HOW AND WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE Chapter 8

HOW AND WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE? Chapter 8

http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ICng-KRx. XJ 8

INTRODUCTION Pig Latin: Happy = appyh + ay = appyhay Awesome = Awesome +way = Awesomeway Who uses pig latin? What age group? This is a helpful way for children to explore their language and become better at their language

HOW IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE? There is little agreement on this 1. There is no ethical way to experiment on how children learn language 2. Language did not preserve itself in the fossil record

THEORIES ABOUT LANGUAGE BEGINNINGS In the 1700 s and 1800 s there were tons of theories, including that language began: By imitating animal calls By expressing pain By working together These are all speculative and cannot be tested Need to look at biology, culture, and the fossil record

TWO APPROACHES Innateness Vs Evolution

TWO APPROACHES Innateness: Language is specific human ability Once, developed, it is part of the brain Universal grammar Children really just acquire language Who does this sound like?

TWO APPROACHES Chomsky Prescriptivist

TWO APPROACHES Evolution: Linguistic anthropologists do not agree with innateness Language is completely intertwined with culture You have to study context in order to understand language Who does this sound like?

TWO APPROACHES Hymes Descriptivist "There are rules of use without which the rules of grammar will be useless"?

DEFINING LANGUAGE How is language different from communication? Communication is sending and receiving signals Humans and animals Limited information Example: Vervet monkeys have different calls for a leopard, an eagle, or a snake Language is transmitting a limitless amount of information in a variety of ways

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE Charles Hockett (1916 -2000) created the design features of language, which are 13 ways human language can be distinguished from animal communication. We will discuss the first 9, which can also be used by animals, and then discuss the last 4, which are more unique to humans These all also apply to sign language

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE 1. vocal-auditory channel Main transmission is spoken Orality 2. broadcast transmission and directional reception Sounds are sent out in all directions but you can tell where they come from 3. rapid fading Signals don’t last long Once you hear them your brain almost immediately forgets them

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE 4. Interchangeability Speaker can send and receive the same signal 5. total feedback Speakers can hear themselves talk and monitor what they say 6. Specialization Language sounds are specialized for communication We don’t really make any sounds that do not communicate information

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE 7. Semanticity Specific sound signals have specific meanings Different sounds provoke different reactions 8. Arbitrariness There is no necessary or causal connection between a signal and its meaning A signal can refer to anything 9. Discreteness Units used for communication can be separated into distinct parts

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE The last 4 features are thought to be unique to humans, but there are some primate examples that contradict this

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE 10. Displacement You can talk about things not present, or things that don’t exist I have spoken ASL with chimps that can do this 11. Productivity Allows you to produce new types of language (sounds, words, phrases) Poetry, song lyrics Washoe the chimp (“sour banana, ” “water bird, ” “sweet drink”)

DESIGN FEATURES OF LANGUAGE 12. Transitional transmission Language is learned in social groups Appropriateness is also learned in social settings Washoe taught Loulis ASL 13. Duality of patterning Discrete units of one level can be combined to create things at another level The sounds for k, a, t, and s can create cat, act, tack, cast, task, etc. OK, this one is only human

HANDOUT Read over the handout on the design features and create one example for each category

PRIMATES!!! Some researchers say that primates can’t really learn language, but I disagree Apes cannot speak because of anatomical limitations But they can learn human languages

PRIMATES!!! Washoe (chimp) knew ASL Koko (gorilla) knows ASL Kanzi (bonobo) knows spoken English and lexigrams (picture words) Kanzi learned English from being in social setting with humans More on this in a bit

HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE At 3 days old, can distinguish mother’s voice At three months, coo and laugh At six months make vowel and consonant sounds At one year, name things At 18 months, make sentences

HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE How do they learn? Three theories: Innatist Behaviorist Theory

HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE Innatist: Language is hardwired into brain Core or universal grammar What linguist would agree with this?

HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE Behaviorist: Children must hear language from others to understand how to use it They must receive guidance There is a critical age by which language must be learned

HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE Theory: AKA Active Construction of Grammar Theory Children observe and interact with their environment to learn language It is about understanding language in context What linguist would agree with this? This is similar to how anthropologists learn language in the field

http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Q-B_ONJIEc. E Minute 24

WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE Looking at the Brain: There are over 1 trillion cells in the brain and 100 billion are neurons in the cortex This is the oldest part of the brain Controls memory and emotions The younger part of the brain is the neocortex Contains frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes Controls language

WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE

WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE

WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE The brain is divided into a right and left hemisphere Each controls the opposite side of the body Two areas of importance: Broca’s Area Wernicke’s Area

WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE Broca’s Area: In frontal region of left hemisphere Affects clarity of speech Someone with damage would understand what is said to them but not be able to say things back clearly

WHEN IS LANGUAGE POSSIBLE Wenicke’s Area: Temporal lobe of left hemisphere People with damage have difficulty understanding spoken language They can pronounce words clearly but cannot put them in the correct order

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE Human and non-human primate line split 10 -13 million years ago (mya) Chimpanzees and humans split 5 million years ago During human evolution, we began walking bipedally (on two legs) millions of years before we had big brains or language Language did not evolve until about 2 mya

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE A group of human ancestors called the Australopithecines are the first to have a brain that is shaped somewhat human-like Example: “Lucy” However, we did not see tool use and possible communication until Homo habilis

LUCY (3 MYA)

HOMO HABILIS (2 MYA)

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE We can tell if fossil ancestors spoke because of looking at development of Broca’s area and the position of the larynx (where voice box is)

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE Human ancestors, the Neanderthals, had language very similar to our own They had huge brains (1700 cc compared to human’s 1400 cc) The position of their hyoid bone (where voice box is) is in same place as in humans

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE Any ancestor that made complex weapons and tools, and who hunted would need vocal communication

Video clips: Steven Pinker “Language as a Window into the Brain” Minute 24 “Neanderthals: Human Extinction” Minute 31 -35