Week 1 - Animal language and thought

Aphasia

 a language disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control speech and language comprehension.

Generativity

the human ability to use a limited set of rules and basic units to create and understand an infinite number of novel sentences and ideas. 

Prevarication

the act of avoiding the truth, speaking evasively, or beating around the bush instead of giving a direct and honest answer

Sound symbolism

we assign a meaning to the sound of the word based on no reason or logic (kiki and bouba)

syntax

he arrangement of words, phrases, and punctuation to form well-structured, coherent sentences in a language. 

Broca's area

region in the frontal lobe of the dominant brain hemisphere that is vital for speech production and language processing.

Lexigram

a figure, symbol, or geometric shape that represents a word or concept. 

Linguistic determinism

the strong theory that the structure and vocabulary of your native language completely determine and limit your thoughts, perceptions, and worldview. 

Egocentrism

Self-centered): Objects are coded relative to your own body, position, or viewpoint (e.g., "the keys are to my right"). 

Allocentric

(World-centered / Other-centered): Objects are coded relative to each other or external landmarks, independent of where you are standing (e.g., "the keys are on the kitchen table"). 

Mentalese

The hypothetical, innate mental language of abstract symbols and syntax that the human brain uses to process thoughts before translating them into spoken or written words - thoughts before words

Communication

signals passed between organisms to encode/decode a message

transmitter - encodes - signal passes - reciever - decodes

Verbal communication

spoken/written transmission of message/signal

non verbal

non linguistic - body language/ gestures used to transmit signal

Language

• subgroup of communication - consisitng of symbolds (words) and rules (grammar)

• unstable - can die out

• Western language - research focusses on

• diputes about what is needed for something to be considered a language

Factors of human language

• Semanticity

• Arbitrariness

• Displacement

• Productivity

• Prevarication

• Reflexiveness

Semanticity

words = symbols - expressing meaning

arbitrariness

• no usual natural relation between sound of word and its meaning (except onomatopoeia

displacement

• not tied to current moment - can talk about hypothetical situations, past future…

productivity/ generativity

new language can be made/ added constantly

• finite words/ sounds = infinte messages - so long rules (grammar) obeyed

Reflexiveness

Using language to talk about the idea of language itself

Animal communication

• extremely restricted

• can only commicate about certain things - not as expansive as humans e.g. food, threats.. here and now

• more communication than a language

• e.g. bee dance

Apes

• Richest communications of all animals

• similar brain sturcture to humans - large brocas area

• speech not possible - incorrect articulation

• GUA, VIKY, WASHOE, NIM - all case studies of apes with different levels of word understanding or articulation e.g. sign language

Chimps vs Children

Chimps (overall less complex understanding - level of 2 yr old child)

• require more training

• mainly unspontaneous signing

• little syntax

• stimulus controlled

• repetitive

Children (higher understanding capability)

• no specialist training

• spontaneous production

• syntax understandable

• can displace from temporal subjects in speech

• ask questions

• less imitation/ more cretaivity

• less repetitive

sapir-whorf hypothesis

language shapes our thoughts

lingusitic determinism

thoughts constrained by language

• Debatable

• Can be disproven

Linguistic relativism

language can only influence thought but not fully determine it

• Good evidence

• Thought comes before language

Linguistic relativity in gender

• Feminine/ masculine words in some languages e.g. German and Spanish

• Depending on objects given gender it was described in different ways e.g. bridge describes in masculine or feminine way - strong vs beautiful…

• Reproduction (drawing) of ambiguous objects affected by word heard at time seeing it

Language effects encoding in space

• Changes depending on where we centre ourselves in a situation

• Egocentric - left right.. - mainly used in English speakers

• Allocentric - north south - most other languages than English

Linguistic determinism critiques

• Can thought exist without language - e.g. Children who cant speak yet, deaf people…

• Language of thought itself (mentalese) - if thoughts depended entirely on words how could we translate or make new words