language
Arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols (words or signs) in rule-based ways to create meaning
phoneme
Category of sounds our vocal apparatus produces
morpheme
Smallest units of meaning in a language
Created by combining phonemes
Most are words; but can also be "re-" and "-ish
syntax
Grammatical rules that govern how words are composed into meaningful strings
extra-linguistic information
Elements of communication that aren't part of the content of language but are critical to interpreting its meaning
Facial expressions, tone of voice
semantics
Meaning derived from words and sentences; conveyed by morphemes
dialect
Variations of the same language used by a group of people who share geographic proximity, ethnic background or social groups
Can understand other dialects (stem from same language)
babbling
Intentional vocalization that lacks specific meaning; evolves over first year of life
Conversational tone; sounds meaningful
Comprehension precedes production
one word stage
Early period of language development when children use single-word phrases to convey an entire thought
sign language
Language developed by members of a deaf community that uses visual rather than auditory communication
Uses hands, face, body and sign space
bilingual
Proficient/fluent in speaking and comprehending 2 distinct languages
meta-linguistic
Awareness of how language is structured and used, accompanies bilingualism
Tend to perform better on language tasks
homesign
System of signs invented by deaf children of hearing parents who receive no language input
Never develop full language
Imitation Account
Learn language via imitation
Doesn't account for generativity: idea that language allows us to create an infinite number of sentences and produce new statements, thoughts, ideas
Nativist Account
Children are born with basic knowledge of how language works, expectations of syntactic rules
Language acquisition device: hypothetical organ in brain believed to hold knowledge of syntax
Social Pragmatics Account
Proposes children infer meanings of words/sentences from context and social interactions
Language learning structured from social environment
General Cognitive Processing Account
Language learning results from general skills that can be applied across a variety of activities
Ability to perceive, learn, recognize patterns helps learn language
linguistic determinism
View that all thought is represented verbally and that, as a result, our language defines our thinking
Thought is not language
linguistic relativity
View that characteristics of language shape our thought processes
whole word recognition
reading strategy, involves identifying common words based on their appearance without having to sound them out
phonetic decomposition
reading strategy involving sounding out words by drawing parallels between printed letters and sounds
thinking
Any mental activity or processing of info, including learning, remembering, perceiving, communicating, believing, deciding
concept
Our knowledge and ideas about a set of objects, actions, or characteristics that share core properties
decision making
Process of selecting among a set of possible alternatives
framing
The way a question is formulated which can influence the decisions people make
problem solving
Generating a cognitive strategy to accomplish a goal
algorithm
Step-by-step learned procedure used to solve a problem
mental set
Phenomenon of becoming stuck in a specific problem-solving strategy, inhibiting our ability to generate alternatives
functional fixedness
Difficulty conceptualizing that an object typically used for one purpose can be used for another