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LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT. Cognition : mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge. COGNITION. Language : symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages. WHAT IS LANGUAGE?. Language is…
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Cognition: mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge COGNITION
Language: symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
Language is… • Symbolic: spoken sounds, written words • Semantic: meaningful • Generative: limited number of symbols can be combined to generate limitless array of messages • Structured: rules govern arrangement of words into phrases and sentences CRITICAL PROPERTIES OF LANGUAGE
Phonemes: smallest speech units in a language that can be distinguished perceptually • The smallest units of sound • Only 40 in English language STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE
Morphemes: smallest units of meaning in a language • Semantics: the area of language concerned with understanding the meaning of words and word combinations • Consists of denotation and connotation STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE CON’T
Syntax: a system of rules that specify how words can be arranged into sentences • Noun, verb, etc.. STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE CON’T
1st 6 months: crying, cooing, laughter • Then babbling until around 18 months • 10 to 13 months: utter sounds that resemble words MOVING TOWARD PRODUCING WORDS
3 to 50 words by 18 months • Receptive vocabulary is larger than productive vocabulary • Acquire nouns before verbs • 18-24 months: vocabulary spurt • 10,000 words by first grade USING WORDS
Fast mapping: process by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure USING WORDS
Overextension: when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a wider set of objects or actions than it is meant to • Underextension: when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects or actions than it is meant to ERRORS IN USING WORDS
End of 2nd year • Telegraphic speech: consists mainly of content words; articles, prepositions, and other less critical words are omitted COMBINING WORDS
Mean length of utterance: avg length of youngsters’ spoken statements (measured in morphemes) • Overregularizations: when grammatical rules are incorrectly generalized to irregular cases where they do not apply COMBINING WORDS
School-age years receive formal training • Become interested in ambiguities • Shows they are developing Metalinguistic awareness: ability to reflect on the use of language REFINING LANGUAGE SKILLS
DEF: the acquisition of 2 languages that use different speech sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical rules • Acculturation: the degree to which a person is socially and psychologically integrated into a new culture BILINGUALISM
Skinner: children learn language through imitation, reinforcement, other conditioning principles • Parents reinforce by responding BEHAVIORIST THEORIES
Noam Chomsky: children learn the rules of language, not specific verbal responses • Humans are equipped w/a language acquisition device(LAD): innate mechanism or process that facilitates learning of language NATIVIST THEORIES
Biology and experience make contributions • 2 varieties of theory: • 1)Cognitive: language development is an important aspect of more general cognitive developmen • 2)social communication: interpersonal comm. and social context INTERACTIONIST THEORIES
Linguistic relativity: hypothesis that one’s language determines the nature of one’s thought CULTURE, LANGUAGE, AND THOUGHT