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Psycholinguistics
Language
Interdisciplinary field that examines how ppl use lang to comm ideas - We use lang in thousands of diff settings
- Lang provides excellent ex of interrelatedness of cog processes
- Encompasses broad range of topics: sounds, several levels of meaning, grammar, social factors
- Cognitively complex phenomenon; huge part of our social interactions
- Bias: most research focuses on how ppl understand & use English
- Theories: cognitive-functional approach; started to look at semantics (how past knowledge informs our lang)
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Phoneme
Language
Basic unit of spoken lang - [Sounds like a, k, & th, vowel, "eh," consonant]
- English lang has abt 40
- Infants: to acquire lang they must distinguish btwn these & be able to grp together sounds that are phonetically equivalent [recognize sounds b & pare diff]
- Use them to construct morphemes
- Other langs have phoneme sounds we don't
- Rule & memory theory: we have generalized rules for how phonemes work but also have memories that help us remember rules for irreg/unique words/rules
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Morpheme
Language
Basic unit of meaning - [Reactivated has 4: re-, active, -ate, -ed; each segment conveys meaning]
- Many can stand on their own [giraffe]; but others must be attached to other morphemes to convey their meaning [re- indicates repeated action]
- Morphology: study of morphemes
- Morpheme errors: 1 kind of slip of tongue error; when morphemes are exchanged in nearby words [self destruct instruction -> self instruct destruction]
- Use phonemes to construct these
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Morphology
Language
The study of morphemes - Encompassed in grammar (+ syntax)
- Children: initially use simple form of a word in every context but begin to add on morphemes -> more advanced understanding & sometimes create own reg forms [mouses, runned]
- Children appreciate this at a young age--pay greater attention to phrases w/appropriate morphology
- Overregularization in children: works according to the rule they've found
- PDP: we're trying to incorporate all these rules at same time
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Syntax
Language
Grammatical rules that govern how we org words into sentences - Where do the subjs & verbs go? depends on lang you speak
- Encompassed in grammar (+ morphology)
- Writing uses more complex syntax than speaking
- Children: 18-24 mo begin to combine 2 words; initially slow rate but incr rapidly after age 2; growing capacity of working memory aids to rapid incr in word combos; 2 word utterances can express many diff kinds of rel's & diff meaning in diff context; -> improve ordering, endings & start putting things together; constructive not totally imitative
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Grammar
Language
Encompasses both morphology & syntax - Examines both word & sentence structure
- L hemisphere
- Concerned w/proper word choice--what words are appropriate for the sentence? ["I eated the cookie"]
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Semantics
Language
Area of psycholinguistics that examines meanings of words & sentences - Semantic memory
- Psychologists discouraged w/Chomsky dvlpd theories emphasizing human mind & semantics
- How our past knowledge informs our lang
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Pragmatics
Language
Our knowledge of the social rules that underlie lang use - Takes into account the listener's perspective [how you'd explain syntax to a 12yr old vs. college student]
- Important in lang production & can incluence comprehension
- Focuses on how speakers successfully comm messages to their audience
- 2 important topics: common ground & understanding of directives
- Lexical entrainment: pragmatic skill
- Bilinguals: more sensitive to some pragmatic aspects of lang
- Children: must learn what should & shouldn't be said in certain situations; need to know to use diff lang styles when talking to diff ppl; must learn 2 speakers need to coordinate convo by taking turns & listening
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Phrase structure
Language
We construct a sentence by using a hierarchical structure that's based on grammatical building blocks (constituents) - ["The young woman carried the heavy painting" can be divided into 2 broad constituents: the phrase that focuses on the noun "the young woman" & on the verb "carried the heavy painting"--can be further subdivided]
- Looks like upside down tree
- Helps us appreciate more complicated rel's among elements of a sentence
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Constituents
Phrase structure of language
Grammatical building blocks - We often need the entire constituent to give us cues abt the meaning of the words [Painting can be either a verb/non--but from context in the constituent the heavy painting we know it's a noun]
- Ppl maintain a complete constituent in working memory while they process its meaning
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Modular (language)
Chomsky approach
Ppl have a set of specific linguistic abilities that don't follow the principles of other cog processes - Chomsky proposed lang is this
- B/c of this young children learn complex linguistic structures yrs b4 they master other simpler tasks like mental arithmetic
- Speacialized abilities--why lang comes early
- Standard cog approach: argues against this saying lang is interconnected w/other cog processes like working memory; says we're skilled at lang b/c our powerful brains can master many cog tasks
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Surface structure
Language
Structure of a sentence that's rep'd by the words actually spoken/written - VS. deep structure--errors when these get confused
- 2 sentences may have very diff surface structures but similar deep structures ["Sara threw the ball" vs "the ball was thrown by Sara"]--identical core meanings
- Ambiguous sentences
- Active & passive forms of sentence may differ in surface structure, even tho they have similar deep structures
- Decision making: ppl are distracted by diff's in surface structure of probs & fail to realize they share a deep structure similarity (framing effect)
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Deep structure
Language
The underlying, more abstract meaning of a sentence; meaning it's trying to convey - VS surface structure--errors when these get confused
- 2 sentences may have very diff surface structures but similar deep structures ["Sara threw the ball" vs "the ball was thrown by Sara"]--identical core meanings
- Ambiguous sentences
- Active & passive forms of sentence may differ in surface structure, even tho they have similar deep structuresDecision making: ppl are distracted by diff's in surface structure of probs & fail to realize they share a deep structure similarity (framing effect)
- Framing effect: both options have identical deep structures [lives lost/saved] but outcomes described diff
- Problem isomorphs: have same deep structure but superficially many not look same
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Ambiguous sentences
Surface structure of language
2 sentences may have identical surface structures but very diff deep structures - ["POP CAN DRIVE"--father driving/fundraiser?]
- Context usu helps resolve these
- Readers who have relatively large working memory can quickly process these
- Adding "the" instead of "a" changes them--means we're relating to something specifically
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Cognitive-functional approach
Psycholinguistic theory
Aka usage-based linguisticsThe function of human lang in everyday life is to comm meaning to other indiv's - We have lang to foster our social interactions for sake of survival
- Emphasizes our cog processes [attention & memory] are intertwined w/our lang comp & production--all rely on lang
- Young children have extremely powerful cog skills & social learning skills
- Adults use lang strategically
- Can use lang creatively to comm a variety of meaning
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Nested structure
Language comprehension
Ppl have difficulty understanding sentences if they contain these w/a descriptive clause in the middle of the sentence - A phrase that's embedded w/in another sentence
- ["The plane leavees at 9:41" vs. “The plane that I want to take when I go to Denver after he returns from Washington leaves at 9:41 in the morning.”]
- Experience memory overload when trying to read these--need to remember 1st part of sentence while you process nested structure then you can processes remainder of the sentence
- Memory overload becomes excessive when sentence contains several
- Hard to make sense of at 1st b/c we have all these little phrases in it & have to break it up
- Why we have commas to separate it
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Neurolinguistics
Language
The discipline that examines how the brain processes lang - Neurological basis of lang is impressively complex
- Aphasia
- Hemispheric specialization
- Neuroimaging research: fMRI
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Aphasia
Neurolinguistics
Difficulty comm'ing, caused by damage to speech areas of brain (usu stroke, tumor, serious infection) - Broca's & Wernicke's aphasia
- Hesitant, effortful, simple grammar; wordy confused
- Some overlap, consider damage
- Includes difficulty producing/comprehending spoken/written lang
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Broca's area
Neurolinguistics
Located toward front of brain - Damage here usu leads to speech that's hesitant, effortful, & grammatically simple
- 1 of locations of brain that manages motor mvmt--to produce speech you must move you lips & tongue
- Production of lang linked to this
- VS. Wernicke's area
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Broca's aphasia
Neurolinguistics
Primarily characterized by an expressive-lang deficit (trouble producing lang) - May also have trouble understanding lang
- VS. Wernicke's aphasia
- Prob w/actually finding the words & being able to speak them
- Can comprehend just fine--know what you said but have difficulty saying things
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Wernicke's area
Neurolinguistics
Located toward back of the brain--temporal area (near memory area) - Damage here usu produces serious difficulties in understanding speech & lang production that's too wordy & confused
- VS. Broca's area
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Wernicke's aphasia
Neurolinguistics
Such severe receptive-lang probs they can't understand basic instructions like "point to the phone" - VS Broca's aphasia
- Ppl think they're insane/mentall retarded
- Try to comm in some way but can't answer
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Lateralization
Hemispheric specialization
Each hemisphere of the brain has somewhat diff functions - Left: most of work in lang processing; esp skilled at speech perception (quickly selects most likely interpretation of a sound); determines cause & effect rel's; reading & understanding meaning & grammar; activated by high-imagery sentences
- Right: does perform some tasks in lang processing; interprets emptional tone; appreciating humor; abstract lang tasks
- L&R: often work together on tasks--interpreting subtle word meanings, resolving ambiguities, combining meaning of several sentences
- When ppl have normal brain functions both hemispheres work together in complementary fashion
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fMRI
Neurolinguistics
Based on principle that oxygen-rich blood is an index of brain activity - Used to investigate lang in humans
- Superior to PET scan in detecting changes that occur very quickly & safer
- Disadvantage: values can be inaccurate when ppl move heads slightly (more suitable for lang comp than production)
- Found R hemisphere manages to respond diff to connected lang [using "the" instead of "a"] than disconnected
- Highlights complexity of our lang skills
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Dual-route approach to reading
Reading
Skilled readers employ both a direct-access & indirect-access route - Debate whether readers actually "sound out" words while reading--sometimes they do sometimes they don't
- Word sounds may be esp important when kids begin to read
- Adults read tongue twisters very slowly (shows they're translating printed words into sounds)
- Advantage: flexibility--argues characteristics of reading material (& the reader) determine whether access is direct/indirect
- Consistent w/brain-imaging research
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Direct-access route
Dual-route approach to reading
Recognize this word directly thru vision - Esp likely to use if word has an irregular spelling & can't be "sounded out"
- [One, through]
- Ppl can recognize a word visually w/o paying attention to sound of word
- Usu use for a common word
- Experienced/good readers likely to recognize words directly from print
- [Horse-worse; quart-part]
- No phonological confusion--don't need to sound them out
- Seeing the word automatically evokes the memory & don't need to sound it out
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Indirect-access route
Dual-route approach to reading
Recognize the word indirectly by sounding out the word - As soon as you see a word you translate the ink marks on the page into some form of sound b4 you can access a word & its meaning
- Esp likely to use it if word has reg spelling & can be sounded out [ten, cabinet]
- Must go thru intermediate step of converting visual stimulus into a phonolgoical stimulus
- Sound coding may assist working memory, providing additional advantage during reading
- Use 1st time you see a long uncommon word; beginning readers sound out words
- Engage your mind more when you come across new word
- [Lion-bare confused w/lion-bear]
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Whole-word approach
Reading & Children
Aruges readers can directly connect the written word (as an entire unit) w/the meaning this word reps - In line w/direct-access approach
- Emphasizes correspondence btwn written & spoken codes in English is notoriously complex
- Argues kids shouldn't learn to emphasize way a word sounds but to identify a word in terms of its context w/in a sentence
- VS phonics approach
- Compromise: kids should be taught to use phonics to access the pronunciation of a word but should also use context as backup to conirm initial hypothesis
- Can't force kids to use grammar any sooner even tho they can say the words
- Some become very poor spellers from this approach
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Phonics approach
Reading & Children
Readers recognize words by trying to pronounce the indiv letters in the word - In line w/indirect access approach--"sound it out"
- Argues speech sound = necessary intermediate step in reading
- Emphasizes dvlping young kids' awareness of phonemes
- Phonics training helps kids who have reading probs
- VS whole word approach
- Compromise: kids should be taught to use phonics to access the pronunciation of a word but should also use context as backup to conirm initial hypothesis
- Diff ways you can pronounce a diff morpheme
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Whole-language approach
REading & Children
Reading instruction should emphasize meaning & should be enjoyable to incr children's enthusiasm abt learning to read - Should read interesting stories & experiment w/writing b4 they're expert spellers & use reading throughout their classroom experience
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Discourse
Language
Language units that are larger than a sentence - Readers create casual inferences to integrate discourse & construct a well-org'd story
- Form & integrate a rep
- Narrative
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Constructionist view of inferences
Reading
Readers usu draw inferences abt the causes of events & rel's btwn events - Construct inferences abt a character's motivations, personality, motives
- Readers actively construct explanations as they integrate the current info w/all the relevant info from previous parts of text as well as their background knowledge
- Aruges ppl typically draw inferences, even when related topics are separated by several irrelevant paragraphs
- Try to connect material w/in a text passage & consult info stored in LTM
- Readers create casual inferences to integrate discourse & construct a well-org'd story
- Try to retain consistency even when there's intervening material/contradicting evidence
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Metacognition
- Your knowledge & control of your cog processes
- 1 important function: supervises way you select & use your memory strategies
- Extremely active process
- Helpful at every stage of writing
- Thoughts abt thinking
- Awareness of your own knowledge
- Metamemory
- Poor in children
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Artificial intelligence
Reading
Area of computer science that attempts to constrcut computers that can demonstrate human-like cog processes - Goal: dvlp computer programs that will perform tasks that appear to be intelligent [lang comp, convos]
- Natural lang
- FRUMP, LSA
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Natural language
Artificial intelligence
- Ordinary human lang w/all its sloppiness, ambiguities, & complexities
- Comptuers start w/no knowledge of this--researchers have to write into the program all the info necessary to make it beh as if it understands sentences typed on its keyboard & must be in form of detailed instructions
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FRUMP
Artificial intelligence
Fast Reading Understanding & Memory Program - Goal: summarize newspaper stories written in ordinary lang
- Usu worked in top-down fashion by applying world knowledge based on 48 diff scripts
- Research on these kinds of programs show humans draw numerous inferences AI systems can't access
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Latent semantic analysis (LSA)
Artificial Intelligence
1 of most useful AI programs - Can perform many failry sophisticated lang tasks
- Can be programmed to provide tutoring sessions in disciplines like physics
- Can assess amt semantic similarity btwn 2 discourse segments
- Can be used to grade essays--but can't assess student's creativity
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