PSYC 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Psycholinguistics, Language Acquisition Device, First Language
19 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
Language: system of symbols and rules for combining the symbols in ways that generate infinite number of possible messages and meanings. Properties of language: language is symbolic and structured. Syntax: the order of words: language conveys meanings. Semantics: meaning of words and sentences: language is generative and permits displacement. Generativity: the symbols of language combined to generate infinite number of messages. Displacement: language allows us to communicate events and objects not physically present. Surface structure and deep structure: surface structure: symbols that are used and their order, deep structure: underlying meaning of the combined symbols. Hierarchical structure of language: phoneme: smallest unit of speech sound in a language have no meaning but alter meaning when combined with other elements, phonemes morphemes words phrases sentences discourse. The role of bottom up processing: individual elements of a stimulus are analyzed and then combined to form a unified perception.
