PSYC_336_LECTURE

Features of Language

Semanticity
- Ability to communicate specific meanings through signals.
Arbitrariness
- No inherent relationship between objects in the world and the symbols used in language.
Productivity
- Language allows for the creation of new messages that have never been expressed before yet remain comprehensible.
Learnability
- Users of one language can learn to use different languages.

Phonetics
- Study of raw sounds.
Phone
- Specific speech sounds captured by measurable sound signals.
- Involves the vocal tract, tongue, and mouth.
Phonology
- The study of how sounds are used within the context of a particular language.
Phonemes
- Basic units of phonology capable of distinguishing words in a language.
- Example: English has 44 phonemes.
- Contrast: /r/ and /l/ in English are distinct phonemes, but Japanese maps these sounds into a single phoneme.

Phonetics
- Focuses on the acoustic details of sounds and their articulation.
- Involves photographing and measuring sound production.
Phonology
- Involves categorization of sounds into phoneme classes, allowing for the division of possible sounds in a language.
- Ex. voicing and aspiration differences.

Phonemes
- Can be represented by one or more phones.
- Allophones are different realizations of the same phoneme (e.g., [s] in "ducks" vs. [z] in "dogs").
A phone can correspond to multiple phonemes within a language (e.g., [z] for /z/ in "zebra" vs. [s] in "dogs").

Focus on:
- Language acquisition in children.
- Structural aspects of language, particularly syntax.
Phrase Structure Rules
- Define how words combine into sentences.
Sentence Structures
- Sentences may convey similar meanings but can be organized in varied syntactical forms, leading to differences in meaning (e.g., positive vs passive tone).

Investigating brain activity through blood flow to measure neuron activity.
Primary Brain Signals
- Blood flow indicates levels of brain activity.
- Brain activity is linked with oxygen distribution.

EEG/ERP
- Electrodes placed on the scalp measure electrical voltage changes due to neurotransmitter release.
- Low spatial resolution but non-invasive direct measurements.
MEG
- Measures magnetic fields generated by electrical currents in the brain.
- Good temporal resolution but expensive.
fMRI
- Measures brain activity by detecting blood oxygenation.
- Strong spatial resolution, but slower response time.

Left Hemisphere Dominance
- Generally more associated with language functions than the right hemisphere.
The left hemisphere is often dominant in language processing for both right-handed and left-handed individuals.
Aphasia
- Language deficits caused by brain damage, particularly affecting Broca's (expressive) and Wernicke's (comprehensive) areas.

Language processing involves two streams:
- Dorsal (blue): responsible for speech production and syntax.
- Ventral (pink): related to language comprehension and semantics.

Bilingual Cognitive Advantages
- Bilinguals show quicker reactions in attention network tests compared to monolinguals.
Code Switching
- Bilinguals often mix languages in speech contexts, indicating flexibility in language use.

Nativist Perspective (Chomsky's LAD)
- Suggests an innate language capability in humans distinct from other species.
- Development involves the setting of language parameters based on environmental interaction.
Empiricist Views
- Propose that language acquisition is a learning process reliant on cognitive abilities, using statistical learning mechanisms.

Fast Mapping
- The ability of young children to quickly connect new words with their meanings.
Constraints on Word Learning
- Whole-object assumption and mutual exclusivity are cognitive biases that guide vocabulary acquisition.
Taxonomic and Thematic Relations
- Children initially show preferences based on shared features, later integrating relationships among nouns based on contextual usage.