Questions and Answers
What involves both the ability to comprehend spoken and written words and to produce meaningful communication?
What is the smallest unit of sound that makes a meaningful difference in a language?
Phoneme
What explains why speakers of a particular language group a variety of sounds into a single phoneme?
Categorical perception
What is a string of one or more phonemes that make up word meanings?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the set of rules of a language by which we construct sentences?
Signup and view all the answers
What refers to the situation in which language is being used, including body language?
Signup and view all the answers
Syntax is the smallest unit of meaning.
Signup and view all the answers
What is the smallest unit of meaning?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the area of the brain responsible for language production?
Signup and view all the answers
What area of the brain is responsible for language comprehension?
Signup and view all the answers
What do infants begin making vowel sounds called by 6 to 8 weeks old?
Signup and view all the answers
What term refers to intentional vocalizations that lack specific meaning, typically occurring between 5 and 7 months?
Signup and view all the answers
What type of babbling involves simple consonant-vowel pairs that are repeated?
Signup and view all the answers
What type of babbling occurs when the infant is between 8-10 months and involves complex sound combinations?
Signup and view all the answers
What refers to the ability of speakers to compose sentences to represent new ideas?
Signup and view all the answers
Who proposed a theory that genes could code the basis of grammatical structure?
Signup and view all the answers
What term did Chomsky use to describe the innate sensitivity that allows children to organize abstract categories of language?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the ability to speak two languages called?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Language
- Comprehension of spoken/written words and production of meaningful communication is essential for language.
Phoneme
- Smallest sound unit in a language that creates meaningful differences.
- Phonemes correspond to alphabet letters, but not always in a one-to-one manner.
Categorical Perception
- A method of perceiving sensory inputs and grouping them into a single category.
- Speakers of a specific language often hear different sounds as the same phoneme, making distinctions difficult.
Morphemes
- Composed of one or more phonemes, crucial for word meanings.
- Altering a morpheme can change a word's meaning.
Syntax
- Rules governing sentence structure vary by language.
- English syntax requires a noun and a verb in every sentence, which can be modified by adjectives and adverbs.
Contextual Information
- The situational context, including prior interactions and body language, influences language interpretation.
- Example: The word "unbelievable" can mean positive or negative based on the context.
Broca Area
- Located in the left hemisphere near the motor cortex.
- Responsible for language production and historically studied by Paul Broca in the 1860s.
Wernicke Area
- Positioned next to the auditory cortex in the brain.
- Responsible for language comprehension.
Cooing
- Begins at 6 to 8 weeks; infants produce vowel sounds and varied cries to practice vocalization.
Babbling
- Starts between 5 to 7 months; includes intentional vocalizations of consonant and vowel combinations without specific meaning.
- Shows developing control over tongue movements with prolonged sound strings.
Repetitive Babbling
- Early babbling involves simple repeated consonant-vowel pairs (e.g., "guh-guh" or "ba-ba").
Variegated Babbling
- Occurs between 8 to 10 months; features complex sound combinations mixing different consonants and vowels (e.g., "ma-ba-guh").
Generativity
- Ability to create new sentences to express novel ideas not previously encountered.
Noam Chomsky's Theory of Language Acquisition
- Chomsky proposed that while words are learned through experience, genetic coding aids in perceiving grammatical structures.
- Infants are innately capable of identifying grammatical classes and word orders based on language exposure.
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
- Chomsky's term for the innate capability that enables children to organize language's abstract categories.
Bilingualism
- The ability to fluently speak two languages.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Description
Test your knowledge on the key concepts of language, including phonemes, morphemes, and syntax. This quiz dives into how different elements influence communication and understanding of spoken and written words. Challenge yourself to grasp the complexities of language and its components.
