All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is the typical sequence of early language development milestones?
Answer: Cooing → babbling → one-word → two-word → telegraphic speech. Progresses from simple sounds to complex word combinations.
Flashcard 2: At approximately what age does canonical babbling typically begin?
Answer: Around 6 months. Repetitive consonant-vowel combinations emerge at this age.
Flashcard 3: At approximately what age do children typically begin producing one-word (holophrastic) utterances?
Answer: Around 12 months. First meaningful words appear around first birthday.
Flashcard 4: What is the difference between linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism?
Answer: Relativity: language influences thought; determinism: language determines thought. Relativity is weaker claim; determinism claims language controls thought.
Flashcard 5: Which language–thought hypothesis states that thought can occur independently of language?
Answer: Cognitive universality (language-independent thought). Opposes Sapir-Whorf; thought exists without linguistic constraints.
Flashcard 6: What is the dual-coding theory claim about how information is represented in memory?
Answer: Information is stored in verbal codes and nonverbal (imagery) codes. Combines linguistic and visual processing for better recall.
Flashcard 7: What does the behaviorist theory (Skinner) emphasize about language learning?
Answer: Language is learned via operant conditioning, imitation, and reinforcement. Contrasts with Chomsky's innate language acquisition device.
Flashcard 8: What is pragmatics in language use?
Answer: Using language appropriately based on social and situational context. Considers speaker, listener, and situation for effective communication.
Flashcard 9: What is semantics in linguistics and language processing?
Answer: The meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. Focuses on meaning rather than structure or sounds.
Flashcard 10: What is prosody in spoken language?
Answer: Rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns that convey meaning. Suprasegmental features that add emotional and grammatical information.
Flashcard 11: What is semantics in the context of language?
Answer: Rules and meanings of words and sentences. Encompasses both lexical meaning and sentence interpretation.
Flashcard 12: What is syntax in the context of language?
Answer: Rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences. Governs word order and sentence structure in a language.
Flashcard 13: What is the difference between phonemes and morphemes in language?
Answer: Phonemes are smallest sounds; morphemes are smallest meaning units. Phonemes create sound differences; morphemes carry semantic content.
Flashcard 14: What is syntax in language, and what does it govern?
Answer: Rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences. Determines proper word order and phrase structure in sentences.
Flashcard 15: What is semantics in language, and what does it focus on?
Answer: Meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. Examines literal and conceptual meanings in language.
Flashcard 16: What is pragmatics in language, and what does it emphasize?
Answer: Use of language in context (social rules, implied meaning, intent). Considers how context shapes interpretation beyond literal meaning.
Flashcard 17: What is phonology in language, and what does it study?
Answer: Study of sound systems and rules for speech sounds in a language. Analyzes how sounds pattern and combine in specific languages.
Flashcard 18: What is morphology in language, and what unit does it analyze?
Answer: Study of word structure using morphemes (smallest meaning units). Morphemes include roots, prefixes, and suffixes that carry meaning.
Flashcard 19: Identify the lesion: fluent but nonsensical speech with poor comprehension.
Answer: Wernicke aphasia (Wernicke area damage). Produces fluent "word salad" speech without meaningful content.
Flashcard 20: Which brain area is primarily responsible for language comprehension?
Answer: Wernicke area (dominant hemisphere, usually left). Located in temporal lobe; damage causes receptive aphasia.
Flashcard 21: What is a phoneme contrast example: /r/ vs /l/ in English primarily reflects which domain?
Answer: Phonology (distinct speech sounds that change meaning). Different phonemes create minimal pairs like "rice" vs "lice."
Flashcard 22: Identify the concept: a child says "two foots" after learning plural "-s".
Answer: Overgeneralization of morphology (irregular plural rule error). Child applies regular plural rule to irregular noun.
Flashcard 23: What is the main claim of the linguistic relativity (Sapir–Whorf) hypothesis?
Answer: Language influences thought and perception of reality. Suggests language structure shapes how speakers think and perceive.
Flashcard 24: What is the role of the arcuate fasciculus in language processing?
Answer: Connects Broca and Wernicke areas; supports repetition and integration. White matter tract enabling communication between language regions.
Flashcard 25: Which brain region is most associated with language comprehension?
Answer: Wernicke area (left posterior superior temporal gyrus). Damage causes receptive aphasia with fluent but nonsensical speech.
Flashcard 26: Which brain region is most associated with speech production?
Answer: Broca area (left inferior frontal gyrus). Damage causes expressive aphasia with effortful, telegraphic speech.
Flashcard 27: What is the definition of syntax in language?
Answer: Rules governing sentence structure and word order. Determines whether "Dog bites man" differs from "Man bites dog."
Flashcard 28: What is the definition of morphemes in language?
Answer: Smallest units of meaning (roots, prefixes, suffixes). "Un-" in "unhappy" or "cat" in "cats" are examples.
Flashcard 29: What is the definition of phonemes in language?
Answer: Smallest units of sound that distinguish meaning. Like /p/ vs /b/ in "pat" vs "bat" - changing one changes meaning.
Flashcard 30: Identify the term for the musical rhythm and pitch patterns of speech.
Answer: Prosody. Includes intonation, stress, and rhythm that convey emotion/emphasis.