LING 3P61 Chapter 2: chap 2
15 Jan 2016
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Ling 3p61 chapter 2: biological bases of language development. Pidgins: a structurally simple language that arises when people who share no common language come into contact. Creole: language that once was a pidgin but became a native language for some speakers. Language bioprogram hypothesis: (bickerton) humans possess a biologically based, innate linguistic capacity that includes a skeletal grammar. Supralaryngeal vocal tract: vocal tract above the larynx. Functional architecture: how the brain is organized to do what the brain does. Neurolinguistics: study of the relation of the brain to language functioning. Cerebral cortex: outer layer of the brain; controls higher mental functions like reasoning and planning. Subcortical structures: underneath the cortex; primitive functioning like eating and breathing. Corpus callosum: band of nerve fibres that connect the brain hemispheres. Contralateral connections: right side of brain controls left side of body. Neural circuits: interconnected neurons that fire together when presented with a particular stimulus or when accomplishing a particular task.
