language1_08 - 1 Language I 2 3 Why is Language Important 4...

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Language I
October 23, 2008
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Why is Language Important?
• Represents unique form of abstraction in human species
• Language influences perception and memory
• Relevant to the form and manner of information storage
• Relevance to thinking and problem-solving is unquestioned
• Chief means of human communication
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Key Terminology
• Phonology : (the way sounds function in the language) basic unit = phoneme
– single speech sound
– English has about 45; 9 make up half our words
– dimensions: voiced (“a”); unvoiced (“s”); fricatives (“sh”), plosives (“t”); place of articulation (palate v. lips)
• Morphology : (study of the internal structure of words) basic unit = morpheme
– smallest unit of meaning (words, parts of words, etc.)
– free (e.g., “old”, “the”) vs. bound (e.g., “er”, “ist”)
– over 100,000 words formed by morpheme combinations
• Semantics : (study of meaning)
– denotation vs. connotation
– words as economic labels; link between language and concepts
• Syntax : (study of rules that govern combination of morphemes in phrases and sentences; interdependency)
– prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar
– “Daddy, what did you bring that book that I don’t want to be read to out of up for”?
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Linguistic Relativity
• Whorf (1956)
– Language determines or influences thinking
• Miller and McNeill (1969)
– Strong hypothesis
• Language determines thinking
– Weak hypothesis
• Language influences perception
– Weakest hypothesis
• Language influences memory
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Evidence
• Regional/cultural differences in language
– Hanuxoo have 92 different names for various types of rice
• Could be that language evolution enables fine distinctions among types of rice
• Could be that different environmental conditions influence the things people think about
• Colour categorisation
– Heider (1972) – color categories are universal – Dani (2 colors) v. American errors similar
– Failures to replicate (Roberson, Davies, and Davidoff, 2000)
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Influence of language (English vs. Berinmo) on choice of similar pairs of stimuli by English and
Berinmo participants.
Data from Roberson et al. (2000).

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Evaluation
• Harley (2001, p. 87)
– “There is now a considerable amount of evidence suggesting that linguistic factors can
affect cognitive processes. Even colour perception and memory . . . show some influence
of language.”
• The evidence supports the weak and the weakest versions
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Language Comprehension
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Speech Perception
• Input rapid ( ≈ 10 phonemes/sec)
• “Non-invariance” - speech sounds affected by sounds which proceed and follow;
also different voices
• Segmentation problem - how to separate sounds in a continuous flow
• Use of prosody
• Definite left-hemisphere advantage
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Auditory Word Recognition: Basic Processes
Auditory Word Recognition: Basic Processes
• Bottom-up: processing of individual phonemic features
• Top-down: conceptual processing
– phonemic restoration effect:
• probably affects response bias, not sensitivity