1. Unit 7
Cognition

2. Unit 7 Layout Day 1 – Studying and Building Memory (Module 31)
Day 2 – Systems of Memory (Modules 32 & 33)
Day 3 – Thinking, Concepts, and Creativity (Module 34) + Vocab Quiz
Day 4 – Problem Solving and Decision Making (Module 35)
Day 5 – Thought and Language (Module 36)
Day 6 – Review and Unit 7 CUA

3. Module 36 – Thinking and Language
SWBAT  synthesize the biological, psychological, and social factors allow us to use language (phonemes, morphemes, syntax, semantics), develop language (telegraphic speech), and theories of language (critical periods, Universal Inborn Grammar, linguistic determinism)

4. Language Structure Language Phonemes
Spoken, written, or signed words, and the way we combine them to make meaning
Phonemes
The smallest, most distinct sounds in a language
To say “bat”, you say phonemes b, a, and t
NOT THE SAME AS LETTERS
“Chat” also has three – ch, a, and t
More than 860 phonemes in speech; English uses about 40
Consonants carry more info than vowels

5. Language Structure Language Phonemes Morphemes Grammar
Spoken, written, or signed words, and the way we combine them to make meaning
Phonemes
Morphemes
The smallest unit of MEANING in a given language
Most combine two or more phonemes
Some are words (bat, gentle, chat)
Others are parts of words (pre- in preview or –ed in adapted)
Grammar
System of rules that allow us to communicate with one another
Semantics = meaning of words; syntax = order of words in a sentence

6. Language Development
By the time you graduate this year or next, you will likely know over 60,000 words in your native language(s)
Milestone 1: Receptive language
By 4 months of age, babies can recognize differences in speech sound
“Receptive” – can understand what is said to and about them
Milestone 2: “Babbling Stage”
By 10 months, babies can recognize noun-verb differences; babbling is like household language
Milestone 3: “One-Word Stage”
By 12 months, babies can speak in single words – “bowl!” “doggy!” “CHEERIOS!”
Milestone 4: “Two-Word Stage” OR Telegraphic speech
By age 2, babies can speak in two word statements – “give ball!”, “want juice!”
Milestone 5: Development of sentences
After age 2, children rapidly develop the ability to speak in complex sentences

7. Acquiring Language
Linguist Noam Chomsky argues that the world’s 7000 or so languages are diverse, but contain a universal grammar – structures they share in common (the idea of nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
We are not born with a built in specific language – infants from Europe learn Native American languages as easily as Native American infants learn English
Children are capable of statistical learning – they can detect the repetition of syllables, and how frequently they are used together, to form language (hap-py ba-by)
Children are much better are learning languages than adults. During a “critical period”, children acquire language rapidly – after, it becomes more and more difficult to acquire language

8. Brain and Language
Aphasia – the inability to speak or process a language (spoken or otherwise) due to brain damage
Broca’s area
Area in the left frontal lobe that controls language expression
Wernicke’s area
Area in the left temporal lobe that controls language reception

9. Linguistic Determinism
Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines HOW we think
Bilingual individuals literally experience the world differently
Individuals who speak English have more self-centered emotions
Individuals who speak Japanese have more interpersonal emotions
They even think differently
Bilingual individuals report having two (or more) distinct personalities and feelings depending on what language they are speaking in