Overview
This lecture explains what language is, its core components, how children acquire language, and explores the connection between language and thought.
Defining Language and Its Components
- Language is a communication system using words and rules to convey information.
- Not all communication is language; only language uses systematic rules and symbolic representation.
- The lexicon is a language’s vocabulary.
- Grammar is the set of rules for combining words to convey meaning.
- Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in a language.
- Morphemes are the smallest language units that carry meaning.
- Semantics is the derivation of meaning from words and morphemes.
- Syntax refers to how words are organized into sentences.
- Grammar enables novel, creative communication of abstract and concrete ideas.
Language Development
- Children acquire language rapidly and with little formal instruction.
- Behaviorist B.F. Skinner believed language is learned through reinforcement.
- Noam Chomsky argued language acquisition is biologically determined.
- Language development follows a universal pattern across cultures and backgrounds.
- There is a critical period in early life when language is most easily acquired.
- Infants show language preferences and discrimination abilities even before birth.
- Stages of language development: reflexive communication, intentional communication, first words, simple sentences, complex sentences, and conversations.
- Children initially can discriminate all human phonemes but lose this ability for unused sounds by about age one.
- Babbling is an early language stage where infants repeat syllables, even in sign language environments.
- Overgeneralization occurs when children apply language rules too broadly (e.g., "mouses").
Language and Thought
- Language and thought are intertwined; words represent ideas, people, places, and events.
- Sapir and Whorf’s linguistic determinism hypothesis claims language determines thought, though this is considered too absolute.
- Language can influence how people perceive categories, as shown with color and temporal concepts.
- Different languages may lead to different cognitive habits (e.g., spatial concepts of time in English vs. Mandarin).
Key Terms & Definitions
- Language — a communication system using words and rules to convey information.
- Lexicon — the vocabulary of a language.
- Grammar — rules that govern the structure of language.
- Phoneme — smallest unit of sound in a language.
- Morpheme — smallest meaningful unit of language.
- Semantics — meaning derived from words and morphemes.
- Syntax — rules for word order in sentences.
- Overgeneralization — extending language rules to exceptions.
- Linguistic determinism — theory that language determines thought.
- Critical period — optimal early window for language acquisition.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Watch the recommended video on infants’ ability to distinguish phonemes.
- Review Table 7.1 for stages of language development.
- Consider examples of untranslatable words and reflect on how language may shape thinking.