PSY210H5 Lecture 5: Lecture 5
10 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
A communication system in which words and their written symbols combine in various, regulated ways to produce an infinite number of messages (pg 253) Meaning of words & parts of words. Un- placed before word to give it a diff meaning (not: syntax. The cat chased the dog vs. the chased the dog cat: pragmatics. Knowledge of how language used to communicate. Speaking differently to infants than to adults. Wouldn"t talk to your boss the way you talk to friends. Caregivers selectively reinforce babbling sounds that are most like adult speech (skinner) Would need a lot of stimulus-response pairings. Children are born with innate mental structures that guides their acquisition of language; biological predisposition to learn language. Part of the brain specifically used for language. Linguistic universals, critical periods, children apply rules of grammar to novel words, pidgin creole. Deaf children who do not receive language input (not taught sign) create their own simple.
