Linguistics and Language
What is psycholinguistics?
http://www-psych.nmsu.edu/~pfoltz/psy301/overheadsfirstthird.html
The three primary processes investigated in psycholinguistics
•Language Comprehension
•Language Production
•Language Acquisition Psycholinguistics is a branch of cognitive science
What will be covered in this class?
• How do we produce and recognize speech?
• How do we perceive words, letters, and sentences?
• How do we learn and recall information from texts?
• How can we improve texts to make them easier to understand?
• How does the brain function to process language?
• What are the causes and effects of reading disabilities?
• Is there language in other species?
Central themes in psycholinguistics
1) What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language?
Tacit (implicit) knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge
• tacit: knowledge of how to perform something, but not aware of full rules
• explicit: knowledge of the processes of mechanisms in performing that thing
2) What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language?
How do we understand a lecture, read a book, hold a conversation?
Cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking, learning Some definitions of basic components of language:
Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences
Syntax: The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence or phrase
Phonology: The sound pattern of language Pragmatics: How language is used in a social context
Examples from psycholinguistics Parsing garden path sentences
The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush.
1) The defendant examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable
2) The evidence examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable
The process of parsing is the process of making decisions
The effect of prior knowledge on comprehension
The
http://www-psych.nmsu.edu/~pfoltz/psy301/overheadsfirstthird.html
The three primary processes investigated in psycholinguistics
•Language Comprehension
•Language Production
•Language Acquisition Psycholinguistics is a branch of cognitive science
What will be covered in this class?
• How do we produce and recognize speech?
• How do we perceive words, letters, and sentences?
• How do we learn and recall information from texts?
• How can we improve texts to make them easier to understand?
• How does the brain function to process language?
• What are the causes and effects of reading disabilities?
• Is there language in other species?
Central themes in psycholinguistics
1) What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language?
Tacit (implicit) knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge
• tacit: knowledge of how to perform something, but not aware of full rules
• explicit: knowledge of the processes of mechanisms in performing that thing
2) What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language?
How do we understand a lecture, read a book, hold a conversation?
Cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking, learning Some definitions of basic components of language:
Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences
Syntax: The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence or phrase
Phonology: The sound pattern of language Pragmatics: How language is used in a social context
Examples from psycholinguistics Parsing garden path sentences
The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush.
1) The defendant examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable
2) The evidence examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable
The process of parsing is the process of making decisions
The effect of prior knowledge on comprehension
The