Features of Language 1

1
Features of Language - 1

• Structured (syntax)
• Rules for putting words together - grammar
• The cat is on the mat.
• NOT Cat the is mat the on.

2
Features of Language -2

• Meaning (semantics)
• Morphemes smallest unit of meaning
• Ex pear vs pears (pear-s)
• Syntax (word order) contributes to semantics
• The mat is on the cat vs the cat is on the mat.

3
Features of Language - 3

• Referential
• Arbitrary sounds or signs used to refer to real
  objects and events
• Cultural agreement to referents
• Time present, past, future
• Ex displacement using language to refer to
  events or objects not in the present
• Alternative realities - imagination

4
Features of Language - 4

• Creative (generative)
• Most utterances are unique
• Able to create an infinite number of utterances
• Ex
• The cat is on the mat
• On the mat is the cat
• The mat is on the cat
• Is the cat on the mat?

5
Features of Language - 5

• Interpersonal
• Takes place in context physical setting,
  audience
• Principles of communication include common
  knowledge e.g.,
• Community membership
• Co-presence for actions
• Perceptual co-presence

6
Learning Language
7
Child Language (Briefly)

• Extract meaningful units (very early)
• Babbling starts at 4 months
• ga da ga ba (consonant-vowel pairs)
• First word about 1 year of age
• Holophrastic Stage
• Putting words together 18 months to 2 years of
  age
• Telegraphic Stage

8

• Complete sentences 30-36 months
• Further developments - 3-5 years
• Passive sentences
• Past tense
• Form plurals
• Create questions
• Use of negation
• Create compound sentences
• Even further developments 5 years
• Interpersonal aspects of language use

9
Primate Language (not communication)
Why is this an interesting question?

• American Sign Language ASL
• Symbol Systems
• Gorillas
• Chimps

10
ASL - I

• Washoe (Gardner Gardner, 1969)
• First four signs
• Come-gimme
• More
• Up
• Sweet
• Generalized signs
• more for more play or food
• open for open door, soda, stuck zipper

11

• Novel strings
• water-bird (for swan)
• sweet-water (for Coke)
• You me banana me you (to request a banana)

12
ASL - II

• Koko (Patterson, 1980)
• Novel combinations
• white tiger for zebra
• Displacement example
• P What did you do to P?
• K Bite.
• P You admit it? (she didnt admit it earlier)
• K Sorry bite scratch.
• K Wrong bite.
• P Why bite?
• K Because mad.
• (a few minutes later)
• P Why mad?
• K Dont know

13
Symbols - I

• Sarah (Premack, 1983)
• Colored chips on a board
• Conditioned to learn symbol-object pairings
• Strings
• Mary give apple Sarah

14
Symbols II Yerkish

• Kanzi (Savage-Rumbaugh, 1984)
• Learning via observation
• Also understands spoken English
• Majority of requests are for food

15
Summary
16
Do These Primates Possess Language?

• Yes

17
Do These Primates Possess Language?

• No

18
Experimental/Methodological Issues
19
One-Minute Paper

• Sharing common ground with a conversational
  partner
• a) typically results in miscommunication.
• b) violates the cooperative principle.
• c) facilitates communication.
• d) tends to increase the occurrence of
  spoonerisms.
• What are the difference between childrens and
  primates language abilities and learning of
  language?

20
One-Minute Answer

• Sharing common ground with a conversational
  partner
• a) typically results in miscommunication.
• b) violates the cooperative principle.
• c) facilitates communication.
• d) tends to increase the occurrence of
  spoonerisms.
• What are the differences between childrens and
  primates language abilities and learning of
  language?
• Next page

21
Two Student Answers

• Children appear to be more efficient in learning
  language. After 5 years, children typically have
  an 8,000 word vocabulary, whereas the primates
  studied had a max of 250 words after 4 years of
  instruction. Children of 5 years also formulate
  questions, negations, compound sentences, and
  other skills far beyond the comprehension of
  primates under more intense instruction than
  children
• Primates are mostly in the holophrastic stage,
  where they acquire words with broad meanings.
  Children pass through this stage into the
  telegraphic stage, where words are paired.
  Additionally, primates are slow to acquire words
  (250 over 5 years) whereas children by that point
  would know an estimate 8,000 words and learning 8
  words/day. Children can speak other primates
  are unable to. This allows children to
  experiment more easily with language and try out
  new sounds while observing the response of the
  observer. Note from Martha the last part
  about speech is a novel idea one that I
  wouldnt have thought of.