finally gained acceptance from the in crowd. This would often begin with a slow clap by a single cool individual which then developed into widespread applause and cheering. Which of the eight design features reviewed in class does the slow clap exhibit?
-semanticity?: intent to communicate something not immediately related to the symbol -this may also include; meaning with intent to clap; arbitrariness: no inherent connection between clapping and inviting people into in-crowd Discrete: elements that are discrete; but generally continuous -stretch: duality of patterning: can't break down into parts that can be recombined no displaced reference no productivity no trad transmission DoP: small number with less meaning come together to form bigger number with larger meaning
What are the basic components of signs? What evidence is there that these are psychologically real?
1) Configuration 2) Location 3) Movement Evidence: -Slips of the tongue (tastes good) -Phonological (articulatory) Similarity effect (center vs. theater) -??Language specific variation --basic inventories differ slightly - handshapes, locations, movements differ among different sign languages (accents from sign languages exist) - ??Morphology in ASL Inflectional with motion derivational with affixes?? can layer meaning on top of each other
To what extent do the languages learned Alex, Kanzi, and Ike/Ake exhibit those properties? Defend you answer.
1) Discrete Combinatorial System 2) Category Based Rules 3) Argument Structure 4) Closed Class Items -None of the animals showed true, concrete comprehension of this property Alex -Discrete Combo System: can combine words to create new ideas; doing so w/ units + rules; shows basic syntactic principles -Category Based Rules: yes: ex: Property + object -Argument Structure: not clear; some evidence (wanna go + object, wanna + object) -Closed class- maybe go? not clear distinction between closed and open class Ike/Ake -Discrete Combo System: yes; can see in orders like PIPE TAIL-TOUCH (individual words retain meaning) -Category Based Rules: yes: (modifier) object + action RIGHT WATER TOUCH (touch the pipe on the right) (modifier) destination + (modifier) object + relation RIGHT WATER BASKET FETCH (transport any basket to the right water pipe) -Argument Structure: Know difference between transitive + ditransitive; (Ake) try to reconcile mistakes made in ordering; understands what ordering means (also can react to reversal of objects) -Closed Class objects: ? all words are relatively closed in this language Kanzi: Yerkish: -Cat Based Rules: yes, gesture+ tile -Discrete Combo system: yes (ex: hug + person) -Argument Structure: no evidence: gesture always appeared after lexigram regardless of thematic role -Closed Class Objects: no evidence English: Cat Based Rules: yes; able to comprehend meaning of sentences beyond what would work if structure was based on ordering of particular words--> more confusion would have ensued Discrete Combo: yes- does orders how they are intended to be done Argument Structure: yes- understands reversed sentences; also- take the rock and get the rock (thematic role affects place and he still understands) Closed Class Items: depends on how aware Kanzi was of these words
??What are Kako's core properties of productive human syntax? How does each contribute to the expressive power of language?
1) Discrete combinatorial system -idea that language is made up of discrete units--> combine in predictable ways; allows for greater expression (without additive property--> new combinations would result in intermediate states) 2) Category Based Rules -Types not tokens; allows for rule generalization 3) Argument Structure (up to 4 role players); relate event and participants in highly structured fashion); built around the verb -Verbs have structure; to have this must know: 1) how many participants are involved in the event that a verb labels (# of arguments) and 2) how those arguments should be assigned to syntactic positions in the sentence -Ensures that listeners can accurately decode the thoughts of speakers by demanding (1) that all participants in an event must be mentioned by the syntax and (2) participants be assigned to different syntactic positions in accord with the role they play 4) Closed class items (grammatical morphemes) -highly specific, abstract meanings; act as a scaffolding where content material can be hung -reduction of ambiguity, more structure
Describe the three main types of connections in the TRACE model of spoken word perception. What role does each play?
1) Feedback -Top down information -context-word -word-phone 2) Feedforward -Bottom up; consistent with perceptual information - features to phonemes -phonemes to words -words to contexts 3) Inhibitory -Same level -clarifies input over time
Why do bees dance? What are the parts of the bee dance? What information does the dance convey?
Bees dance to communicate the location of resources figure 8 with a straight run -Distance: length of straight run -Direction (with respect to sun): angle of straight run -Richness: vigorousness of waggle
Be able to describe any of the design features and their consequences.
Consequences? 1) Specialized use of auditory-phonetic channel (or other channel/modality dedicated to language) 2)Semanticity- symbolic reference rather than non-symbolic reference: intent to communicate something separate from signal 3) Arbitrariness: arbitrary relationship b/w sign and meaning 4) Discreteness: language units combine as wholes (not parts); additive discrete units (rather than just getting louder, etc.) -increases combinatorial potential 5) Duality of Patterning: small numbers of less meaningful units combines to form larger numbers of more meaningful units -discrete units at multiple levels 6) Displaced Reference: refer to things not in immediate spatial area: can talk about past, future, and hypothetical -also present in honeybees 7) Productivity: language use is creative; rules allow productivity 8) Traditional Transmission: languages are communicated culturally from one generation to the next; structure must be such that human mind can learn it quickly and with poverty of stimulus -no language easier to learn than another; all are similarly complex and expressive; all languages are internally consistent
b. In what ways do vowels differ from one another?
Deals with resonance cavities and unrestricted vocal tract Placement (front or back); size of oral cavity Position (high, medium, low); size of pharynx
c. In what ways do consonants differ from one another?
Deals with restricted vocal tracts Place: labial, labiodental, interdental (dental), alveolar, palatal, velar, glottal Manner: Stop, fricative, affricate,nasal, liquid, glide Voicing (voiced or voiceless)
???The question "Would you mind giving me the grol?" should not just elicit a simple "yes" or "no."
Discourse context?? Conversational pragmatics? -reading between the lines; meaning in context relevance?
??Given a consonant, you should be able to report it's distinctive features (and vice versa).
Distinctive Features: Place:bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palatal, velar, glottal Manner: Stop, fricative, nasal, affricates, liquids, glides Voicing: Voiced, Unvoiced
???If you are given two pictures of the vocal tract pronouncing different vowels, you should be able to compare the relationships between the first and second formants
In a picture: look for size of pharynx and oral cavity -Vowel: height (position) and placement (part) of tongue -Placement: front (small oral cavity); back (larger oral cavity) -Predicts F2 -Position: high (bigger pharynx space; low (smaller pharynx space) -Predicts F1 ex: /i/: placement: front; position: high F1: low (big pharynx) F2: high (small oral cavity) ex: /u/: placement: back; position: High F1: low F2: low Placement back, position low: F1: high F2: low
??What limitations face scientists in trying to interpret the results from early attempts to teach apes sign language (e.g., the Washoe studies)?
Limitations: 1) signs were messy/unclear 2) Especially in the case of Washoe- data did not include information about word ordering (can't let us know about argument structure; cat based rules, DoP, productivity) -systematic studies of ordering from stand point of language
What are the main challenges faced by a system that tries to identify words and sounds from the acoustic input? In other words, what makes speech perception difficult? Give examples to illustrate.
Main Problems: 1) Segmentation -Words have fuzzy boundaries; syllables have fuzzy boundaries (ex: oronyms ex: ice cream v I scream) -coarticulation (phones are smeared) -no acoustic signal for word boundary 2) Variation -Context dependence: the same phoneme doesn't always sound the same depending on context -phonemes are not produced serially (why synthetic speech sounds strange) -phonetic context (coarticulation; vowels alter consonant cues- kill v cool), speaker, emotion, prosody
In what sense does phonology show productivity? What about morphology? Syntax?
Phonology: system of rules that govern the sounds in a language Formation rules: phonotactics: the study of the rules governing the possible phoneme sequences in a language. Adjustment rules: Ex: english plural or past tense rule; how words sound depending on their phonological context ???-Productivity: phoneme: unit of sound that encodes a difference in meaning -Minimal pairs: can create nee words/meaning -formation rules: huge amount of possible combination of different phonemes--> different meanings Morphology: Rules that govern how morphemes combine to form words -Morpheme: smallest unit that has meaning (free versus bound) -Word: smallest meaningful unit that appears on its own -Morphological rules are productive: can be used recursively to express novel ideas, etc. Recursive: ability to embed one category inside another of the same type (ex: anti-anti-anti) Syntax: -Types not Tokens Any NP can be inserted into NP slots; permits us to express diverse ideas
What is the subject and predicate of "The sick cat who ate my homework died"? (or a similar sentence)
Phrase: grouping of words in a coherent grammatical unit (e.g., subject of a sentence- OR PREDICATE???) Sentence: a grouping of phrases (a subject and a predicate) constituting a grammatical unit Subject: The sick cat who ate my homework Predicate: died.
What design features do bee dances, vervet calls, putty nose calls, signature whistles, and bird song have? Be prepared to argue for or against each.
See word document Possibilities: Semanticity Arbitrariness Traditional Transmission Productivity Discreteness Duality of Patterning Displaced Reference Specialized Channel
What evidence is there that sentences have internal structure as opposed to being an ordered sequence of words?
Syntax: The rules governing how words are organized into phrases and sentences Two main aspects: Word order: less inflectional: more word order Constituency: sentences are not just strings of words, but have internal structure Structures not strings: 1) multiple levels of information 2) rules which organize information within and between levels -rule: types not tokens: allows for productivity Evidence for internal structure: 1) Structural Ambiguity: same string of words can have two different meanings based on internal structure ex: On tonight's show, Letterman will discuss sex with Dr. Roth (PP as part of NP or VP) 2) Syntactic rules apply to structures not strings ex: creating a yes/no question: move the highest "is" in phrase structure to front of highest subject NP (rules with string do not work)
d) "The grol sherps the cat" has a different meaning from "The cat sherps the grol"
Syntax: the rules governing how words are organized into sentences and phrases -Word order: order cues grammatical role in English -languages with less inflectional morphology tend to have fixed word order; more (latin) less fixed -Constituency: sentences are not just strings of words, but have internal structure
What is the McGurk effect? Give an example. How does the Fuzzy Logic model of Speech Perception (or FLMP) explain the McGurk effect?
The McGurk effect is a perceptual phenomenon that demonstrates an interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception. The illusion occurs when the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of another sound, leading to the perception of a third sound. -Visual Input is important in audition (visual: /g/; aud: /d/--> /b/) Fuzzy Logic Model of Perception: -We judge input with respect to a prototype -even though different members of the same category are hard to discriminate; they get classified as alike-> take longer to identify a syllable that is farther from the prototype McGurk Effect is evidence that we take in both auditory and visual info and use it to determine what category fits the best
??Sometimes a chronic smoker will have their glottis removed due to cancer. They are often able to recover some speaking ability through the use of an electronic device that vibrates to create a buzzing sound. What role does this device play in producing speech sounds? If such individual doesn't use their own lung power to generate speech sounds, what types of sounds will most likely be impaired?
The electronic device takes the place of the vibrating glottis; in the source-filter theory; it takes the place of the source (or F0), and the remaining filters (oral cavity, pharynx, nasal cavity, teeth, lips) can shape the sound. ???If a individual doesn't use their own lung power to generate speech sounds, phoneme that require continuous airflow may cause the most difficulty, but all phonemes would be at least slightly impaired- or would it be unvoiced sounds or vowels??; aspirated
b) "Grolish" is the adjectival form of "grol".
This rule arises from morphology -Specifically, this arises from derivation morphology (the rule that states that adding -ish to a word makes it an adjective Derivational morphology: can dramatically alter meaning and (often) syntactic category of a word
1) What linguistic structures and rules are responsible for the following statements: a) "Grol" is a potential English word but "lrog" is not.
This rule arises from phonology- specifically the formation rules of English
From Wikipedia: "On December 18, 1996, the Oakland, California school board passed a controversial resolution recognizing the legitimacy of 'Ebonics'...The resolution set off a maelstrom of media criticism and ignited a hotly discussed national debate." From an article by Neil Lewis (NYTimes, 1996): "The Rev. Jesse Jackson said today that the school board in Oakland, Calif., was both foolish and insulting to black students throughout the nation when it declared that many of its black students speak a language distinct from traditional English." What are the merits/problems of the Oakland schoolboard's view and Jesse Jackson's position? `
To what extent does recognizing that it's a different language--> worthwhile to teaching? Oakland schoolboard: Merits: -Recognition of different dialects (particularly for standardized testing) Problems: -Possibility of presenting language as less than SAE Jackson Merits: Problems: - not insulting as much as a fact; systematic understanding of dialectical differences so that they can be taught - ignoring fact that all languages are internally consistent
???What kinds of input are required for a songbird to acquire a fully mature song? How do we know? What aspects of birdsong are innate? How do we know?
calls- brief, no structure, male and female songs- (only males) attracting mates, defending territory -ex: different units on spectrogram: a bit like syllables -syllable--> phrase--> bout Inputs required: -Need model and auditory/sensorimotor feedback to develop mature song Early evidence for learning: -Field observations: dialects+ familial similarities (older-> more local dialect) -Experimental: experience alters song development -Effects of early isolation -species specific phonology and syntactic template (syllables); irregular pattern overall (need model during critical period) 25-65 days -Effects of Early deafening: -Need sensorimotor feedback to maintain learning from model (has critical period as well) 40-120 days
