Language can be creative I feel “Starbucky” today.

Language Acquisition Stages that we learn language… Babbling Stage (4mos.) Holophrastic Stage (one word stage 1-2 yrs) Telegraphic Speech Stage (about 2) After the telegraphic stage we get overgeneralization. (overextend –doggies are all 4legged animals/underextend –cookies are one type)

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

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity The idea that language determines the way we think. The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past.

Thinking without Language We often think in images – visualization Unconscious information processing Mental practice is now a standard part of training in many sports Golf, figure skating, even ACADEMICS (think about studying for 5 minutes each day=begin to study sooner, for longer lengths of time, and beat the average by 8 points )

Language Our spoken written or gestured words and the way we combine them to communicate meaning. Believe it or not, this communication is a form of language!!!

Phonemes In a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit. Chug has three phonemes, ch, u, g. How many phonemes does platypus have? Think “phones” make sound.

Morphemes In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning. Can be a word or part of a word (prefix or suffix). untying has ____ morphemes.

Grammar A system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate and understand others.

Semantics The set of rules by which we derive meaning in a language. Adding ed at the end of words means past tense. The Chinese languages do not have expansive semantic rules. They usually have totally different symbols for different tenses.

Syntax The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences. In English, adjectives come before nouns, but not in Spanish!! Is this the White House or the House White?

Which is the smallest unit of meaning in a language? A. genome B. morpheme C. phoneme D. phonogram

Research suggests that bilingualism has a negative effect on: A. language development B. cognitive development C. metalinguistic awareness D. none of the above The answer was B for the last question.

Language development How many words do you think you know now? Probably around 80,000. After age 1 you average about 13 words a day.

Language Development Babbling Stage: starting at 3-4 months, the infant makes spontaneous sounds. Not limited to the phonemes of the infant’s household language. One-word stage: 1-2 years old, uses one word to communicate big meanings. Two word stage: at age 2, uses two words to communicate meanings- called telegraphic speech.

Do Animals think?

Kohler’s Chimpanzees Kohler exhibited that Chimps can problem solve. Insight Learning

Honeybees seem to communicate

Impressive? YES!!! But not considered language The inflexibility of the dance limits linguistic significance

Apes and Signing

Koko the Gorilla – start at 5:18 Ape’s have a large capacity for learning sign words But critics contend this is nothing more tan imitating their trainers with little evidence of syntax. Compared with children, chimps are limited Children learn many words in a short period of time, chimps learn with GREAT difficulty. The debate allows us to appreciate the differences between species