SHS 120, Hadley

Study Guide Unit 1: Introduction to Language Science,

Required Readings: Pence & Justice, 2008, Ch 1, 2, & 4; Jackendoff, 1994, Ch 1-3 (ER)

Supplemental Readings Available: Hulit & Howard, Ch 1 (ER); Pence & Justice, Ch 3, Kuhl &

Rivera-Gaxiola, 2008; Neville & Bruer, 2001; Newport, 2002

Perspectives: In P&J (Ch 2), the PBS film Acquiring the Human Language, and our lectures, we have

framed the study of children’s language acquisition from several different perspectives. It is important to

understand the different research questions that arise from these differences in disciplinary backgrounds

as well the different research questions that arise from basic versus applied research programs.

Who studies language acquisition and why?

oLinguists

oPhychologists

What is the focus of study from these disciplinary perspectives?

oLinguists: what is the nature of language?

oPsychologists: how is language represented in the mind?

What types of questions do researchers from these disciplinary perspectives ask?

oDevelopmental psychology, - What effects do language input have on preschoolers

syntax?

olinguistics, - to what extent do children demonstrate use of new words?

opsycholinguistics, - how do infant phonetics develop into adult phonetics?

oneurobiology/neurolinguistics, - how does the brain store and use words?

olinguistic anthropology, how does verbal expression connect to nonverbal

communication/gestures?

ospeech-language pathology, - to what extent do tests identify impairment in

communication with children?

oeducation, - to what extent does literacy intervention promote language and literacy in

preschoolers?

oSociology – how does an interpreter affect communication between physicians and

patients?

Core Concepts: In the PBS film, your readings, and class lectures, you have been introduced to core

concepts in the study of language. Your understanding of these core terms and the relationships between

them is a critical foundation for further study of language development and disorders.

Relationships between communication, speech and language (P&J, Ch 1; H&H, Ch1) communication,

speech, language, speech production vs language production, formulation, transmission, reception,

comprehension, linguistic vs nonlinguistic communication,

How are speech and language “separate but related” aspects of communication?

oBoth part of communication: Speech is the actual oral delivery of language.

Trace the journey of a message from a speaker’s thought to a listener’s understanding of the

message.

oFormulation: put ideas into words to share with others; language

oTransmission: fluently express the ideas; speech

oReception: receive the communication sent; hearing

oComprehension: interpret the communication; language

Domains of language (P&J, Ch 1 & 3) semantics, mental lexicon, semantic network, morphology,

morphemes (grammatical, derivational), syntax, phrases, sentences, phonology, phoneme, phonotactic

rules, pragmatics, communicative functions, conversational skills

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SHS 120, Hadley Study Guide Unit 1: Introduction to Language Science, Required Readings: Pence & Justice, 2008, Ch 1, 2, & 4; Jackendoff, 1994, Ch 1-3 (ER) Supplemental Readings Available : Hulit & Howard, Ch 1 (ER); Pence & Justice, Ch 3, Kuhl & Rivera-Gaxiola, 2008; Neville & Bruer, 2001; Newport, 2002 Perspectives: In P&J (Ch 2), the PBS film Acquiring the Human Language , and our lectures, we have framed the study of children’s language acquisition from several different perspectives. It is important to understand the different research questions that arise from these differences in disciplinary backgrounds as well the different research questions that arise from basic versus applied research programs.  Who studies language acquisition and why? o Linguists o Phychologists  What is the focus of study from these disciplinary perspectives? o Linguists: what is the nature of language? o Psychologists: how is language represented in the mind?  What types of questions do researchers from these disciplinary perspectives ask? o Developmental psychology, - What effects do language input have on preschoolers syntax? o linguistics, - to what extent do children demonstrate use of new words? o psycholinguistics, - how do infant phonetics develop into adult phonetics? o neurobiology/neurolinguistics, - how does the brain store and use words? o linguistic anthropology, how does verbal expression connect to nonverbal communication/gestures? o speech-language pathology, - to what extent do tests identify impairment in communication with children? o education, - to what extent does literacy intervention promote language and literacy in preschoolers? o Sociology – how does an interpreter affect communication between physicians and patients? Core Concepts : In the PBS film, your readings, and class lectures, you have been introduced to core concepts in the study of language. Your understanding of these core terms and the relationships between them is a critical foundation for further study of language development and disorders. Relationships between communication, speech and language (P&J, Ch 1; H&H, Ch1) communication, speech, language, speech production vs language production, formulation, transmission, reception, comprehension, linguistic vs nonlinguistic communication,  How are speech and language “separate but related” aspects of communication? o Both part of communication: Speech is the actual oral delivery of language.  Trace the journey of a message from a speaker’s thought to a listener’s understanding of the message. o Formulation: put ideas into words to share with others; language o Transmission: fluently express the ideas; speech o Reception: receive the communication sent; hearing o Comprehension: interpret the communication; language Domains of language (P&J, Ch 1 & 3) semantics, mental lexicon, semantic network, morphology, morphemes (grammatical, derivational), syntax, phrases, sentences, phonology, phoneme, phonotactic rules, pragmatics, communicative functions, conversational skills

 What are the major domains? How do these five formal domains of language link up to the more casual expressions in the text (i.e., form, content, use) and those we have used in class (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, speech sounds, use of language)? o Form  Phonology  Morphology  Syntax o Content  Semantics o Use  Pragmatics: how we accomplish outcomes using language; application LEARN phonology then semantics.  Which domain is most closely related to the conventional notion of “words”? o Semantics: meaning of words  Three domains are related to “rules” for how elements of language are combined/sequenced. Which three domains are these? o Phonology: rules of sound language o Morphology: formation of word structures  Prefixes, suffixes, etc.  Morpheme = smallest unit o Syntax: form of sentences; order of words  How are words organized in the mental lexicon? o Interpret and decode sound patters to meaning o Organized how?  Relation/ meaning  Words related can be retrieved more rapidly  Sounds (phonologically)  Silk, silk, silk… what does a cow drink? Milk. No. o Why we retrieve “milk” Properties of language : (P&J, Ch1; H&H, Ch 1) productivity/generativity, semanticity/symbolic, displacement/ decontextualized  Many scientists argue that three “design features” of communication systems are of central importance to human language because their combination differentiates human language from animal communication systems in important ways. Explain how semanticity, productivity, and displacement work together to make human language so remarkable. are among the most important feature differences? What is the combination of “design-features” of human language that differentiate it from animal communication.  Productivity – be creative, put things in new forms or come up with new ideas; can produce an infinite number of sentences (with the limited words and rules)  Semanticity – communicating specific, clear language; the symbol point; using the correct specific words; code (arbitrary meanings)  Displacement – talk about future or past Science and theory in language development (P&J, Ch2) science, theory, basic research, applied research  What is the relationship between theory and empirical science? o Empirical science is gaining data through experiments, which may or may not support a scientific theory.  What is the relationship between basic and applied research?

 No, they claim that children learn the meanings of words through experience but that they have an innate knowledge for grammar that helps them out.  Is their any such thing as a ‘primitive’ language? Why or why not?  Yes, because of the same concept as universal grammar.  What did Chomsky notice about the languages of the world that was so important?  Innate knowledge = universal grammar.  Nouns and verbs  In Ch 2, Pence & Justice identify three questions that theories of language acquisition should address. Two are addressed in the film. What are they? Which is not addressed in the film?  What do infants bring to the task of language, what mechanisms drive language acquisition and what types of input support the language-learning system?  What types of input support the language-learning system? Chapters 1-2: Linguistics, Nature, nurture, mental grammar, expressive variety of language, unconscious grammatical principles, implicit knowledge, linguistic competence, linguistic intuition, communication, language, words, patterns, rules, recursive rule, school (prescriptive) grammar  How do we convey different messages by combining words in different ways?  We use the patterns of syntax to express ourselves in different ways.  Are both word and sentence meanings thought to be stored in memory? Why or why not?  Word meanings and sentence patterns are stored. It would be impossible to store the meanings of or construct all sentences. Word meanings are a part of our mental lexicon.  Are word meanings and sentences thought to be learned in different ways? Why or why not?  Yes, word meanings are learned singularly; sentences are learned through patterns  Why do linguists posit “linguistic rules”?  What is mental grammar and why do linguists argue for such a thing?  Mental grammar is a collection of the patterns of sentences we acquire, the way we organize thoughts into words and language. We can generate sentences without ever having heard them before. It has abstract rules that we just follow; there is a structure but we can’t explain it. Chapter 3 : teaching (explicit instruction, deliberate teaching), implicit vs explicit learning, conscious vs unconscious attention, active vs passive learning, paradox of language acquisition, innate knowledge, universal grammar, brain structure, mental functioning, genetic hypothesis  If we assume mental grammar exists, how did it get there? o Learn from exposure, not necessarily instruction. We have innate knowledge to pick up on those details and rules and embrace and use them subconsciously.  What is innate knowledge? o It must be sufficient for any language, it is the start to universal grammar. It incorporates the similarities between all languages: nouns and verbs.  How is innate knowledge different from mental grammar? o Innate knowledge plus the learned part of words and vocabulary together form our mental grammar.  What do linguistics like Jackendoff use to explain the paradox of language acquisition? o They say that kids just get a head start with innate knowledge. Its easy for them because they haven’t already been molded in a different way.

Concepts from Neuroscience: ( P&J, Ch 4; Kuhl & Rivera-Gaxiola (2008); Neville & Bruer (2001); Newport (2002), lectures and videoclips (insights from neuroscience) Neuroscience and language: neurolinguistics, left-hemisphere, right-hemisphere, brain regions (frontal, temporal, parietal, & occipital lobes), Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, Heschl’s gyrus, neuron, synapse, synaptogenesis (creation of a synapse) , synaptic density – number of synapses with on neuron, synaptic pruning, MRI – snapshot of brain activity, fMRI – maps the functioning of the brain – people engaged in tasks, ERP – measures brain response to thoughts or perceptions, neural plasticity (experience-expectant

change in brain activity from NORMAL experiences, experience-dependent – change in brain activity from explicit instruction), critical/sensitive period, semantic processing, grammatical processing, phonological processing, age of exposure. Boot strapping – making inferences to word meanings  What are the major structures and functions of the human brain? o Structures  Frontal – motor output  Temporal – auditory  Occipital – visual  Parietal – senses, language comprehension, perceiving o Functions  Neurons synapse for functionality  How has brain imaging/non-invasive techniques advanced the modern study of language? o Allowed us to see where certain activities take place  How does the human brain process and produce language? What primary areas of the brain are involved in language processing?  Usually the LH  Broca’s area – fine motor skills in speech  Wernicke’s area (receptive speech area) – language comprehension  Heschl’s gyrus – specialized speech processing  Are there single or multiple regions of the brain involved in language processing? Do some regions seem to be specialized for language processing?  Multiple areas. (LIST)  Areas specialize but the brain has plasticity.  Jeff Elman, in Grey Matters , presents evidence argue against a “language acquisition device” or “language module”. What evidence does he present?  Children with aphasia are able to adapt and learn language better than adults with it.  Does the evidence to date suggest that a human brain is necessary for language acquisition?  Yes  Is language experience necessary for language acquisition? What kinds of experiences do children need? Does the timing of the experience matter?  The earlier the better.  Children need to hear language and sentences to get the patterns to use.  Language experience is necessary  What is plasticity? What is the brain basis of plasticity?  The modifiability of brain structures  Brain has many synapses at a young age, and the ones that go unused are eventually pruned. That is why children can adapt to aphasia and adults have a hard time. They don’t have the extra synapses that kids do.  What evidence suggests that a human brain is necessary for language acquisition? 

Introduction to Language Science - Study Guide with Answers | SHS 120, Study notes of Speech-Language Pathology

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