Psych 03/19

Introduction to Kanzi's Language Learning

• Kanzi, a bonobo, uses abstract symbols to communicate, creating sequences to make requests and respond to questions.

• Raises the question: Does Kanzi have language?

  • Key distinction: Language is more than communication; it shares complex ideas and thoughts.

Nature of Language

• Language encompasses sharing thoughts, stories, opinions, and questions about past or future events or abstract ideas.

• It is open-ended, allowing for an unlimited amount of expression.

• Differentiation:

  • Many researchers assert that only humans possess true language capabilities.

  • Other species use calls and gestures with limited distinct messages, lacking the ability to construct complex ideas.

• Example: Monkeys have specific calls for predators (e.g., a snake) but cannot express various ways to convey such a warning.

• Confirmation: All living humans can learn around 7,000 different languages, indicating a shared biological mechanism for language acquisition.

  • Questions regarding the significance and origin of this capacity remain open.

Evolutionary Perspective on Language

• Humans split from great apes over four million years ago, with several extinct species in between that might have influenced language development.

• Great apes, like chimps and bonobos, gesture more than they vocalize, possibly hinting that early language began as gestural communication.

• Suggestion: The Pleistocene epoch (~2-3 million years ago) correlates with the Homo genus emergence and increased brain size.

• Bipedalism allowed for more complex gestural communication before evolving to spoken language.

• Neanderthals and Denisovans possibly possessed some form of vocal capacity, but only modern humans have an optimal vocal tract for articulate speech.

• Language linked to complex thought, perception, and motor functions complicates understanding its origins.

Key Components of Language

• Overview of four major elements: semantics, phonology, syntax, and pragmatics.

• Human language's infinite capacity contrasts with rigid animal communication methods, which lack flexibility.

• Ability to create new terms to express modern concepts (e.g., technology) showcases language's adaptive nature.

Understanding Semantics

• Semantics involves the concepts behind words.

  • Example: Recognition of the subway sign in NYC as a transportation method shows semantic understanding.

• Average college students know about 45,000 to 60,000 words, learning approximately one word every three hours throughout their lives.

Learning Strategies for Semantics

• Social Referencing: Tracking others' gaze to understand new concepts.

• Novelty Matching: Associating new words with novel objects.

• Intentionality: Understanding actions tied to specific verbs.

• Category Assumption: Using familiar categories to infer meaning (e.g., distinguishing animal types).

Phonology

• Phonology involves producing and decoding sounds in language.

• Language production requires motor skills and brain functionality, with communication learned through articulation practice.

• Sign language as a form of expression allows pre-verbal children to establish communication.

  • Example: Children raised with sign language can communicate basic needs before developing speech.

Syntax

• Syntax refers to the rules that govern sentence structure.

• Noam Chomsky's work on universal grammar revolutionized the understanding of language.

  • Language structure exists independently of meaning; syntax can be grammatically correct yet meaningless (e.g., "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously").

• Discoveries about aphasia reveal the separation of syntax and semantics within the brain, challenging earlier theories of learning.

Pragmatics

• Pragmatics governs the practical use of language, including assumptions made during communication.

• Effective language use relies on clarity, relevance, and context.

• Emphasis in speech alters meaning, while different generations may interpret emojis differently, impacting communication.

Conclusion

• Language uniquely characterizes humans, with complex interactions between semantics, phonology, syntax, and pragmatics.

• Ongoing research continues to unravel the intricacies of language, its origins, and its evolutionary significance.

• Understanding language's components enhances our appreciation of communication in social contexts.