Unit VII: CognitionPart three-LANGUAGE

Language our spoken, written, or gestured

works and the way we combine them to communicate meaning

http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_pagel_how_language_transformed_humanity.html

Language Genes design

the mechanisms for a language, and experience activates them as it modifies the brain

(So is language acquisition nature or nurture?)

Language Phoneme (M, T, Ch, P)

in a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme (I, Re-, Love, So) in a language, the smallest unit that carries

meaning may be a word or a part of a word (such as a

prefix)

Morphemes: How many are there?

people reddish

George’s misspell

redevelopment radish desirability

water

swimming language

education higher

orange grandmother unhappy

finger

liberally waited

remain houseboat

erasable

antidisestablishmentarianism

Language Grammar: (language rules)

a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Syntax: (sentence structure) the rules for combining words into

grammatically sensible sentences in a given language

Language Semantics: study of meaning

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language

*When might you use this word in conversation and why?

Language We are all born to recognize speech sounds from all the world’s

languages

100908070605040302010

0

Percentage ableto discriminateHindi t’s

Hindi-speaking

adults

6-8 months

8-10months

10-12months

English-speaking

adultsInfants from English-speaking homes

What does this chart communicate aboutlanguage and nature vs. nurture?

Language 1. Babbling Stage

beginning at 3 to 4 months the stage of speech development in which the

infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/viral-video-twin-babies-secret-language-13247451

2. One-Word Stage from about age 1 to 2 the stage in speech development during which

a child speaks mostly in single words

Language 3. Two-Word Stage

beginning about age 2 the stage in speech development during

which a child speaks in mostly two-word statements

4. Telegraphic Speech early speech stage in which the child speaks

like a telegram-–“go car”--using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting “auxiliary” words

Create a mnemonic for remembering the (4) stages

LanguageSummary of Language Development

Month(approximate)

Stage

410

12

24

24+

Babbles many speech sounds.

Babbling reveals households language.

One-word stage.

Two-world, telegraphic speech.

Language develops rapidly intocomplete sentences.

http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word.html

Language

New language learning gets harder with age

100

90

80

70

60

50 Native 3-7 8-10 11-15 17-39

Percentage correct ongrammar test

Age at school

Thinking & Language The interplay

of thought and language:

If we think in words, does a limited vocabulary inhibit our ability to think? Why/how?

Language Linguistic Relativity/Sapir-Whorf

hypothesis: language affects the way we conceptualize the world

Linguistic Determinism: Language determines the way we thinkhttp://youtu.be/ArTPdEWA1_4 (fast-talking student)http://youtu.be/hHQ2756cyD8(Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie on Language)

Do you agree or disagree? Give a supporting example…All 3s share your thoughts and other table members be ready to share

Linguistic Relativity/Linguistic Determinism

“The limits of your language mean the limits of your world.”Ludwig Wittgenstein

Vocabulary The Inuit (aka Eskimos)

20+ words for snow Fiji Islanders

No words for snow Many words for coconuts

Arabic (not using adjectives, but different words)700 words to describe camels—height, weight, age, color, smell, etc.

More Vocabulary Hawaiians

25-30 different words for tides and waves Surfers-glassy, macking, etc.

Wauroni (S. American tribal people) No word for “work”

New Guinea tribal groups No words for “war”

Hopi Indians A single noun to refer to all flying things and beings (except

for birds) Insects=planes=aviators=superman

More Vocabulary Americans and their love of

cars Types of non-commercial

vehicles/transportation e.g. sedan, convertible,

4WD, hatchback, notchback, truck, pickup truck, SUV, mini-SUV, mini-van, Hummer, single and double-cab pickup, etc.

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

According to Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, all higher levels of thinking are dependent on language. Language determines thought, which is: linguistic determinism

And...because languages differ in many ways, speakers of different languages perceive and experience the world differently, relative to their linguistic back ground, hence the notion of linguistic relativism.

Linguistic Relativity: It is impossible to learn the language of a different culture unless the learner abandons own mode of thinking and acquires the thought patterns of the native speakers of target language

Arguments against the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis • The speakers of a language with no lexicalized

word for“snow” does not mean that they can not grasp the concept of “snow

• Grammar does not determine understanding

• Morphemes (“s” or no “s”)

• Translation

• Second language acquisition

Animal Thinking and Language

The straight-line part of the dance points in the direction of a nectar source, relative to the sun

Direction ofnectar source

Animal Thinking and Language

Gestured Communication

Animal Thinking and Language

Is this really language?