Lecture 26

Language

1. Language
1. Defined
2. Structure
3. Grammar
4. Understanding Language
2. Language Development
1. Theories
2. Vocal Preferences
3. Universal Language Trajectory
4. Language Development among Deaf Infants
5. Language and the Brain
3. Communication in Nonhumans
1. Apes Can Learn Language
2. Only Humans Use Language

Overview

Language is the crown jewel of human functioning. Language is why we don't all have to be smart enough to discover fire, invent the wheel, or figure out how to make bread rise. Instead, we can listen to other people's stories and follow their lead. Reading and writing are relatively recent cultural inventions, but language makes culture possible.

In this lecture, I presented a broad overview of language development, focusing on whether language is an innate, unlearned capacity, or an ability that is entirely learned. Although it is doubtful this debate will ever be resolved, many prominent psychologists now believe that language is instinctive: We learn to speak a particular language, but we speak because we are human.

Specifics

• Distinguish phonemes and morphemes, phrases and sentences, and know 3 rules of grammar: Phonology, morphology, and syntax.
• Distinguish the surface structure of language from its deep structure.
• What is meant by the terms, "LAD" and "LASS", and how do these terms explain the development of language.
• Be familiar with the universal language trajectory, and the development of language among deaf infants.
• Be able to identify, by sight, Broca's area and Wernicke's area, and know which aspects of language these areas control.
• In what sense can we say that chimpanzees possess or do not possess language?