full lcc

flash cards based on the summary of Albert Major

FLB

Sensory-motor + conceptual-intentional systems + recursion; represents the full language capacity including perception and thought.

FLN

Recursion only; possibly the only uniquely human trait.

Recursion

Combining finite elements into infinite expressions; allows phrases to be embedded within phrases infinitely.

Animals and recursion

Animals can imitate, signal, and categorize, but don’t generalize recursion.

Tamarins and grammar

Tamarins can learn ABAB patterns, but fail at A^nB^n

patterns, which require recursive grammar.

Birdsong and syntax

Birdsong learning resembles human infant babbling but lacks true syntax.

Vocal imitation in species

Vocal imitation is rare in primates but present in birds and dolphins.

Mirror neurons and imitation

Mirror neurons exist in macaques but do not enable vocal imitation.

Finite-State Grammar

A rule system with local dependencies (e.g., ABAB); does not support recursion.

Phrase-Structure Grammar

Hierarchical grammar requiring recursive rules (e.g., AⁿBⁿ)

Mirror Neurons

Neurons firing during both action and observation; linked to imitation.

Vocal Imitation

Ability to learn and reproduce novel sounds from others.

Spandrel

A trait that arises as a side-effect of other evolutionary changes.

Merge

Basic operation for building linguistic hierarchy; unique to humans; a neural-computational operation combining two elements into one syntactic unit.

Broca’s area (BA 44)

Frontal brain area involved in syntactic processing; activated by nested grammar.

Posterior STC

Temporal brain region linked to semantic-syntactic integration.

Dorsal pathway

Neural connection supporting grammar and complex sentence structure; matures around 7 years old.

Ventral pathway (temporal cortex)

Neural route processing meaning and semantic integration.

Songbirds and syntax

Songbirds show auditory vocal learning but lack human-like syntax.

Left hemisphere dominance

Seen in both birdsong learning and human language processing.

Externalization

Turning internal syntax into speech or gesture; not the core function of language.

Internalization

Mental construction of syntax and meaning; internal and not necessarily spoken.

AnBn grammar

A nested sequence type (e.g., AAABBB) requiring hierarchical processing.

Pre-adaptation

A trait that evolves for one function but later facilitates another (e.g., imitation for language).

Cultural transmission

Learning and passing on language across generations.

Iterated learning

Repeated transmission of behavior; each learner's output becomes the next learner's input.

Sequential learning

Ability to remember and process items in order, crucial for syntax.

Grammaticalization

Transformation of simple expressions into fixed grammatical structures (e.g., “going toˮ → “gonnaˮ).

Learning bottleneck

Limited linguistic input available to learners that constrains language transmission.

FOXP2

A gene linked to speech and language; mutations disrupt articulation and grammar.

Phonetic gesture

Coordinated movements of speech organs producing specific sounds.

Cognitive niche

An ecological role centered on reasoning, cooperation, and tool use.

Metaphorical abstraction

Using physical concepts (e.g., motion) to reason about abstract ideas (e.g., time, emotion).

Nonrival good

A resource (like language) that can be shared without being used up.

Intuitive theories

Built-in ways of understanding the world (e.g., folk physics or psychology).

Reciprocal altruism

Cooperation where individuals help each other over time.

Syntax

The rules for combining words into structured sentences.

Selection footprint

A genetic trace indicating that a trait has been favored by evolution.

Joint Attention (JA)

Coordinated focus between individuals on an object or event.

RJA (Responding to Joint Attention)

Following others' gaze or gestures to share attention.

IJA (Initiating Joint Attention)

Using gaze or gesture to get others to share your focus.

Posterior Attention System

Brain network (parietal + superior temporal) for reflexive attention.

Anterior Attention System

Frontal network for voluntary, goal-directed attention control.

Frontal Eye Fields

Area in frontal cortex involved in intentional eye movement.

Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Region monitoring conflict and regulating attention.

Social Cognition

Understanding others' thoughts, feelings, and intentions.

Automaticity

A process that happens without conscious control or attention.

ELAN

Early Left Anterior Negativity; ERP signal peaking ~150 ms, linked to early syntactic violations.

P600

ERP component peaking ~600 ms, indicating syntactic reanalysis.

N400

ERP signal reflecting difficulty integrating semantic content.

ERP

Event-Related Potential; brain response measured via EEG, time-locked to stimulus.

Selective attention

Focusing on certain stimuli or features at the cost of others.

MMN

Mismatch Negativity; ERP marker of automatic change detection.

Reading saccade

A rapid eye movement from one word to another during reading.

Phonological loop

Short-term storage and rehearsal system for verbal information.

Working memory

System for holding and manipulating information temporarily.

Nonword repetition

Task testing ability to repeat unfamiliar phoneme sequences.

Word length effect

Longer words are harder to recall due to limited rehearsal time.

SLI (Specific Language Impairment)

Developmental disorder affecting language skills.

Visuospatial sketchpad

Holds visual and spatial information temporarily.

Central executive

Attentional system coordinating other components.

Episodic buffer

Integrates visual, verbal, and long-term information into coherent episodes.

Phoneme

Smallest sound unit distinguishing words (e.g., /r/ vs. /l/).

Phonetic unit

Acoustic variants grouped into phonemes (e.g., different /r/ sounds).

Categorical perception

Tendency to hear speech sounds as distinct categories.

Statistical learning

Detecting frequency and transitional probability patterns.

Transitional probability

Likelihood one sound follows another.

Prosodic cues

Stress, pitch, and rhythm patterns in speech.

Neural commitment

Early tuning of brain networks to native-language patterns.

EEG

Electroencephalography; method for recording brain electrical activity via scalp electrodes.

LAN

Left-anterior negativity (~300-500ms) linked to morphosyntactic violations.

Temporal resolution

The ability to track changes over tim, EEG excels at this.

Pyramidal cells

Neurons whose activity contributes most to scalp-recorded EEG signals.

Time-locking

Aligning brain data to the moment a stimulus appears for precise averaging.

fMRI

Brain imaging that detects changes in blood oxygen to infer activity.

TMS

A technique that temporarily disrupts brain activity using magnetic pulses.

Left inferior frontal gyrus

Frontal region linked to speech and meaning (includes Broca’s area).

Dual-route model

Theory that reading uses two paths: phonological (assembled) and lexical (addressed).

Assembled phonology

Building pronunciation from letter-sound rules (e.g., Pinyin).

Addressed phonology

Retrieving pronunciation from memory (e.g., Chinese characters).

Semantic processing

Understanding the meaning of words.

Lateralization

Tendency for one brain hemisphere to dominate a function.

Computational model

A program simulating how learning could happen.

Symbolic model

Uses logic-like grammar rules and exceptions.

Connectionist model

Neural network trained on input patterns.

Probabilistic model

Learns language structures based on statistical likelihood.

Primary Linguistic Data (PLD)

Real input children get when learning language.

Argument from Poverty of the Stimulus (APS)

Idea that PLD is too limited for learning grammar.

Usage-based model

Learns language from patterns in input, no innate rules assumed.

CHILDES

A database of child-adult speech used for language acquisition studies.

E-Z Reader

A computational model simulating eye movements during reading.

L1 / L2

Two stages of lexical processing: familiarity check and full lexical access.

I (Integration)

Postlexical process of fitting a word into sentence meaning.

pF

Probability that integration will fail and trigger rereading.

pN

Probability that rereading targets the problematic word.

Clause Wrap-Up

Pause at the end of a clause due to integration demands.

Regression

A backward saccade to reprocess earlier text.

RMSD

Root-mean-square deviation; a measure of model-data fit.

INCDROP

Recognition model using optimization to reduce memory load by minimizing new units.

Predictability strategy

Segments at low transitional probability points.