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Introduction

This document discusses key concepts in psycholinguistics. It explores the relationship between the human mind and language, and how psycholinguistics aims to understand the mental processes underlying language and examine language as a product of the human mind. Psycholinguistic research falls into six major overlapping areas: language processing, storage and access; comprehension theory; language and the brain; and more. The document also distinguishes language, speech, and communication, noting key characteristics of language include it being voluntary, symbolic, and systematic.

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Nouf Ggg
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16 views

Introduction

This document discusses key concepts in psycholinguistics. It explores the relationship between the human mind and language, and how psycholinguistics aims to understand the mental processes underlying language and examine language as a product of the human mind. Psycholinguistic research falls into six major overlapping areas: language processing, storage and access; comprehension theory; language and the brain; and more. The document also distinguishes language, speech, and communication, noting key characteristics of language include it being voluntary, symbolic, and systematic.

Uploaded by

Nouf Ggg
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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I NTRODUCTION: KEY CONCEPTS

IN PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

Week 1
Psycholinguistics explores the relationship between the human mind and •
language. It treats the language user as an individual rather than a
representative of a society - but an individual whose linguistic performance is
determined by the strengths and limitations of the mental apparatus which we
all share. Its agenda is to trace similar patterns of linguistic behaviour across
large groups of individual speakers of a particular language or of all languages.
In this way, we hope to gain insights into the way in which the configuration of
the human mind shapes communication - even though the processes involved
may be so well established that we are no longer aware of them. In fact, the
notion that language is a product of the human mind gives rise to two
:interconnected goals, both the concern of Psycho linguistics
• to establish an understanding of the processes which underlie the system we
call language.

• to examine language as a product of the human mind and thus as evidence of


the way in which human beings organise their thoughts and impose patterns
upon their experiences.
PSYCHO LINGUISTIC RESEARCH FALLS INTO
SIX MAJOR AREAS, SOME OF WHICH OVERLAP:

• Language processing What precisely goes on when we are listening, speaking,


reading and writing? What stages do we go through when engaging in these
skills? How do we manage to turn a grammatical structure into a piece of
information?
• Language storage and access
• How is vocabulary stored in our mind? How do we manage to find it when we
need it? What form do grammar rules take?
• Comprehension theory
• How do we manage to bring world knowledge to bear upon new information
that is presented to us? How do we manage to construct a global meaning
representation from words that we hear or read?
• Language and the brain
• What neurological activity corresponds to reading or listening? Where does the
brain store linguistic knowledge and semantic concepts? What neurological and
muscular activity is involved in speech? Can differences in the human brain
account for the fact that our species has developed language?
• The discipline of Psycholinguistics as described here potentially sheds light on
a number of associated fields. Can you suggest the ways in which it might
assist our knowledge of the following?
• first language education
• medical and physiological problems which affect language
• syntactic structure
• phonology and phonetics
• language learning
LANGUAGE, SPEECH AND
COMMUNICATION

• Communication
• The term covers any means by which two individuals exchange information.
While language is one type of communication, it is not the only one. Consider,
for example, the function of a set of traffic lights. They communicate an
instruction in symbolic form without relying upon language. All that is
necessary is that everybody who uses the traffic lights should have a
knowledge of the system and be aware that red = 'stop' while green = 'go'.
• Human beings can convey ideas and feelings by means of many devices,
among them hand signals, facial expressions, body language, nods, smiles and
winks. These paralinguistic techniques do not involve vocalisation. However,
there are other non-linguistic means of communication which do: for example,
grunts, groans, snorts, sighs and whimpers. Bear in mind that we can only
classify such sounds as communication if the producer intends by using them
to express some kind of message.
LANGUAGE

• we will look in some detail at what distinguishes language from other forms of
communication. For the moment, it is worth taking note of four important
characteristics:
• Language is voluntary. It is under our individual control. o
• Language is symbolic. It represents something other than itself.
• Language is systematic. In terms of vocabulary, this means that words operate in sets,
dividing up an area of meaning between them. To give an example, in English we do not
use the word AFRAID for the whole range of types of fear because we have alternatives
in TIMID or TERRIFIED or SCARED. In terms of grammar, language is structure-
dependent, with words combining into phrases and phrases combining into sentences.
• Language operates in two different modalities: speech and writing. Of the two,
speech is regarded as primary. This is partly because it preceded writing
historically; writing is a by-product of speech. It is also because, in the life of
an individual, reading and writing are learnt as a consequence of having
acquired speaking and listening skills.
SPEECH

• Speech may be characterised by the fact that it involves vocalisation (though,


as we have seen, so do other non-linguistic forms of communication such as
grunts and sighs).
• Two factors determine the ability of the language user to produce speech-like
sounds:
• a The shape, size and position of the articulators that we use. Speech demands
a complex interrelationship between our tongue, teeth, soft palate, jaw and
nasal cavity as well as the ability to flex our vocal cords at will.
• b The ability to breathe and utter sounds at the same time. Human beings are
able to exercise much greater control over their breathing than most other
species'. This enables us to produce a flow of air from the lungs upon which the
articulators can operate freely without impeding the process of breathing out.
• Speech usually involves the communication of a message. However, there are
two types of speech which we might regard as less 'meaningful' than others:
• expletives such as Oh! to express surprise or Owl to express pain. To what
extent can we regard these as 'words'? To what extent are they involuntary
rather than intentional?
• phatic utterances such as Nice day! or All right? where we may not intend to
communicate a specific meaning and may not anticipate any response. This
form of speech is said by some to be a survival of the mutual grooming which
many animal groups engage in as part of a bonding process. It thus plays an
important part in discussions of how human language evolved.
HAVING BROADLY DISTINGUISHED
COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND SPEECH

• , we have laid down a few pointers for later. o We can characterise the ways
animals exchange information as 'communication'. But is there anything in the
methods they use which can be said to resemble 'language'? o Is there anything
special about the human mind which accounts for the fact that we have
developed the particular form of communication that we refer to as language? o
Is there anything special about the human vocal apparatus that accounts for the
fact that we have developed speech and other species have not?

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