Thought and Language Eric S. Wheeler York University, Toronto, Canada
Language A means of thought Categorize (animate vs inanimate...) Hypothesize (what if I did...) Encapsulate (do unto others...) Secondarily, a means of communicating thought
Active processing Language is processed (said and heard) by an active, thinking, planning system (i.e. a real person) that knows much. External language is only the “tip of the iceberg” Q: Do you know what time it is? A1: Yes. A2: I was caught in traffic.
Shared consistent world-view We use language to get and keep a: shared consistent view of the world. Did you hear? No! I thought...
Language as evidence Language is highly patterned Some of the patterns are highly arbitrary (why is “pants” plural and “shirt” singular?) The patterns can give evidence of the underlying thought categories
Mass/count, singular/plural in English S P Referent of fish: {Fish S} is a fish {Fish P} is several fish {Fish} is a fish- stuff
Mass/count, singular/plural in English S P
+S a, an, each, every, one +P plural nouns, plural verbs, these, those, both, many, few, two and higher, decimal fractions (.75),several -S all, all of -P this, that, am, was, 3 rd sg. simple tense (e.g. runs) -S -P much (too much, so much etc,), an amount of, etc., ordinary fractions (e.g. three-quarters)
Mass/count, singular/plural in English The semantic features S and P fit simply with the pattern of English Alternatives (such as Mass & S or Count & P) only fit awkwardly with English. So, we conclude that English gives evidence for an underlying semantics: stuff in the mass: much fish units (S): one fish sets of units (P): many fish
Theatre of the Mind A great metaphor! Can we put language on a stage, and show “meaning”?
Jack and Jill Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down, and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after. -- Mother Goose
Jack and Jill Key semantic concepts: Coming and going Going vs. fetching (causing something to go) Up and down Modes of going: plain, fall, tumble There is a lot happening here!
Theatre IV – a prototype
Spatial orientation Objects and places can: Contain other objects Have up to 3 axes: Major axis: Front to back Vertical axis: Top to bottom Lateral axis: Side to side Have (implicit) surfaces and parts “top of”, “beside”, “in front of”, “under”...
Next steps Make a “complete” spatial model Illustrate prepositions (in vs. into vs. through) And allow the text to be the place where entities are created If you refer to “Tom”, Tom becomes a character in the play
Uses for the Theatre Teaching language concepts L2 learning L1 literacy?? ????