COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERSThe Development and Use of Language

Communicating With Others

• Learning Objectives:1. Review the components and structure of language.2. Explain the biological underpinnings of language.3. Outline the theories of language development.

The Components of Language

The Biology and Development of Language

• Children who are not exposed to language early in life will likely never learn one.– Case studies of abandoned or severely deprived show that some socialization is

possible after puberty, but the development of language is not.– Deaf children who are not exposed to sign language in their early years probably

will not learn it.

The Critical Period Hypothesis

• Critical period– A time in which learning can occur easily

• For language learning, the critical period lasts between infancy and puberty. After puberty, learning language is difficult, if not impossible.

• More recent research indicates that language learning can occur during adulthood, but less easily than during childhood.

The Biology of Language

• For most people the left hemisphere is specialized for language.

• Broca’s area, near the motor cortex, is involved in language production.

• Wernicke’s area, near the auditory cortex, is specialized for language comprehen-sion.

Learning Language

Phonological Development

Learning Language

Morphological Development

Learning Language

• Syntactic development– Early sentences may include only the noun.– Sentences later increase to two words.– These early sentences begin to follow the syntax of the child’s native language.

How Children Learn Language: Theories of Language Acquisition

• “nurture” approach– Language development occurs through principles of learning, such as

association, reinforcement, and observation.– Associated with Skinner– Children do seem to modify their language based on imitation, reinforcement

and shaping.– But children learn language too fast for it to occur solely through reinforcement.– Deaf children whose parents don’t use ASL learn to sign on their own, and make

up sign languages if they need to.

How Children Learn Language: Theories of Language Acquisition

• “nature” approach– Associated with Chomsky– Human brains include a language acquisition device, which includes a universal

grammar underlying all human language.– deep structure – how an idea is represented in the fundamental universal

grammar– surface structure – how an idea is expressed in a particular language– Psychologists agree that babies are genetically programmed to learn language.– But the evidence for a universal grammar is limited.

Bilingualism and Cognitive Development

• Bilingualism– the ability to speak two languages– related to better cognitive functioning, cognitive flexibility, and analytic skills– associated with higher neural density in language areas of the left hemisphere

Can Animals Learn Language?

• Nonhuman animals have a wide variety of communication systems.– Male songbirds sing to attract mates and protect territory.– Chimpanzees use facial expressions and actions to convey aggression.– Honeybees dance to attract other bees to food sources.– Vervet monkeys use specific sounds to communicate specific meanings.

Can Animals Learn Language?

• Efforts to teach nonhuman animals language have met with only limited success.– Catherine and Keith Hayes raised a chimpanzee named Viki in their home along

with their children. But Viki could never speak, due to the limitations of her vocal cords.

– Allen and Beatrix Gardner taught a chimpanzee named Washoe to sign using ASL. Washoe could label 250 objects and make simple requests and commands.

– Washoe’s adopted daughter Loulis learned 70 signs simply by watching Washoe.

• The most proficient nonhuman language speaker is Kanzi, a bonobo

Language and Perception

• Linguistic relativity – The idea that language and its structures influence and limit human thought– Proposed by Benjamin Whorf, an American linguist– Research examining color and number perception among preliterate cultures has

provided only limited support for the notion of linguistic relativity.

COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS

• Key Takeaways– Language involves both the ability to comprehend spoken and written words and

to speak and write. Some languages are sign languages, in which the communication is expressed by movements of the hands.

– Phonemes are the elementary sounds of our language, morphemes are the smallest units of meaningful language, syntax is the grammatical rules that control how words are put together, and contextual information is the elements of communication that help us understand its meaning.

– Recent research suggests that there is not a single critical period of language learning, but that language learning is simply better when it occurs earlier.

– Broca’s area is responsible for language production. Wernicke’s area is responsible for language comprehension.

– Language learning begins even before birth. An infant usually produces his or her first words at about 1 year of age.

COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS

• Key Takeaways, continued– One explanation of language development is that it occurs through principles of

learning, including association, reinforcement, and the observation of others.– Noam Chomsky argues that human brains contain a language acquisition module

that includes a universal grammar that underlies all human language. Chomsky differentiates between the deep structure and the surface structure of an idea.

– Although other animals communicate and may be able to express ideas, only the human brain is complex enough to create real language.

– Our language may have some influence on our thinking, but it does not affect our underlying understanding of concepts.