Topics in chapter
On-Line Sentence Comprehension
Sentences are difficult to understand if they contain: Negatives, Passive vs. active voice, Complex syntax, Ambiguous
Society couldn’t function without ______ which is one of the most complex processes found on our planet
Language
Phoneme
basic unit of spoken language
(– Sounds of a, k, th)
Semantics
examines meanings of words and sentences
Brain and Language- Neurolinguistics
Discipline that examines how the brain processes language
As many as ____ spoken languages
7,000
Morpheme
basic unit of meaning (– re- )
Pragmatics
knowledge about the rules that govern language (Involves social interactions: factors in listener)
Reading
Requires many cognitive processes
– Recognizing letters -Eye movements – Working memory to remember material – Recalling material stored in long-term memory – Mental imagery of material – Semantic knowledge, schemas to interpret
We have an estimated vocabulary of 20,000 to ____ words!
100,000
Morphology
examines how we create words by combining morphemes
Language is modular
linguistic abilities are separate from other cognitive abilities
Discourse Comprehension
Interrelated language units larger than a sentence
Language is interrelated with many other _____ & is our most _____ cognitive process
Cognitive processes / social
Syntax
grammatical rules that govern how we organize words into sentences
Cognitive-Functional Approach
the function of human language in everyday life is to communicate meaning to others
Meta-comprehension
your thoughts about comprehension
Language occurs on impressively ___ time scale
Fast
Grammar
examines word structure (morphology) and sentence structure (syntax)
Psycholinguistics
An interdisciplinary field that examines how
people use language to communicate ideas