PSYCO105 Lecture : Jan 18 - Language and Thought.docx
1 May 2012
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Document Summary
Requires: innate mechanisms and an environment that provides adequate models and opportunity. The smallest meaningful units of a language. They take the form of pronounceable sounds. Morphemes are words, prefixes or suffixes used in consistent ways to modify words. Dog is a word and a morpheme, -s is a morpheme but not a word, and dogs is a word consisting of 2 morphemes (dog and-s) Content morphemes: carry the main meaning of a sentence. Grammatical morphemes: fill out the grammatical structure of the sentence, and contribute to meaning. Arbitrary: no similarity need exist between its physical structure and that of the object or. Discrete: cannot be changed in a graded way to express gradations in meaning concept for which it stands. Neither arbitrary nor discrete: nonverbal signals typically develop from and bear physical resemblance to actions (can be presented in a graded manner) In speech, we commonly mix nonverbal with verbal communication to get a point across.
