Second Language Acquisition and Neuro-linguistics Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts from Second Language Acquisition, Language Processing, and Neuro-linguistics. Includes definitions and explanations of terms.

Name the parts of the Places and Manner of Articulation:

Place of Articulation: bilabials, labiodentals, interdentals, alveolars, palatals, velars and glottals. Manner of Articulation: stops, fricatives, affricates, nasals liquids and glides.

What is the primary difference between stop consonants and fricative consonants in terms of how the airflow is managed?

For stop consonants, the air flow is completely blocked for a very brief period and then released suddenly. In contrast, Fricative consonants involve the air stream being nearly blocked, forcing the air to pass through a narrow opening and creating a sound characterized by friction.

What is an example of a bilabial sound and how is it produced?

An example of a bilabial sound is [p], [b], or [m]. It is produced by bringing both lips together to restrict the airflow.

What are the 2 places that voicing takes? Write the definition of each one.

Voiced: Occur when the vocal cords are closed and forcing de air pass through it, producing vibration in the process. Voiceless: Occur when the vocal cords are open allowing the air flows freely through the vocal track without producing vibration in the process.

What is a nasal sound and what are the phonemes that belong to this category?

Occur when the Uvula (velum) is low while we are producing sounds, allowing the air pass through the nasal cavity instead of the vocal cavity, this is called nasal sounds. (/M/ - /N/ - /ŋ/ are phonemes that belong to this category)

A way to produce voiced sounds as voiceless sounds is:

To whisper.

What is a foreign language?

A language learned where it's not spoken in the surrounding community.

What is a second language?

A language learned where it's commonly used in daily life.

What is language acquisition?

The gradual development of language ability through natural communication.

What is language learning?

The conscious process of gaining knowledge about a language academically.

What are affective factors in second language acquisition?

Emotional influences that impact language learning.

What is the grammar–translation method?

Traditional approach emphasizing memorization of grammar rules and written language.

What is language attrition?

The gradual loss of a language that someone once knew.

Who is a heritage language learner?

Someone raised with a strong cultural connection to a language through family.

What elements determine whether a person retains their heritage language?

Exposure, critical period, and parental attitude toward the home language.

What is a Critical Period?

A period in development when a skill is most readily acquired.

What is input?

Linguistic data an L2 learner receives; must be comprehensible and meaningful.

What is output?

Language the learner produces in L2; enhances language skills.

What is Task-Based Learning?

Students use L2 to complete real-life tasks, promoting natural language use.

What is Sociolinguistic Competence?

The ability to use language appropriately in social contexts.

What is Strategic Competence?

The skill of handling communication problems in an L2.

What is Psycholinguistics?

Psycholinguistics studies how we use our linguistic competence in real-time.

What is involved in Speech processing?

Segmenting sounds, retrieving words, and assembling sentences.

What is Comprehension?

The ability to understand and interpret information.

What is the main difference between the speech signal and speech perception, and why are both essential for understanding spoken language?

Speech signal is the physical sound; speech perception is brain's interpretation. Both are necessary.

How does the brain manage to recognize the same phoneme even when it sounds different across speakers, words, or contexts?

The brain ignores variations, focusing on key features to recognize phonemes.

Why do adults often struggle to hear or pronounce certain sounds in a second language, and what does this reveal about how speech perception develops?

Brain tunes to native language sounds in infancy, losing sensitivity to unfamiliar ones.

What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up processing models?

Bottom-up processes sensory stimuli without context; top-down uses prior knowledge.

What is lexical access and why is it important for word recognition?

Brain retrieves word information from memory, allowing quick understanding and production.

How does context help us recognize words faster in reading or in conversation?

Context provides clues, allowing anticipation and speeding up language processing.

What is syntactic processing and how does it relate to language comprehension?

Brain organizes words into grammatical structures for comprehension.

What are the main stages involved in speech production?

Conceptualization, Formulation, and Articulation.

How does lexical selection influence language production?

Speaker selects the correct word, influencing speed and accuracy.

What do spontaneous speech errors reveal about the rules of morphology and syntax?

Errors show morphology and syntax rules are applied or misapplied.

What is a 'spoonerism'?

Error in which sounds or words are interchanged.

How does linguistic comprehension and production depend on cognitive abilities other than linguistic knowledge?

Depends on processing principles and cognitive abilities like memory.

What is the Brain?

The most complex organ of the body with a cortex of neurons and glial cells.

What is the gray matter?

Contains neuronal cell bodies; involved in control, perception, memory, and speech.

What is Aphasia?

Neurological term for language disorder from brain damage.

How do different types of aphasia affect linguistic components such as syntax, semantics, and phonology?

Different aphasias impact linguistic components like syntax and semantics.

What role does functional MRI play in understanding language recovery in aphasic patients?

fMRI helps observe brain activity and how networks reorganize after damage.

How can brain imaging techniques help differentiate between Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia?

Brain imaging identifies lesion location; Broca’s affects frontal gyrus, Wernicke’s temporal gyrus.

What happens when split-brain surgery is performed?

Corpus callosum is severed, preventing communication between hemispheres.

How does the “Dichotic Listening” experiment work, and what does it reveal about brain lateralization?

Words in right ear go to left hemisphere, specializing in language.

Why can’t a split-brain patient name an image projected in their left visual field?

Right hemisphere processes image but can't communicate to language center.

What are Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)?

Electrical signals from the brain that help study language processing.

What does neural evidence reveal about grammatical phenomena?

Language processing occurs in left hemisphere; brain responds to linguistic categories.

How does the brain recognize allowed and not allowed sound patterns?

Brain quickly recognizes allowed sound combinations in a language.

What evidence have neuro linguistic studies found about how the brain processes sentences with interrogative words (wh-words)?

Brain response times are longer when the object is moving compared to the subject.

Which result demonstrates that the brain's Mismatch Negativity (MMN) responds to grammatical errors and not just to uncommon sentences?

Agrammatical combinations produce a strong MMN.

Which discovery suggests that lateralization of language to the left hemisphere occurs from an early stage of development?

Infants show adult-like brain patterns of language response at three months.

What is brain plasticity?

The brain’s ability to adapt and reorganize functions.

How does the brain show plasticity in children who undergo left hemispherectomy?

The right hemisphere can take over language functions.

Why is language recovery after left hemisphere damage more limited in adults?

Adults have reduced brain plasticity and more specialized regions.

What is the critical-age hypothesis?

Ability to acquire a native language is limited to birth through middle childhood.

How did Genie’s case demonstrate the effects of missing the critical period for language acquisition?

Genie could learn words but not grammar, suggesting early input is crucial.

What distinction does the text make between vocabulary acquisition and grammatical development?

Vocabulary learning may occur beyond the critical period; grammar requires early input.

What are some of the extraordinary language abilities that linguistic savants may possess?

Rapid learning of languages, exceptional memory, or advanced grammar understanding.

How do the abilities of linguistic savants like Laura and Christopher contrast with their nonlinguistic skills?

Linguistic savants have very low nonverbal IQs but remarkable language skills.

What makes linguistic savants different from other types of savants like human calculators?

Linguistic savants excel in language; others excel in math but are linguistically limited.

What is Specific Language Impairment?

A condition affecting a person's ability to understand or produce language.

What are some characteristics of SLI?

Problems with function words, morphology, and grammatical markers.

What is the biggest difference between SLI and agrammatical aphasia?

SLI is developmental; agrammatical aphasia is acquired.

What part of the brain is mainly responsible for language processing?

The left hemisphere.

What does developmental dyslexia affect?

It affects reading and word recognition, especially phonological processing.

What is neuro-linguistics?

The study of how the brain processes language.

What is Sound Segment?

The individual sounds that make up spoken words.

What are Boundary Misperceptions?

Misunderstandings in identifying the boundaries between linguistic units.

What is Identity of Speech Sound?

The unique characteristics that allow us to recognize sounds.

When and by whom was the phonetic alphabet developed?

In 1888 by members of the International Phonetic Association.

What is the difference between the regular alphabet and the phonetic alphabet?

Regular alphabet writes words; phonetic alphabet represents speech sounds.

Why is it said that it is difficult to include all the phonetic symbols needed to represent all differences in English?

English varieties differ by region, community, and speaker.

What is articulatory phonetics?

The study of how the vocal tract produces speech sounds.

Name the main components of the vocal tract:

Lungs, larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, nasal cavity, tongue, lips.

What are consonants in phonetics?

Speech sounds produced with restriction in the vocal tract.