Language in Context PDF

# LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT ## LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT The relationship between language and thought ## DIFFERENCES AMONG LANGUAGES | | | | :--------------- | :------------------------------------ | | **LEXICONS** | Also known as "vocabulary”...

# LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT ## LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT The relationship between language and thought ## DIFFERENCES AMONG LANGUAGES | | | | :--------------- | :------------------------------------ | | **LEXICONS** | Also known as "vocabulary” | | **SYNTACTICAL STRUCTURES** | | | | - ORDER OF SUBJECT, VERB, OBJECT | | | - GRAMMATICAL INFECTIONS | | | - OTHERS | ## SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS sometimes referred to as “LINGUISTIC-RELATIVE HYPOTHESIS" Linguistic relatively refers to the assertion that speakers of different languages have differomg cognitive systems and that these different cognitive systems influences the ways in which people think about the world. ## LINGUISTIC UNIVERSAL - Also known as universal grammar, a system of mechanisms, categories, and constraints that is shared by all human language. It is considered as a statement that is true to all natural languages. - Linguists identified hundreds of linguistic universals that are related to phonology (study of phonemes), morphology (study of morphemes), semantics, and syntax. ## COLORS - Names of the colors are quite different in various languages. The set of II basic color terms is written in English, these are black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and gray. Colors also have a hierarchy of five levels; (I) consist of black and white; (2) has red; (3) is yellow, green, and blue; (4) is brown, and (5) is purple, pink, orange, and gray. Selection will continue until all II colors have been labeled, though it may vary between cultures (Jameson, 2005). ## BILINGUALISM AND DIALECTS - Bilinguals - people who can speak two languages. - Monolinguals - people who can speak only one language. - Multilinguals - people who can speak in two or more languages. ## BILINGUALISM: AN ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE? **Executive Functions** - located primarily in the prefrontal cortex, it includes abilities such as to shift between task or ignore distracters. **Additive bilingualism** - a second language is acquired in addition to a relatively well developed first language. **Subtractive bilingualism** - elements of a second language replace the elements of the first language. **Simultaneous bilingualism** - occurs when a child learns two languages from birth **Sequential bilingualism** - occurs when an individual first learns the first language and then another ## FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: - Age - Adolescence ## BILINGUALISM: ONE SYSTEM OR TWO SYSTEMS **Single system hypothesis** - two languages are represented in just one system or brain region. **Dual system hypothesis** - two languages represent somehow in separate systems of the mind. ## NEUROSCIENCE AND BILINGUALISM - Learning a second language increases the gray matter in the left inferior parietal cortex ## NEUROSCIENCE AND BILINGUALISM TMS (transcranial magnetic simulation) - is a treatment that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain in order to alleviate the symptoms of major depression also when the treatment ends the brain resumes normal functioning. ## LANGUAGE MIXTURES AND CHANGE **Pidgin** – is a grammatically simplified form of communication that develops between two or more groups of people who do not share a common language: its vocabulary and grammar are typically limited and frequently drawn from several languages. **Creole** - A stable natural language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form. **Protolanguage** - A possible undocumented parent language from which actual languages are descended. **Dialect** – a regional variety of a language distinguished by features such as vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation. ## Linguicism - The unfair treatment of an individual or community based on their use of language. ## SLIPS OF THE TONGUE ## SLIP OF THE TOUNGE An area of particular interest to cognitive psychologists is how people use language incorrectly. Studying speech errors helps cognitive psychologists better understand normal language processing. One way to use language incorrectly is through slips of the tongue-inadvertent linguistic errors in what we say. Slips of the tongue may occur at any level of linguistic analysis: phonemes, morphemes, or larger units of language (Crystal, 1987; McArthur, 1992). In such cases, what we think and what we mean to say do not correspond to what we actually do say. Freudian psychoanalysts have suggested that in the case of Freudian slips, the verbal slips reflect some kind of unconscious processing that has psychological significance. Slips of the tongue may be taken to indicate that the language of thought differs somewhat from the language through which we express our thoughts (Fodor, 1975). Often we have the idea right, but its expression comes out wrong. Sometimes we are not even aware of the slip until it is pointed out to us. In the language of the mind, whatever it may be, the idea is right, although the expression represented by the slip is inadvertently wrong. This fact can be seen in the occasional slips of the tongue even in preplanned and practiced speech (Kawachi, 2002). ## ANTICIPATION The speaker uses a language element before it is appropriate in the sentence because it corresponds to an element that will be needed later in the utterance. For example, instead of saying, "an inspiring expression," a speaker might say, "an expiring expression." ## PRESERVATION The speaker uses a language element that was appropriate earlier in the sentence but that is not appropriate later on. For example, a speaker might say, "We sat down to a bounteous beast" instead of a "bounteous feast." ## SUBSTITUTION The speaker substitutes one language element for another. For example, you may have warned someone to do something "after it is too late." when you meant "before it is too late." ## REVERSAL Also called transposition,the speaker switches the positions of two language elements. An example is the reversal that reportedly led "flut- terby" to become "butterfly." This reversal captivated language users so much that it is now the preferred form. Sometimes, reversals can be fortuitously opportune. ## SPOONERISMS The initial sounds of two words are reversed and make two entirely different words. The term is named after the Reverend William Spooner, who was famous for them. Some of his choicest slips include, "You have hissed all my mystery lectures," [missed all my history lectures] and "Easier for a camel to go through the knee of an idol" [the eye of a needle] (Clark & Clark, 1977). ## MALAPROPISM One word is replaced by another that is similar in sound but different in meaning (e.g., furniture dealers selling "naughty pine" instead of "knotty pine"). ## NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE ## THE BRAIN STRUCTURES INVOLVED IN LANGUAGE Through studies of patients with brain lesions, researchers have learned a great deal about the relations between particular areas of the brain (the areas of lesions observed in patients) and particular linguistic functions (the observed deficits in the brain-injured patients). ## THE BRAIN AND WORD RECOGNITION One avenue of research involves the study of the metabolic activity of the brain and the flow of blood in the brain during the performance of various verbal tasks. ## THE BRAIN AND SEMANTIC PROCESSING [Diagram of a brain] Five brain regions are involved in the storage and retrieval of meaning (Binder, 2009;: - the ventral temporal lobes, including middle and inferior temporal, anterior fusiform, and anterior parahippocampal gyri - the angular gyrus - the anterior aspect (pars orbitalis) of the inferior frontal gyrus - the dorsal prefrontal cortex - the posterior cingulate gyrus THE ACTIVATION OF THESE AREAS TAKES PLACE MOSTLY IN THE LEFT HEMISPHERE, ALTHOUGH THERE IS SOME ACTIVATION IN THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE. ## THE BRAIN AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE PROCESSING Men and women appear to process language differently, at least at the phonological level (Shaywitz, 2005). An fMRI study of men and women asked participants to perform one of four tasks: 1. indicate whether a pair of letters was identical 2. indicate whether two words have the same meaning 3. indicate whether a pair of words rhymes 4. compare the lengths of two lines (a control task) - There are intriguing sex differences in how linguistic function is localized in the brain (Kimura, 1987). Men seem to show more left-hemisphere dominance for linguistic function than the women show. Women show more bilateral, symmetrical patterns of linguistic function. - Furthermore, the brain locations associated with aphasia (loss of speech as a result of brain damage) seemed to differ for men and women. Most aphasic women showed lesions in the anterior region, although some aphasic women showed lesions in the temporal region. In contrast, aphasic men showed a more varied pattern of lesions. Aphasic men were more likely to show lesions in posterior regions rather than in anterior regions... ## THE BRAIN AND SIGN LANGUAGE - Kimura (1981) also has studied hemispheric processing of language in people who use sign language rather than speech to communicate. She found that the locations of lesions that would be expected to disrupt speech also disrupt signing. - That is, all right-handers with signing deficits show left-hemisphere lesions, as do most left-handers. But some left-handers with signing deficits show right hemisphere lesions (see also Newman et al., 2010; Pickell et al., 2005). ## THE DEFICITS IN PARTICULAR LINGUISTIC FUNCTIONS ## APHASIA Aphasia is an impairment of language functioning caused by damage to the brain (Caramazza & Shapiro, 2001; Garrett, 2003; Hillis & Caramazza, 2003;). There are several types of aphasias: 1. Wernicke's Aphasia 2. Broca's Aphasia 3. Global Aphasia 4. Anomic Aphasia [Image of brain scan] ## WERNICKE'S APHASIA - Wernicke's aphasia is caused by damage to Wernicke's area of the brain (see Chapter 2). It is characterized by notable impairment in the understanding of spoken words and sentences. - Two examples are "Yeah, that was the pumpkin furthest from my thoughts" and "the scroolish prastimer ate my spanstakes" (Hillis & Caramazza, 2003, p. 176). - Treatment for patients with this type of aphasia frequently involves supporting and encouraging nonlanguage communication (Altschuler et al., 2006). ## BROCA'S APHASIA Broca's aphasia is caused by damage to Broca's area of the brain (see Chapter 2). It is characterized by the production of agrammatical speech at the same time that verbal comprehension ability is largely preserved. ## GLOBAL APHASIA - Global aphasia is the combination of highly impaired comprehension and production of speech. It is caused by lesions to both Broca's and Wernicke's areas. ## ANOMIC APHASIA Anomic aphasia involves difficulties in naming objects or in retrieving words. The patient may look at an object and simply be unable to retrieve the word that corresponds to the object. ## AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder characterized by abnormalities in social behavior, language, and cognition (Heinrichs, Dawansa, & Domes, 2009; Pierce & Courchesne, 2003). It is biological in its origins, and researchers have already identified some of the genes associated with it (Wall et al., 2009). ## THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! [Image of three children]