Brief Introduction to Psycholinguistics

Hafiza.Iqra Abadullah(4362)

Dept:Applied LinguisticsBS 5th

GC University Faisalabad

Psycholinguistics

1-An Introduction

2-Acquisition

3-Production4-Comprehension

1-Introduction

NEUROLINGUISTICS

Neurolinguistics is an old term for psycholinguistics. In 18th century the relationship between language and human brain is called Neurolinguistics.

Neurolinguistics is the study of

neural mechanism in the human

brain that controls acquisition,

Production & comprehension.

Psycholinguistics

Psycholinguistics is the branch of study which combines the discipline of psychology and linguistics. It is concerned with the relationship between human mind and language as it examine the process that occur in brain while producing and receiving both spoken and written discourse.

Important aspects of Psycholinguistics

Coinage of term.

As a separate branch of study.

Chomskyan Revolution.

Work on psycholinguistics.

Areas of Study. Methodologies. Language Acquisition.

Language Production.

Language comprehension.

COINAGE OF TERM PSYCHOLINGUISTS

• This term is coined by JACOB ROBERT. Frequently used in 1946 due to NICHOLS HENNRY.

CHOMSKYAN REVULATION

• Chomsky posited humans possess a special innate ability for language and that complex syntactic feature such as recursion are hardwired in the brain. All the humans have a ability to learn language. LAD is fixed in human mind.

WORK

• Work on psycholinguistics starts as far as PLATO. It become prominent in 19th century with linguistics. Paul Broca , Charles Hockett and Willern Levelt are important psycholinguist who did work on it.

Old Theory

• 1st concept is that language exist in right hemisphere.

13 Design Features of Language

Willem Levelt

• Willem Johannes Maria (Pim) Levelt (born 17 May 1938 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch psycholinguist. He is an influential researcher of human language acquisition and speech production. He developed a comprehensive theory of the cognitive processes involved in the act of speaking, including the significance of the "mental lexicon".

Areas of Study

Cognitive science Psychology

Linguistics

Speech &

Language pathology

Paul Broca

Pierre Paul Broca (28 June 1824 – 9 July 1880) was a French physician, surgeon, anatomist, and anthropologist. He was born in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe.

Charles Hockett

• In the 1960s, linguistic anthropologist Charles F. Hockett defined a set of features that characterize human language and set it apart from animal communication. He called these characteristics the design features of language.

Theories of Psycholinguistics

Acquisition

copmrehensionProduction

2-Acquisition

2-First Language Acquisition

• The learning of a native or first language is called first language acquisition.

• It’s also known as developmental psycholinguistics.

• It is just one stand of Psycholinguistic which is all about how people to speak and the mental processes involved.

• Are we taught to speak by our parents? , or are we born with knowledge in our brains that helps us to pick up language quickly.

• So really, it’s a question of nature vs. nurture.

Nature Nurture

• Michael Tamasello:

• He believes that children acquire language first and foremost by understanding how others use language.

• Noam Chomsky”

• He believes that we have pre-wired structure in our brains, which helps us to have advance knowledge about language, known as Atavism.

• Children look for regular patterns in speech and use these as rules to work out new utterance, such as applying the past tens: every word ending with “ed”.

• Later Chomsky believe that we are born with “switches” in our brains.

English: SVOTurkish: SOV

• B. F. Skinner:

• Skinner research comes under the term “Behaviorism” which may be familiar to the studying psychology.His belief is that children learn language through their parents and other sibling around them.

Two basic notions in first language acquisition.

ÞOvergeneralization

Þ Under generalization

1-Overgeneralization

• The extension of a rule beyond to its proper limits.For Example: it is a frequent phenomenon in language development.It can be found not only in syntactic usage nut also in word-meaning.

Moon= all round objectscars= all vehicles dogs= all for legged animals

2-Undergeneralization

• When a child uses a word in a more limited way than adults do this phenomenon is known as undergeneralization.

For Example:Shoes= only refers to his mother’s shoes.

Reasons for overgeneralization and undergeneralization

• On some Occasions: children’s conceptual categories differ from adults

• On other occasions: they may know perfectly well that a cow is not a dog, but not know what is called

• On still other Occasions: The children’s misuse of words may reflects an attempt at humor.

3-Second Language Acquisition

• This is the Process by which people learn a Second Language (L2). This research focuses on the developing knowledge and use of a language by children and adults who already know at least one other language.

Theories of Second Language Learning

1-Universal Grammar

• Chomsky describes this theory as knowledge that people are born with. Basically skill of language people already have without being thought .

2-Monitor TheoryThe point of this theory is to note the differences between ‘acquisition’ and ‘learning’. Acquisition is hypothesized to occur in a manner similar to first language acquisition, learning is described as a conscious process, one in which the learner’s attention is directed to the rules and forms of the language.

3-Behaviorism It dominated psychology and education theories of second language

learning and teaching. Behaviourism was based on the view that all learning including language learning occurs through a process of imitation, practice, reinforcement and habit formation.

4-Cognitive PsychologyCognitive psychologists hypothesized that second language acquisition,

like other learning, requires the learner’s attention and effort.

Some theories suggested that language is fist acquired through intentional learning of what is called ‘declarative knowledge’ and that the declarative knowledge can become ‘procedural knowledge’

5- Integrationist Perspectives

This theory explains the ongoing use of language and gestures in anticipation of how the other will react in a conversation. It’s not only the speakers reactions

but also the listeners.

Instruction and Second Language Acquisition

Research shows that instruction can have a significant effect on second language acquisition, at least in terms of the rate of learning and the long-term success that learner achieve in using the language accurately.

In the context of communicative interaction, learners seem to be able to benefit more form instruction and error feedback which focus on semantic or lexical errors than from that which targets syntactic errors.

Factors

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS

1.Age2.Personality 3.Motivation4.Experiences 5.Cognition

1-AGE

Second language acquisition is influenced by the age of the learner.Children with solid literacy skills in their own language, seem to be in the best position to acquire a new language efficiently.

2-PERSONALITY

Introverted or anxious learnersusually make slower progress, particularly in the development of oral skills. They are less likely to take opportunities to speak.Theywill take risks, and thus will give themselves much more practice.

3-EXPERIENCES

Learners who have acquired general knowledge and experience are in a stronger position to develop a new language than those who haven't.

4-MOTIVATION

•Intrinsic motivation: Refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades. Extrinsic motivation :

refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide.

5-COGNITION

In general, it seems that students with greater cognitive abilities will make the faster progress. Some linguists believe that there is a specific, innate language learning ability that is stronger in some students than in others.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

AFFECTIVE FACTORS Affective factors are emotional factors which influence learning.

1.Self-Esteem 2. Inhibition 3.Risk Taking 4.Anxiety 5.Empathy

Comparison between 1st & 2nd language Acquisition

Similarities

1-In both first and second language acquisition, there are predictable stages, and particular structures are acquired in a set order.  Individuals may move more slowly or quickly through these stages, but they cannot skip ahead.

2-In both first and second language acquisition, making errors is a part of learning. For example, a learner may start out using the correct form of an irregular verb as part of a language chunk, but later over-generalize and place a regular affix on that same verb.

3-In both first and second language acquisition, the learner uses context clues, prior knowledge, and interaction to comprehend language.

4-And in both first and second language acquisition, Age is an important variable affecting proficiency. 

Differences

1-In first language acquisition, children spend several years listening to language, babbling, and using telegraphic speech before they can form sentences.  But in second language acquisition in older learners, learning is more rapid and people are able to form sentences within a shorter period of time.

2-In second language learning in older learners, learners are able to use more metacognitive processes in their learning.  They can consciously analyze and manipulate grammatical structures, and they can describe how language works.  This can speed the learning process.

3-In second language learning in older learners, learners bring more life experience and background knowledge to their learning.  They have more schemata and more learning strategies to help them learn the second language.

4-Almost everyone acquires a first language, but not everyone acquires a second language.  Acquiring a first language happens naturally, while acquiring a second language often requires conscious effort on the part of the learner. 

3-Production

Language production is the production of spoken & written language. It describes all stages between having a concept

into linguistic form.

SPEECH PRODUCTION

• It concerns with how people produce language in his/her mind to convey their meanings that are comprehensible to others either it is in written form or spoken form

• Basically it refers that how humans use words to communicate ideas and feelings and how such communication are understood.

• In simple wording it is how the brain creates and understands language

Sub-Levels Of Speech Production

There are four sub-levels in speech production

Conceptualization

Formulation

Articulation

Self-Monitoring

1-Conceptualization

This is what we wish to communicate.

Example:- People who are coming from different cultures

but using same language like (English). We have to notice that how clearly do they say

and what they mean.

Levelt’s Model

• A psycholinguist who gave a model in 1989

• CONCEPTUALIZATION ( what we wish to communicate)

• FORMULATION ( formulate the thoughts into linguistic plan)

• ARTICULATION (execute the plan through the biological speech system)

• SELF-MONITORING (monitor the speech whether it is what we intend to say and how we intend to say)

David McNeil's Model

• An American psycholinguist who gave this model.• He focus on speech first conceptualized in human mind.• He claimed that syntactic thoughts and imagistic thoughts

collaborate to conceptualize conversation. • • SPEECH CONCEPTUALIZATION• Syntactic thoughts• Imagistic thoughts• Example:-• Person A:Where is my brief case?• Person B:There’s your brief case.• This is when person B point to the brief case the same when he

says:thers’s.

Insights of production process

There are three insights of production process:1. It demonstrates that speakers are constantly self editing.2. It suggests that speakers are intuitively sensitive to what

stage of production process went awry, if indeed a mistake was made.

3. There is a distinction between performance and competence.

Examples :4. I think it costs just about…uh..twenty five dollars.5. They have to try to…uh…contact an attorney. Hostiations like those exemplified in (1)and (2) are not

mistake certainly not in the sense that the term has been defined and illustrate here.

2-Formulation

• Formulation is the eventual output of speech conceptualization.

• Gestures plays a functional role in formulation of speech.

• Long term memory resources are thought to be necessary for conceptualization and verbal working memory resources are thought to necessary for formulation.

Formulation is related to slips of tongue in speech production.

Spoonerism

This term is introduced by Dr.William Spooner(1844-1930)

Spoonerisms are Speech error in which the initial letter or letters of two or more words are switched.

8 major types of slips of the tongue These errors appear at all levels phoneme,

morpheme & word level.

ExampleThat’s so she'll be ready in case she

decide to hits it(decides to hits it).

Fancy getting your model renosed(getting your nose remodeled)

Bake my bike(take my bike)

He pulled a pantrum(tantrum)

Type1-Shift

2-Exchange

3-Anticipation

4-Preseveration

I didn’t explain this clarefully enough(carefully)

I’ll just get up & mutter intelligibly(unintelligibly)

At slow speed it’s too light (heavy)

That’s child looking to be spaddled (paddled/spanked)

5-Addition

6-Deletion

7-Substituion

8-Blend

3-Articulation

• Articulation concerned with sounds in speech production,when,where and how sounds are articulate in the mouth and vocals of a human.

• It includes “Place of Articulation” & “Manner of Articulation”

Place of Articulation

• It is the place where obstruction occurs in the vocal tracts.

• It includes;• The upper lip (Bilabial

sounds)• The upper teeth, either on

the edge of the teeth or inner surface (Dental sounds)

• The alveolar ridge, the gum line just behind the teeth.(Alveolar sounds)

Manner of Articulation

•  The manner of articulation is the configuration and interaction of the articulators.

• It includes;

• Stops

• Fricatives

• The back of the alveolar ridge.(Post alveolar sounds)

• The hard palate in the roof of mouth.(Palatal Sounds)

• The soft palate back on the roof of the mouth.(Velar sounds)

• The epiglottis at the entrance to the windpipe.(Glottal sounds)

• Affricates

• Nasals• Flaps• Lateral• Approximants

Articulation includes consonant sounds as well as vowel sounds, vowel sounds includes short vowels & long vowels.

4-Self-monitoring

Production process sometime goes away and

Speaker will verbally misstep, especially with regular or more unusual form.

Examples :

1. The last I knowed about it(I mean knew about it),it had left Vancouver.

2. She was so drank(I mean drunk ),that we decided to drive her home.

Mistakes are production problems, they that are trouble you have with your linguistic printer , not with the original software.

Errors are committed by non-native speaker.

Examples :

3. I think it cost just…uh…about twenty five dollars.

4. They have …uh…to try to contact an attorney. Just about, and have to function as linguistic units, so it

is improbable that the speaker would hesitate in the middle of either one, after having already chosen to fill the linguistic slot of the utterance with those phrases.

The attested presence of a self monitoring stage that people don’t just communicate with themselves, they don’t just listen to others, they listen to themselves.

4-Comprehension

Definition of Comprehension

• The word comprehension means understanding .

• Comprehension actually comes from Latin term.

• An ability to understand the meaning or impotence of something [or knowledge acquire as a result.

1-Sound Comprehension

• Comprehension is strongly influenced by even the slightest

of changes in discourse which the listener is attending to.• In the course of every day conversation we don’t hear

vowels and consonant as isolated sounds• The [p] is the following words is produced slightly different

the initial [p] of pool pronounced with puckered lips but the same [p] in peel is spoken with the lip spread

• Despite all variations in [p] native speakers of English almost never confuse any manifestation of the [p] sound with [b] which is acoustically similar.

• Example these sound Benny and penny.

The main feature which English speakers attend to is the [Voice onset Timing] [VOT] of initial consonant the most significant difference English consonant like [b]and [p] is the length of time.

Psycholinguistic have discovered that human are actually born with the ability to focus in on VOT differences in the speech sounds.

The successful comprehension is a combination of the innate ability to recognize fine distinctions between speech and sounds which all human appear to possess along with the ability all learner have to adjust their acoustic categories to the parameters of the language .

2-Word Comprehension

Definition: The word comprehension means understanding. When you lack comprehension of a difficult word, you will likely need to look up its definition and usage in a cool, down-to-earth online dictionary! Comprehension actually comes from the Latin term, comprehension, which means "a seizing. “

Representation of the Meaning of Words Comprehension

• Reference Theory

• Prototype Theory

• Decomposition Theory

1-Reference Theory: which equates a word’s meaning with what that

word refers to in the world

For example, the noun drawer is identified with a sliding box-shaped part of a piece of furniture used for storage.

2-Prototype Theory: Assumes that a word’s meaning can be derived from a

bundle of features, no one of which is individually either necessary or sufficient.

3-Decomposition Theory: which holds that the Meaning of an utterance can be

derived if the latter is broken down into its component semantic features.

3-Sentence Comprehension

• Sentence comprehension is known as to be difficult for orally trained individual with hearing impairment.

• Sentence comprehension has to deal with ambiguity in spoken and written utterance e.g: lexical, structural and semantic ambiguities.

Some Psycholinguists have focused on fact that the sentence comprehension system continually creates novel, representation of novel messages, following the constraints of a language grammar and does so in a remarkable speed.

some emphasized that comprehension system is senstive to a vast range of information including grammatical, lexical and textual.

In 1950’s Chomsky gave a model of sentence grammar structure of the basis of

which Psycholinguists first began to examine the comprehension of sentences.

In 1982 & 1992

Frazier, Rayner and Pretchett (former theorists) have constructed serial model that describes that how a processor quickly constructs one or more representation of sentence based on restricted range of information.

In 1994 McDonald, Pearlmutter

and seidenberg have constructed parallel model describing how processor use all relevent information to quickly evaluates the full range of interpretations of a sentence.

Here are some examples

• Tom is not going to your school.• The man who ate at my house last night.• Tommy is coming to your pool.• Dog is chasing the cat.• The cat is being chased by dog.