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GRE PSYCH (Language)

Terms

undefined, object
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language
meaningful arrangement of sounds.
psycholinguistics
study of the psychology of language
phonemes
discrete sounds that make up words but carry no meanings, such as ee, p, sh. Infants make these sounds when learning language. All words in a language are created from basic phonological rules of sound combination.
phonics
learning to read by sounding out phonemes.
morphemes
made up of phonemes; smallest units of meaning in language. Words or parts of words that have meaning. e.g. boy, or the suffix -ing
syntax
arrangement of words into sentences as prescribed by a particular language
grammar
overall rules of the interrelationship between morphemes and syntax that make up a certain language
morphology
aka morphological rules. Grammar rules; how to group morphemes
prosody
tone inflections, accents, and other aspects of pronunciation that carry meaning. Infants more easily differentiate between completely different sounds that between different expressions of the same sound
Noam Chomsky
most important psycholinguist. Creator of "transformational grammar" and the "Language Acquisition Device (LAD)"
transformational grammar
differentiates between surface structure and deep structure in language
surface structure
the way that words are organized
deep structure
underlying meaning of a group of words
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
after studying children and noticing how they made small errords often based on grammar rules rather than large structural errors, Chomsky proposed that humans have an inborn ability to adopt generative grammar rules of the language that they hear. The rules are then uesd to make millions of novel sentences. The LAD is a nativist of genetic interpretation. According to Chomsky, children need only to be exposed to a language in order to easily apply the LAD. They do not simply imitate, memorize, or learn through conditioning. Also explains why children who are learning different languages progress similarly.
overregularization
overapplication of grammar rules. e.g. overuse of past tense -ed or plural -s suffixes, "I founded the toy" or "sheeps".
overextension
generalizing with names for things. Often done through chaining characteristics rather than through logic. e.g. calling any furry thing "doggie"
telegraphic speech
speech without articles or extras, similar to a telegram. e.g. "me go"
holophrastic speech
young children use holophrases to convey whole sentences. e.g. "me" to mean "give that to me"
girls and language
girls are faster and more accurate with language learning than are boys
bilingual children and language
slower at language learning
language acquisition milestones--age 1, age 2, age 3, age 4
age 1--first word(s)

age 2-->50 words, usually in 2 and then 3 word phrases

age 3--1000 words with many grammatical errors

age 4--grammar problems are random exceptions
Benjamin Whorf
studies with Hopi language. Posited "Whorf hypothesis"
Whorf hypothesis
language, or how a culture says things, influences that culture's perspective. Used to argue for nonsexist language. Has been shown, however, that culture that don't have words for certain colors can still recognize them, so it is unclear to what extent language really affects our perceptions.
Roger Brown
researched social, developmental and linguistic psychology. Found that children's understanding of grammatical rules develops as they make hypotheses about how syntax works and then self-correct with experience.
Katherine Nelson
found that language really begins to develop with the onset of active speech rather than during the first year of only listening
William Labov
studied "Black" English (aka Ebonics) and found that it had its own complex internal structure and is not simply incorrect English
Lev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria
studied development of word meanings and found them to be complex and altered by interpersonal experience. Also, they asserted that language is a tool involved in (not just a byproduct of) the development of abstract thinking.
Charles Osgood
studied semantics, or word meanings. Created "semantic differential charts"
semantic differential charts
allowed people to plot the meanings of words on graphs (like near "good" but far from "relaxed"). Results were that people with similar backgrounds and interests plotted words similarly. Idicates that words have similar connotations (implied meanings) for cultures or subcultures.

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