PSYCH207 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Linguistic Competence, Morpheme, Psycholinguistics
15 May 2018
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Chapter(9:(Language((
§ Language!is!used!as!a!communication!system!but!there!are!other!communication!systems!that!
don’t!form!true!languages.!!
o !Ex!bees!do!dance!to!communicate!where!honey!is!!
o the!dance!can!only!inform!the!other!bees!about!the!food,!it!can’t!tell!them!how!good!it!is!!
o only!sends!specific!messages!!
o bees!lack!arbitrariness!!
!
Language(has!two!characteristics:!!
1. it!is!regular!(governed!by!a!system!of!rules,!called!grammar!!
Grammar(–(a!system!of!rules!that!produces!well!formed,!or!“legal,”!entities,!such!as!sentences!of!a!
language!
2. it!is!productive,!meaning!that!infinite!combinations!of!things!can!be!expressed!it!in!!
!
Human!language!includes…!
§ !arbitrariness!(lack!of!a!necessary!resemblance!between!a!word!or!sentence!and!what!it!refers!to)!
§ discreteness+(the!system!can!be!subdivided!in!to!recognizable!parts!–!for!example,!sentences!into!
words,!words!into!sounds!!
(
The(Structure(of(Language(
!Phonemes(–(the!smallest!unit!of!sounds!that!makes!a!meaningful!difference!in!a!given!language!!
Ex.!Mat!vs!Cat!
à
(changing!m!to!c!!
§ have!to!put!the!sounds!together!in!some!coherent!way.!Identifying!the!meaning!units!of!
language,!an!aspect!known!as!morphology!!
Morpheme(–(smallest!meaningful!units!of!language!!
Ex.!Take!vs!Taking!
à
(has!2!morphemes!take!to!taking!creates!2!meanings!
Syntax(–(rule!for!how!to!put!together!sentences!and!phrases!!
Ex.!Subject!verb!object!(SVO)!“The!Girls!will!hit!the!boy”!
§ sentence!must!mean!something!to!the!listener!!
Semantics(–(is!the!branch!of!linguistics!and!psycholinguistics!devoted!to!the!study!of!meaning!!
§ for!a!conversation!to!work!there!must!be!some!flow!or!give!and!take!!
§ listeners!must!pay!attention!and!make!certain!assumptions,!and!speakers!must!craft!their!own!
their!contributions!in!ways!that!will!make!the!listeners!job!feasible!!!
Pragmatics(–(the!rules!governing!the!social!aspects!of!language!!
!
§ our!knowledge!of!the!rules!is!therefore!not!explicit!(we!cannot!articulate!what!all!the!rules!are,!nor!
are!we!consciously!aware!of!all!of!them)!
§ but!implicit!(Whatever!the!rules!are,!we!somehow!follow!them)!
!
Linguistic(competence(–(underlying!knowledge!that!allows!a!cognitive!processor!to!engage!in!a!
particular!cognitive!activity!involving!language,!independent!of!behaviour!expressing!that!knowledge!!
§ competence!refers!to!underlying!linguistic!knowledge!that!lets!people!produce!and!
comprehend!their!language!!
Document Summary
Language is used as a communication system but there are other communication systems that don"t form true languages. Ex bees do dance to communicate where honey is: the dance can only inform the other bees about the food, it can"t tell them how good it is, only sends specific messages, bees lack arbitrariness. Language has two characteristics: it is regular (governed by a system of rules, called grammar. Grammar a system of rules that produces well formed, or legal, entities, such as sentences of a language: it is productive, meaning that infinite combinations of things can be expressed it in. Human language includes arbitrariness (lack of a necessary resemblance between a word or sentence and what it refers to) Discreteness (the system can be subdivided in to recognizable parts for example, sentences into words, words into sounds. Phonemes the smallest unit of sounds that makes a meaningful difference in a given language. Mat vs cat changing m to c.
