Language

A means of communication.

Broca's Area Wernicke's Area

Functions:•Speech Production•Facial Neuron Control•Language Processing

‍Location:Directionally, Broca's area is located in the lower portion of the left frontal lobe.

Functions:•Language Comprehension•Semantic Processing•Language Recognition•Language Interpretation

‍Location:Wernicke's area is located in the left temporal lobe, posterior to the primary auditory complex.

Language

A means of communication.

Language can be…..auditory, visual, or tactile

All languages contain….

Phonemes• The smallest units of

sound in a language.• English has about 44

phonemes.

Morphemes• The smallest unit of

meaningful sound.• Can be words like a or

but.• Can also be parts of

words like prefixes or suffixes…”ed” at the end of a word means past tense.

How many phonemes does platypus have?

Grammar

• The rules of a language.

• Syntax: the order of words in a language.

Language AcquisitionStages that we learn

language…1. Babbling Stage2. Holophrastic Stage (one

word stage)3. Telegraphic Speech

Stage• After the telegraphic

stage we get overgeneralization.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxtLhgzntg8

How do we learn language?

Social Learning Theory

• B.F. Skinner from the Behaviorist School

• Baby may imitate a parent.

If they are reinforced they keep saying the word.

If they are punished, they stop saying the word.

Chomsky’s Theory(Nativist Theory)

• We learn language too quickly for it to be through reinforcement and punishment.

• Inborn universal language acquisition device

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gU-B0-DCKI&index=20&list=PLfoJWSBAwZAxpXAHjV6blIEBJWNSuvZv5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSFPgDuyv6E

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity• The idea that

language determines the way we think.

• The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language.

• Whorf says they rarely think of the past.

Do animals use language?