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Module 29, Outline Language and Thought | PSY 105, Study notes of Psychology

Wright State University (WSU) - DaytonPsychology
Prof. Robert Gordon

Material Type: Notes; Professor: Gordon; Class: HON: Pschol: Science Behav; Subject: Psychology; University: Wright State University-Main Campus; Term: Unknown 1989;

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1Psychology 105
Dr. Gordon
Module #29
“Language and Thought”
2A. The significance of language
•1. What is language?
•2. Structure of language
•3. Language development
•4. Theories of language development
•5. Language and thought
•6. Language and other species
31. What is language?
•Language is defined as symbols that convey meaning plus rules for combining those symbols. In turn, these
symbols can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages.
41. What is language?
•Language consists of four properties. These include: 1) symbolic, 2) semantic, 3) generative, and 4)
structured. First, language has symbolic properties in that it is used to represent objects, actions, events,
etc… symbols used in any language are arbitrary. That is, there is no built-in relationship between the
symbols and the concepts they stand for.
51. What is language?
•Second, language is semantic; it has meaning. A word’s sound is arbitrary but each word has some
significance to the person who hears it. Third, language is generative. A limited number of symbols can
produce an infinite number of messages. Fourth, language is structured or rule bound. With rules,
language can be communicated between others. Rules govern the arrangement of words into phrases and
sentences.
62. The structure of language
•Let’s take a look at the structure of language. The illustration above breaks down the structure of language.
First, we communicate a sentence. Second, a sentence is divided into a noun and verb phrases respectively.
72. The structure of language
•Each phrase is reduced to words. Words are made up of morphemes or the simplest units of meaning.
Semantics is the understanding of the meaning of words and word combinations.
82. The structure of language
•Lastly, morphemes are made up of phonemes or the simplest units of sound. Every sentence communication
is based on rules that we call syntax. Syntax is defined as a system of rules that specify how words can be
arranged into sentences. Phonemes are simplest units of sound.
92. The structure of language
•The list to your left contains about 18 of the 40 phonemes in the English language.
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Download Module 29, Outline Language and Thought | PSY 105 and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

1 Psychology 105

Dr. Gordon

Module

“Language and Thought”

2 A. The significance of language

• 1. What is language?

• 2. Structure of language

• 3. Language development

• 4. Theories of language development

• 5. Language and thought

• 6. Language and other species

3 1. What is language?

  • Language is defined as symbols that convey meaning plus rules for combining those symbols. In turn, these symbols can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages.

4 1. What is language?

  • Language consists of four properties. These include: 1) symbolic, 2) semantic, 3) generative, and 4) structured. First, language has symbolic properties in that it is used to represent objects, actions, events, etc… symbols used in any language are arbitrary. That is, there is no built-in relationship between the symbols and the concepts they stand for.

5 1. What is language?

  • Second, language is semantic; it has meaning. A word’s sound is arbitrary but each word has some significance to the person who hears it. Third, language is generative. A limited number of symbols can produce an infinite number of messages. Fourth, language is structured or rule bound. With rules, language can be communicated between others. Rules govern the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences.

6 2. The structure of language

  • Let’s take a look at the structure of language. The illustration above breaks down the structure of language. First, we communicate a sentence. Second, a sentence is divided into a noun and verb phrases respectively.

7 2. The structure of language

  • Each phrase is reduced to words. Words are made up of morphemes or the simplest units of meaning. Semantics is the understanding of the meaning of words and word combinations.

8 2. The structure of language

  • Lastly, morphemes are made up of phonemes or the simplest units of sound. Every sentence communication is based on rules that we call syntax. Syntax is defined as a system of rules that specify how words can be arranged into sentences. Phonemes are simplest units of sound.

9 2. The structure of language

  • The list to your left contains about 18 of the 40 phonemes in the English language.

10 2. The structure of language

  • We are all born with the ability to recognize speech sounds from all the world’s languages. In Janet Werker’s lab, an infant is reinforced with applause (activation of toy animals) when he looks to the right after hearing a changed sound (as in ba, ba, da).

11 2. The structure of language

  • Adult Hindi-speakers and young infants (6-8 months) from English speaking homes can easily discriminate two Hindi sounds not spoken in English. By age 1, however, English speaking listeners rarely perceive the sound difference.

12 2. The structure of language

  • Children learn to use language in social situations. This refers to pragmatics. Without pragmatics, our communications would not come at the right time or right place. In the illustration to the left, this child has learned not to say no after a parental request. However, in the next film clip, learning language pragmatics is a lifelong process that some persons obviously lack.

13 3. Language development

  • The table above describes the first two years of language development.

14 3. Language development

  • Let’s look at some of the developmental phenomenon that occur in language acquisition over the first two years. First, receptive language (understanding spoken speech) develops sooner than productive speech (speaking words).

15 3. Language development

  • Another language development occurs around 18 to 24 months. This is “fast mapping.” Fast mapping refers to the “process by which children connect a word onto an underlying concept after only one physical exposure (i.e., seeing the object and linking a word to it).

16 3. Language development

  • When infants reach the “one word” stage they often use “overextensions.” Overextensions occurs “when a child uses a word to describe a wider set of objects or actions. In the illustration above, a child calls a turkey, “a dog,” because it makes noise and moves. The use of overextensions is common because toddlers must rely on a very limited vocabulary to express themselves.

17 3. Language development

  • In contrast, an underextension is when a child uses a word incorrectly because it describes a narrower set of objects or actions. For example, a child only refers to his/her preschool teacher as “teacher” but assistant teachers are all called “big persons.”

18 3. Language development

  • The slide above displays other language milestones at specific ages.

19 3. Language development

  • The cartoon above illustrates “telegraphic speech.” Myers defines it as an “early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram… using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting auxilliary words.

20 3. Language development

  • A child can use rules of language incorrectly this is indicated in the child’s use of overregulations. Overregulations are often observed cases of irregular verbs and nouns (“mices or mouses for mice) or (“wented there”). Overregulations occur across different languages. Overregulations suggest that children

states “different languages impose different conceptions of reality.” In other words, our language determines how we think about the world. Bilingual studies reveal that persons speaking two different languages can have different senses of self and personality depending on what language they are using.

31 5.^ Thought^ and^ language

  • There is strong evidence that language determines how we think. However, some argue that linguistic determinism is too extreme. That is, instead of determining thought, language simply influences it. The work of Eleanor Rosch who found that subjects from a New Guinea tribe (the Dani culture who had only 2 basic color words, dark and bright) could attached nonsense words to 11 basic colors just as easily as English speaking subjects.

32 5.^ Thought^ and^ language

  • The notion that language influences our thought has been well documented. For example, our use of pronouns clearly influences our thought. What happens when we are presented with the pronoun, he? Research evidence reveals that when used in a sentence, subjects usually view it as male and not its generic usage (includes female as well). The use of “he” or “she” strongly influences the way we see occupations, social status, and personality type. For example, the following sentence, “She was a dominant CEO” clashes with “He was a dominant CEO.”

33 5.^ Thought^ and^ language

  • Many argue, like Wallace Lambert, that bilingualism expands our “word power” and academic pursuits. Furthermore, he proposes that if second languages are taught earlier, children have a “bilingual advantage.” This advantage manifests itself in knowing how to inhibit one’s attention to irrelevant information. In bilingual Canada, Lambert’s studies reveal that English speaking children who are “immersed” in French in their first three years of school achieve increased aptitude and math scores and gain an appreciation for French Canadian culture without affecting their English fluency.

34 5.^ Thought^ and^ language

  • Can we think without language? Language is not the only influential vehicle for thought. Cognitive scientists have shown that mental images can influence our thoughts. Mental practice (imagery) has been effective for both athletes and students. Elite athletes have used imagery to improve their physical skills. Through imagery, performance improvements have been shown consistently in the literature. Researchers have concluded that imagery is more effective if one focuses on the process and not the outcome.

35 6. Language and other species

  • Historically, researchers have attempted to teach language to a variety of species. The cartoon above reflects the controversy and/or humor surrounding this issue.

36 6. Language and other species

  • Species spend considerable amount of time communicating with each other, but do not use speech to communicate. For example, honey bees actually do a little dance to communicate the whereabouts of nectar. To find the nectar, the other honey bees stay close to feel the direction that the lead or explorer honey bee is going.

37 6. Language and other species

  • Animals may not be able to produce language (speak) but do they have receptive language abilities? This is the classic case of “Cleaver Hans.” This was a horse who impressed onlookers by solving arithmetic problems. Hans was trained to count out the answers to arithmetic problems by tapping one of his hooves until he reached the correct answer.

38 6. Language and other species

  • The controversy surrounding Hans’ amazing abilities was revealed. Oskar Pfungst showed that Hans stopped counting in response to tiny movements of his trainer’s head. The head movements cued the initiation and termination of Hans’ counting. When the trainer knew the answer, Hans was correct almost all of the time. But, when the trainer was wrong, so was Hans. Therefore, Cleaver Hans’ receptive language abilities were simply a product of cued response and imitation.

39 6. Language and other species

  • When attempts to teach chimps how to speak with their vocal cords failed, researchers turned to American sign language to communicate. Allen and Beatrice Gardner taught Washoe to use American sign language. Above, Washoe is signing ”sweet” in response to a lollipop. In four years, Washoe acquired a sign

vocabulary of roughly 160 words. Washoe actually combine these signs to form simple sentences.

40 6. Language and other species

  • In this picture, Herbert Terrace trains his own chimpanzee, Nim Chimpsky. According to Terrace, Nim uses sign language only in response to cues from his trainers. This photo shows Nim learning the sign for “drink.” Nevertheless, though impressed, Herbert Terrace concluded that primates acquired sign language through simple imitation. Terrace believed that chimps were unable to employ language rules.

41 6. Language and other species

  • As an infant observing his mother’s sign language training, Kanzi was able to develop amazing language abilities. Researchers discovered that Kanzi could understood 72% of 660 sentences. Critics of this research were even impressed by Kanzi ability to understand language semantics and syntax.

42 6. Language and other species

  • Kanzi, a pygmy chimpanzee, may have actually applied some rules and created spontaneous simple sentences off this computer-monitored keyboard. Nevertheless, as stellar Kanzi’s performance has been, it cannot compare to human language abilities. Human language is more fluent, flexible, and complex. Any toddler can outperform any chimpanzee in language abilities. In short, chimps are simply limited in their use of syntax but can communicate meaning through symbols.