Language 2

Language 2 - MSU 200

What does our reaction to pseudowords show about language knowledge?

We automatically use statistical patterns of English to judge whether a word “seems real.”

What type of knowledge helps us judge plausible letter sequences?

Implicit knowledge of statistical regularities in English.

Example of implicit vs. explicit knowledge

We may not know explicitly that N often follows O, but we use that pattern implicitly when reading.

What are pseudowords?

Fake words that follow real language statistics, making them feel word‑like.

Why does “Jabberwocky” sound like real English?

Its nonsense words are pseudowords — they follow English‑like sound and letter patterns.

What does language comprehension rely on?

Multiple levels of grammar plus stored knowledge of statistical patterns in language.

What else influences speech comprehension besides sound?

Visual information — what we see affects how we understand speech.

What is implicit statistical knowledge in language?

Unconscious knowledge of which letters, sounds, and patterns commonly occur in a language.

Why can’t we explicitly answer questions like “What letter follows O most often?”

Because this knowledge is implicit, not consciously stored.

How does implicit knowledge help with reading?

It helps us recognize plausible words, predict letter sequences, and segment speech.

What makes a pseudoword feel “word‑like”?

It follows common letter‑transition probabilities in English.

Why do some pseudowords feel obviously fake?

They contain rare or impossible letter combinations in English.

What does the letter‑frequency chart show?

Some letters are more common, and some letters follow others more often.

Which letter is least common in English?

Q

Which letter most commonly follows “O”?

N

Why does “Jabberwocky” sound like English even though it uses nonsense words?

Its words follow English‑like statistical patterns, making them feel familiar.

What does “Jabberwocky” demonstrate about language comprehension?

We rely heavily on statistical patterns to interpret language, even when words are fake.

What levels of information does language comprehension use?

All levels of the grammatical hierarchy, plus statistical knowledge and visual cues.

How does vision influence speech comprehension?

Seeing a speaker’s mouth movements helps us interpret sounds more accurately.

What two major factors influence language comprehension in these slides?

(1) Statistical patterns in language (2) Visual information during speech