Chapter 8.3 How does Language work

Language

A system of communication that combines symbols, such as words or gestural signs, in rule-based ways to create meaning

morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language. -semantics: meanings derived from words and sentences

bilingual

adept at speaking and comprehending two languages -metalinguistic: awareness of how language is structured and used

generative

allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in novel ways

over extension

apply words in a broader sense - children referring to all men as daddy

Wernicke's area

area of brain involved in speech comprhension

broca's area

area of brain involved in speech production

nativist

children are born with some basic knowledge of how nature works

general cognitive processing

children's ability to learn language results from general skills that children apply across a variety of activities

phonesthemes

clusters of semantically related words that share common sound sequences -"sn" = nose related activities: SNort, SNeeze, SNooze, SNot, SNicker

one-word stage

early period of language development when children use single-word phrases to convey an entire thought

extralinguistic information

elements of communication that aren't part of the content of language but are critical to interpreting its meaning -self explanatory -interpret meanings

syntax

grammatical rules that govern how words are composed into meaningful strings -morphological markers: morphemes that change the meaning of a word but they do so based on a grammatical rule

language acquisition device

hypothetical organ in the brain in which nativists believe knowledge of syntax resides

Babbling

intentional vocalization that lacks specific meaning

Dialect

language variation used by a group of people who share geographic proximity or ethnic background

social pragmatics

proposes that children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactions

phonemes

sounds of our language -influenced by our lips, teeth, tongue placement, and other manipulations of the mouth and throat

under extension

when children define words more narrowly than adults do -Children thinking that the word cat applies to only their cat