PSY 0310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Statistical Learning Theory, Voice-Onset Time, Phoneme
Document Summary
Ie: babies learn words in natural speech pattern than when presented words in isolation. Language: human ability to convey messages symbolically. referents of symbols do not need to be physically present. Symbols are not intuitively related to their referents. An infinite number of messages can be constructed. Symbols are learned from others and not preprogrammed. Symbols are composed of a finite set of smaller units that do not have meaning. Requires comprehension and production which have unique developmental trajectories. Phonemes: smallest unit of sound, not all distinctions matter in all languages. Morphemes: smallest unit of meaning: can make up a whole word. Syntax: how morphemes and words can go together. Includes formal grammatical rules (prescriptive), also informal rules that are not taught (descriptive) Human brain: other animals can communicate but this is not language. Requires extensive intentional training and still limited syntax/generativity. A human environment: early exposure to language is necessary.
