2. What is Language?
Language is the method of
human communication, either
spoken, written, consisting of
the use of words in a structured
and conventional way.
3. Communication Interaction
Substantial variation
Flow of speech
Eye-contact (cultural)
Body language (cultural)
Reaction to audience
Is there a message
always being conveyed?
What else is language?
4. The Origins of Language
Divine Source: God-given language, no exposure
needed
Many religions state that a god or divine
being created language/languages
Natural Sound Theory: Bow-Wow Hypothesis,
Onomatopoeia
Primitive languages began when humans imitated sounds that
they heard in nature
5. The Origins of Language
Physical Adaptation: Specialization of the human
Vocal Tract
The human body is specialized to produce speech. Other animals
(specifically chimpanzees and apes) have similar bodily structures,
but cannot speak. Only humans are specialized for speech.
Genetic Source: Innateness hypothesis
Humans are born with a special capacity for language genetically
“hard-wired” into our brains. There may even be a language gene.
6. The Vocal Tract: How we speak
Lungs: Force air through the
vocal tract
Larynx: The “voice box” containing the
vocal cords/folds which produce speech
sounds
Pharynx: A cavity which acts as a
resonator, making sounds louder,
clearer, and giving them greater range
Mouth: (Oral cavity) can be
opened and closed rapidly
Tongue: Muscular speech organ
used to shape sounds inside the
oral cavity
Lips: Flexibility allows for
creation of sounds like p and b
Teeth: Upright and firm allowing
for creation of sounds like f and v
7. Chimp vs. Human:
Why we can speak but other primates can’t.
The physical structure of the human body allows us to produce a wide variety
of speech sounds. While chimpanzees and other primates have similar physical
structures, they are arranged differently, in a manner not conducive to the production
of speech sounds.
Chimpanzee Human
8. Language and the Brain – Chapter 12 (Yule)
Neurolinguistics: The study of the relationship
between language and the brain
Where is language production located inside the
brain?
Medical evidence shows that language is produced in
specific brain locations: Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s
Area, both located in the brain’s left hemisphere
Brain injuries might cause or be directly related to:
Language-impairment, including language production
and comprehension
Conversation maintenance issues
9. Severe Brain Injury and Language
Phineas Gage (Cavendish, Vermont) - In 1848, a steel tamping
rod (13 lbs., 1.25” diameter) exploded through his skull and his
left frontal cortex. He physically recuperated and returned to
work, his speech ability apparently unaltered. Therefore, the
left-front part of the brain does NOT control speech.
10. Left Hemisphere: Parts of the brain that control speech
Broca’s Area: Involved in the
production of speech sounds
Wernicke’s Area: Involved in
the understanding of speech
Motor Cortex: Controls the
movement of muscles, including
those of the face, jaw, tongue,
and larynx
Arcuate Fasciculus: Connects
Wernicke’s Area to Broca’s Area
-A reduction in both size and activity in the
arcuate fasciculus has been linked to
dyslexia.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/brain-
scans-may-help-diagnose-dyslexia-
0813.html
12. Speech Phenomenon: Tip of the Tongue
y
“This dog of yours is not very… what’s the
word I’m looking for? He doesn’t think
about other people before he does
something. It’s kind of a long word, starts
with a C.”
“Considerate?”
“Yeah. This dog’s not very considerate.”
Tip of the tongue: When you can think of
the general structure of the word, often
including the initial sound and number of
syllables, but cannot produce the word.
13. Speech Phenomenon: Malapropisms
Malapropism: When we say an incorrect word which has
structural similarities to the word we meant to say.
Examples:
- apprehension instead of comprehension
- unparalyzed instead of unparalleled
- hostile instead of hostage
- condemned instead of commended
“We cannot let terrorists and rogue
nations hold this nation hostile or
hold our allies hostile.”
~George W. Bush
August 21, 2000
14. Speech Phenomenon: Spoonerisms
Spoonerism (Slip of the tongue) – A spoken error often
involving the interchange of two initial sounds
Examples:
- Make a long shory stort (Make a long story short)
- A tup of kea (A cup of tea)
Spoonerisms get their name
from William Spooner
(1844-1930), a clergyman
who once described Jesus
as a “shoving leopard” when
he meant to say “loving
shepherd.”
16. To force heaven, Mars shall have a new angel.
247 Marshall Avenue, Angel (CA)
17. “AN IMPAIRMENT OF LANGUAGE FUNCTION
DUE TO LOCALIZED BRAIN DAMAGE THAT
LEADS TO DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING
OR PRODUCING LINGUISTIC FORMS”
THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE, YULE, 2010
COMMON CAUSES OF APHASIA ARE
STROKES AND TRAUMATIC HEAD INJURIES.
APHASIA
18. Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language function due
to localized brain damage
Commonly caused by stroke, trauma, head injuries
Mild to severe
Difficulties understanding will lead to difficulties
producing language
Understanding and speaking abilities are deeply
connected
19. What do you think?
What do you think could happen if a stroke
occurred on the left side of the brain?
20. Aphasia
Broca’s (or expressive)
Motor aphasia
Reduced amount of speech
Distorted articulation
Slow, effortful speech
Speech mainly formed by
nouns and verbs
Agrammatic speech
“I eggs and eat and drink
coffee breakfast.”
Wernicke’s (or sensory)
Sensory aphasia
Difficulties in auditory (listening)
comprehension
Production of fluent yet
incomprehensible speech
Use of general terms
“I can’t talk all of the things I do,
and part of the part I can go
alright, but I can’t tell from the
other people.”
Anomia – difficulty finding the
correct word
22. H T T P : / / W W W. Y O U T U B E . C O M / WAT C H ? V = B -
L D 5 J Z X P L E & F E AT U R E = S H AR E & L I S T = P L 2 E D 8 4 7 9
3 A9 0 F F B 5 5
Wernicke’s aphasia samples
23. Different views on recovery for bilinguals
(Vaid and Genesee, 1980)
Ribot’s Law
“Languages learned
early in development
would be more
resistant to impairment
caused by brain
damage and would
recover before
languages which have
been acquired
subsequently”(Vaid &
Genesee, 1980, p.420)
Pitres’s Law
Pitres believed that
the language(s)
that were used the
most preceding the
cerebral insult
before the brain
damage occurred
would recover first.
25. Critical Period
Is there a Critical Period to “learn” a first language?
Feral child/wild child
Noam Chomsky: acquisition/learning (language is
acquired, not taught or learned)
Eric Lenneberg: puberty as limit for language
acquisition
Researchers have quite different opinions on the age
for the critical period
The Forbidden Experiment
Is there a critical period for second language
acquisition?
