Themes of Language

In the name of God
Psychology of Language
Chapter1:Themes of Psychoinguistics
Lets start with language first.It is our most important tool in communicating our thoughts and
feelings to each other. As we grow language comes to serve other functions.Most young people have
jargon that is more meaningful to persons of same age than older or younger people
.
What does psychology of language mean ?

The psychology of language deals wih the mental processes that are involved in language use
:Processes that are of primary interest in language use

Language comprehension .1 
Language production.2 
Language aqciusition.3 
:Psycholinguistic 
.The psychological study of language is called psycholinguistics 
The study of how individuals comprehend,produce, and aquire language 
The extent of psycholinguistics
Pyscholinguistics is part of the emerging field of study called cognitive science

Cognitive science: It is an interdisciplinary venture that draws upon the insights of psychology
linguists,neouroscientists, and philosophers to study the mind and mental processes
:So the topics which have been studied by cognitice scientists are as following
Problem solving.1
Memory.2
Imagery.3
Language.4
As the name implies,psycholinguistics is principally an integration of the fields of psychology and linguistics
:So lets define Linguistic
It is the branch of science that studies the origin,structureand language use
But like other interdisciplinary disciplines, psycholinguistics has a rich history that includes *
.contributions from diverse intellectual backgrounds
Language Processes and Linguistic Knowledge
The issues of psycholinguistics study:

R 1. What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language?
.In a sense, we need to know a language to use, but we're not really completely aware of that knowledge
.A distinction can be drawn between implicit knowledge and explicit knowledge
Implicit knowledge refers to knowledge of how different actions are done, whereas explicit knowledge
refers to knowledge of the procedures or mechanisms used in those actions
So we sometimes know how to do something without knowing how we do it*
Ex: The difference between knowing how to speak and knowing what processes are involved

in the processing of speech
It will be useful to consider areas of language knowledge

Four wide areas of language knowledge
RSemantics: The study of meaning 
RSyntax:The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language 
RPhonology: The study of sound patterns and their meanings, both within and across language 
RPragmatics: It entails the social rules involved in language use 
And the second question
?R 2. What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language

Perception 
Memory 
Thinking 
Although we do few things as much or as quickly as we talk and listen, we can find that substantial cognitive
activity is taking place during these tasks
Four language examples
Pa)Garden Path Sentences: a sentence that is temporarily ambiguous or confusing because it contains a word group which appears to be compatible with more than
.one structural analysis
Ex: 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 .(Adapted from Foss & Jenkins, 1973)
Pb)Indirect Requests: It is necessary to recognize the social dimension of language

Ex:Can you open the door?
Sociolinguistics: The study of the relationships between language and social behavior is called sociolinguistics
Pc)Language in Aphasia: Although our primary focus is on language processes in normal individuals, we can learn a great deal
.about language by studying individuals with impaired language functioning
* An aphasia is a language disorder due to brain damage

Ex: Before I was in the one here, I was over in the other one. My sister had the department in the other one. (Geschwind, 1972, p. 78 )
*The above sentence is a type of wernickes aphasia

Neurolinguistics: The study of the relationship between the brain and language
Pd)Language in Children: Language acquisition

Ex: The child points at the milk and says more .We could infer that she uses more not as an isolated word or imitation but as a request that the mother bring the milk
closer
The Historical Context
Blumenthal(1987) noted that the interdisciplinary field of psycholinguistics flourished twice: once around the turn of
the last century, mainly in Europe, and once in the middle of the 20th century, mainly in the United States
In the early decades of the 20th century, linguists turned to psychologists for insights into how human beings use language.
In the later period, psychologists turned to linguistics for insights into the nature of language. In between these two periods,
.behaviorism dominated both fields
Early Psycholinguistics
PMajor figure: Wilhelm Wundt (He believed that it was possible to investigate mental events such as sensations, feelings,
and images by using procedures as rigorous as those used in the natural sciences. He also believed that the study of
.language provide important insights into the nature of the mind
POne of Wundt's contributions to the psychology of language was developing a theory of language production. He
regarded the sentence, not the word, as the primary unit of language and saw the production of speech as the
.transformation of a complete thought process into sequentially organized speech segments
.PBlumenthal(1970) refers to Wundt as the master psycholinguist

Some significant developments were also being made in measuring various language process
Huey----examined reading from the perspective of human perceptual abilities P
Eye voice span: The lag between eye position and voice when reading aloud
Tachistoscope:A machine that presents visual stimuli for very briefperiods of time
Behaviorism and Verbal Behavior
PIn the first decades of the 20th century in the United States, there was mounting opposition to the
focus on mental life as a goal for psychology.
PBy the 1920s, behaviorism took over the mainstream of experimental psychology. Behaviorists
favored the study of objective behavior, often in laboratory animals, as opposed to the study of
mental processes.( the role of experience in shaping behavior, emphasis on the role of environmental
contingencies)
PFrom the 1920s to the 1950s, psychologists expressed relatively little interest in language.( B. F.
Skinner )
PSimilar developments were occurring within linguistics. Linguistics of this period tended to
emphasize behavioristic treatments of language, in which reference to mental states or processes was
meticulously avoided.( Despite the inherent interconnections between the fields, psychology and
.linguistics "divorced" for a period of several decades
Later Psycholinguistics
.PBy the early 1950s, psychologists and linguists became interested in talking to one another
PThe second period of interdisciplinary psycholinguistics really took hold in the late 1950s, beginning with the
emergence of the linguistic Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is generally regarded as the most influential figure in 20th-
century linguistics, and he also played a powerful role in how psychologists perceived language because he
.argued that the behaviorists' accounts of language were inadequate.( Chomsky, 1957, 1959)
PThe revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s emphasized the role of linguistic theory in psycholinguistic research
and the role of innate mechanisms in language acquisition. These themes continue to be influential, but there are
.indications that psychological interest in linguistic theory has waned
Reber(1987) points out the growing realization that the two fields were quite distinct in their methodologies P
Rationalism: emphasize the role of innate factors in human behavior(emphasize the use of argument)----linguists
Empiricism: stress the role of experience in behavior(favor the collection of data as a mean for evaluating 
hypotheses. -----psycholinguist
Current Directions
Early psycholinguistics primarily focused on syntax P

more recently on phonology semantics pragmatics
P Early psycholinguistics primarily focused language comprehension

recently on language production
PConsiderable interest in the brain mechanisms associated with language 

PApplication of psycholinguistic principles that are useful to society 

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In the name of God

What does psychology of language mean ?

:Processes that are of primary interest in language use

The extent of psycholinguistics

Pyscholinguistics is part of the emerging field of study called cognitive science

Language Processes and Linguistic Knowledge

The issues of psycholinguistics study:

So we sometimes know how to do something without knowing how we do it*

Ex: The difference between knowing how to speak and knowing what processes are involved

It will be useful to consider areas of language knowledge

RSyntax:The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language 

RPragmatics: It entails the social rules involved in language use 

And the second question

?R 2. What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language

Pb)Indirect Requests: It is necessary to recognize the social dimension of language

* An aphasia is a language disorder due to brain damage

*The above sentence is a type of wernickes aphasia

Pd)Language in Children: Language acquisition

.PBlumenthal(1970) refers to Wundt as the master psycholinguist

Early psycholinguistics primarily focused on syntax P

P Early psycholinguistics primarily focused language comprehension

PConsiderable interest in the brain mechanisms associated with language 

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