Discuss the structure and functions of language

 The structure and functions of language People talk or use language incessantly. Language, to cognitive psychologists, is a system of communication in which thoughts are transmitted by means of sounds (as in speech and music) or symbols (as in written words and gestures). As you read this text, you are engaging in one of the mind’s most enchanting processes – the way one mind influences another through language. 

In this process, some cell assemblies in your brain are permanently changed, new thoughts are made, and, in a very real sense, you are changed. Cognitive psychology concerns both language and thought and has been popular only since the 1950s. Before that, many psychologists believed that the scientific method could not be applied towards the study of a process as private as thinking. From ancient Greek times, only philosophers and metaphysicians studied the nature of language and thought.

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Discuss the structure and functions of language The study of human language is important to cognitive psychologists for the following reasons:

• Human language development represents a unique kind of abstraction, which is basic to cognition. Although other forms of life (bees, birds, dolphins, dogs and so on) have elaborate means of communicating and apes seem to use a form of language abstraction, the degree of abstraction is much greater among humans.

• Language processing is an important component of information processing and storage.

• Human thinking and problem solving can be conceptualised as processes involving language. Many, if not most, forms of thinking and problem solving are internal, that is, done in the absence of external stimuli. Abstraction of puzzles, for example, into verbal symbols provides a way to think about a solution.

• Language is the main means of human communication, the way in which most information is exchanged.

• Language influences perception, a fundamental aspect of cognition. Some argue that how we perceive the world is affected by the language we use to describe it.

On the other hand, language development is at least largely based on our perception of language. So the perceptual-language process is one of interdependency; both significantly influence the other. Language from this point of view operates as a window. The processing of words, speech, and semantics seem to engage specific cerebral areas and thus provide a meaningful link between neuro anatomical structures and language. In addition, the study of pathology of the brain has frequently shown manifest change in language functions, as in the case of aphasia.

Discuss the structure and functions of language , structure and functions of language ,  structure of language and its components in psychology.  Get MPC 001 Notes and guides and other assignment related help through our website

The Structure of Language

Language is a system of symbols and rules that is used for meaningful communication. A system of communication has to meet certain criteria in order to be considered a language: A language uses symbols, which are sounds, gestures, or written characters that represent objects, actions, events, and ideas. Symbols enable people to refer to objects that are in another place or events that occurred at a different time. A language is meaningful and therefore can be understood by other users of that language. A language is generative, which means that the symbols of a language can be combined to produce an infinite number of messages. A language has rules that govern how symbols can be arranged. These rules allow people to understand messages in that language even if they have never encountered those messages before.

A theoretical intervention about the process which leads to the understanding of an utterance in communication should involve two aspects. Firstly, the aspects of language linked to the recognition of the form of the utterance itself (phonology, morphology, and syntax); secondly, questions about how the meaning of what is understood can be defined, which are linked to semantics and pragmatics of the communication process. These two aspects cannot be separated, and in order to analyse the process of language, both are to be taken into consideration. Thus, to understand the language processes, it is fundamental to understand the basic structure of language first. As should be evident by now, language can be divided into three basic parts, each with its own structure and rules: phonology, syntax (grammar), and semantics. The first of these, phonology, concerns the rules for pronunciation of speech sounds. The second aspect of language, syntax, deals with the way words combine to form sentences. And semantics focuses on the meaning of words and sentences.

Basic Units of Language: Phonemes and Morphemes

All languages are made of basic sounds called phonemes. Adult human beings can produce approximately 100 phonemes, and the English language is made up of about 45 phonemes. Languages vary in the number of phonemes, ranging from as few as 15 to as many as 85. One reason why it is difficult for many Americans to learn foreign languages is that different phonemes are used. For instance, Germanic and Slavic languages contain phonemes never used in the English language. (Phonemes and morphemes have already been defined in the previous chapter).

Higher Levels of Linguistic Analysis

1) The study of speech sounds which make up a language is called phonology, and the study of how these sounds combine to produce morphemes is called morphology. However, psychologists are frequently interested in a more global analysis of language than is provided by phonology and morphology. Psychological investigations of language typically adopt words, phrases, sentences, or prose, rather than more elementary speech sounds, as the most fundamental unit of analysis. There are several levels at which these higher-order analyses can be made. 1) First, one could analyse the lexical content of a sentence or of some other unit of language production. When a lexical analysis is performed, the question is simply, what words are used, and how many times they are used in this sample of language? Information gained from lexical analysis of language, such as that by Thorndike and Lorge, has proved to be very useful in predicting the ease with which different words can be learned in laboratory situations.

2) At another level of linguistic analysis, the syntactic content of language text may be investigated. In the study of syntax, interest is focused on the arrangement or ordering of words to form phrases and sentences. The question asked in this type of analysis is, how is this phase (or sentence) structured? Psychologists and linguists interested in syntactic theory have attempted to specify rules that account for the productivity of language (Chomsky, 1985). The set of rules indicating how the elements of the language may be combined to make intelligible sentences is referred to as a grammar. Although a large number of different grammars have been proposed, there is little agreement about the necessary features of an adequate grammar.

3) Another level of analysis of language is the one that considers the semantic content or meaning of passage. This perspective on language results in the asking of questions such as the following: What does the passage communicate? What is the meaning of this particular sentence? Word meaning is a function of the interaction between word features and the extent to which they match those belonging to certain prototypical and nonprototypical contexts (Lakoff, 1987). Here, both feature theory and prototype theory are seen as important.

Phase Structure of Sentences

In order to understand language in an adult, it is necessary to examine the structure of sentences. At one level of analysis, a sentence can be regarded simply as a string of phonemes. At another level, a sentence can be regarded as series of morphemes, which are grouping of phonemes. From this viewpoint, however, the sentence is viewed as a string of words. Linguists have found it more useful to describe a sentence in terms of phrases, which are grouping of words. Analysis of a sentence into its various phrases describes the phrase structure of a sentence. A sentence is viewed as composed of two basic phrases, a noun phrase and a verb phrase, which in turn are composed of subcomponents.

FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language serves many functions, which are all related to the fundamental process of communication. Perhaps most important is that language conveys meaning and is part of almost all kinds of social interaction. Language conveys intentions, motives, feelings, and beliefs. Language is used to issue requests and commands; and is also used to teach and to convey information. Language is useful because it can represent ideas and events that are not tied to present. You can also describe abstract ideas, such as beauty and justice, as well as concrete objects of everyday experience. The structure and functions of language  Thus, language is symbolic, in that speech sounds and utterances stand for or represent various objects, ideas, and events. Regardless of whether we are considering spoken language, written language, or sign language, there are three elements of language expression and human communication that have been identified as operating in the speaker-listener situation: speech acts, propositional content, and thematic structure. A brief description from the analysis by Clark & Clark (1977) is as follows:

i) Speech Acts: Speakers normally intend to have some influence on their listeners. To do so, speakers get the listeners to recognise the speakers’ intentions. Indeed, failure to recognise these intentions can result in awkward situations. Speech-act theory holds that all utterances can be classified as to the type of speech act they represent. For example, speech acts may make assertions, make verbal commitments, convey thanks, give a warning, or issue a command. Typical examples of speech acts including the following: “I insist that you turn down the volume on the stereo” (a command); “What are your plans for weekend?” (a question); “I promise to pay you tomorrow” (a verbal commitment), symbolise ordering, questioning, committing etc, which are common direct speech acts.

ii) Propositional Content: The second element of communication concerns the propositional content of a sentence. In communication, speakers want to convey certain ideas, and to do this, they must be sure that they are understood. Thus, the content around a speech act is very important. As a general rule, the propositional content of a sentence is used to describe certain states or events; it can be part of other propositions. For example, the sentence “The bright student received an A in Mathematics” expresses two separate propositions: “the student is bright” and “the student received an A in Mathematics.” Combined into a single sentence, the propositions convey what the speaker intends to convey. There is experimental evidence that we represent as propositions. For example, the more propositions contained in a sentence, the longer the time required to read the sentence (van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983)(discussed in detail in last section).

iii) Thematic Structure: The third component in communication is thematic structure. To communicate effectively, good speakers pay careful attention to their listeners. Good speakers have to judge what listeners do and do know, keep track of where they are leading their listeners, and regularly examine any assumptions about the listeners’ knowledge of the topic being discussed. In short, the speaker must be able to make reasonably accurate judgments of the listener’s current level of understanding. All of these features are present in good teachers, entertaining and effective storytellers, and interesting conversationalists. The structure and functions of language

 

Other Important Questions

1) Note the various experimental tasks that have been used to study language comprehension. Have you run into any of them before in this course?

2) It is intuitively obvious that context facilitates word interpretation, but how can it interfere with interpretation?

3) What is the role of context and expectations in the interpretation of speech? How has the influence of context been studied experimentally?

4) What are several major features of language development?

5) Compare and contrast the role of speech perception, syntax and semantics in the development and understanding of language.

6) What are the different processes involved in language comprehension?

7) The exposition of Kintsch’s model is necessarily abstract and therefore difficult to comprehend. Preserve in your reinstated searches! See if you can use it to deal with a new example of text selected from another course.

8) What factors are included in Kintsch’s model? How does the reader enter into this model?

9) Give an example of a humorous violation of one of Grice’s four maxims of successful conversation.

10) Describe the various processes involved in multilingualism?

11) Why study of multilingualism is important for cognitive psychologists?

12) What can multilingualism tell us about language structures and processes?

13) What are the advantages of being bilingual? Can you think of any disadvantages?

14) Give a detailed account of language acquisition of a second language.

15) Suppose you are an instructor of English as a second language. What kinds of things will you want to know about your students to determine how much to emphasise phonology, vocabulary, syntax, or pragmatics in your instruction?

16) Compare and contrast the speech errors made by individuals in different speech disorders.

17) Based on the discussion of language disorders in this chapter, make a worksheet of different kinds of language disorders and their symptoms and causes.

18) What do brain disorders like Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasias tell us about how a healthy brain processes phonological, syntactic and semantic information?

 

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