Language and Cognition

Language is fundamental to the branch of psychology known as cognitive psychology and therefore, requires a thorough definition. The route to a definition of language is to begin with a common aspect of science. This aspect ironically is a fundamental of behavioral science….the learning from mistakes. Perhaps mistakes are a normal human trait but rare is a mistaken definition becoming a milestone in the formation of a new branch of a science. This is the case of cognitive psychology and the definition of language.

Language

B.F.Skinner attempted to define language in the well-defined box of behavioral science arguing that, “the principles of operant and classical conditioning could account for how children learn language.” Willingham (2007, p. 412)

Willingham (2007) explains that one of the most significant milestones of the foundation of cognitive psychology was Norm Chomsky’s disagreement with Skinner’s behaviorist theory about language. Skinner believed children’s acquisition of language could be explained by classical conditioning. Chomsky pointed out that language could be generated or changed by each individual, which of course, meant the mind creates language not controlled by certain form.

The Key Features of Language

Language is a very complex subject and the key features are not just a few. Language is the only full lexicon. The word lexicon is commonly known as a collection of vocabulary about a particular subject or area and language is all vocabulary. However, language is not words only but has many features.

Kenneth Hyde (1998) lists 13 features of human language on his website, which are an adaptation from Charles Hockett’s (1960) book The Origin of Speech:

Vocal-auditory Channel

Most languages are spoken so the voice and hearing are the medium for most communication. Two exceptions to this are sign language and written language, but vocal communication is the base of language communication. This feature is part of evolution and was necessary before writing or technology could advance. The complexity of the physical aspects of the human being is necessary for this feature to be fully used in language. Animals excluding humans have limits to this ability because of physical constraints.

Broadcast Transmission and Directional Reception

Human language spreads out to all directions when spoken, but the ear pinpoints a direction of the sound and listeners. A significant attribute of the human body is that ears are located so that hearing is better if the sound comes to the front of the body. This evolutional feature of the human body is important in many ways, however, the most important is the identification of the direction and distance of danger. This feature also has a relation to the other senses. Eyes are in the front of the body as well as the sense of smell. This allows the other senses and language to interplay.

Rapid fading (transitoriness)

Living in an atmosphere of air means sound does not continue forever but rather fades quickly. This feature gives ample opportunity for discussions and conversation that otherwise would be lost in the confusion of sounds hanging in the air. A good example of what this confusion would be like is rooms, which echo all sound.

Interchangeability

Interchangeability is a feature of humans and other animals that allows utterances of speech in use by both genders of the species. This feature is absent in some organisms. These organisms can make female only sounds or male only sounds. This feature allows empathy between sexes and thorough understanding.

Total feedback

When humans speak, they can hear their own speech and continually check the quality and communicative effect of that speech. Analyzing speech individually allows for correction of mistakes which might lead to undesirable action from others and clearer communication in future conversations. Memory plays heavily in the encoding of this feedback. Emotions such as embarrassment have an affect on if the feedback transfers to secondary memory.

Specialization

The human body has physical parts that allow the vocalization of the phonemes. Most animals do not have the necessary body parts to make human speech. These physical characteristics are important for depth of understanding and increased perception of communication, both verbal and nonverbal.

Semantic

A sound is connected to something but the sound that refers to that something is different in different languages. Semantics also refers to using different words within one language to express the same meaning. Semantic speech allows for different expressions of cultural aspects as well the expression of individuality.

Arbitrariness

Sounds in language are assigned a meaning by the person hearing the sound.

The meaning of a sound may be uniformly agreed upon by speakers of a common language but this is not an absolute. This arbitrary association of objects and sounds allows a speaker of one language can teach parts of that language by pointing to objects and making a sound. Discreteness

The term discreteness refers to human ability to give a sound a context even if the sound is not clearly one sound or the other. This feature allows contextual and colloquial meaning and discerning unclear speech.

Displacement

Displacement is the aspect of language, which allows discussion or thinking without constraints to reality. In other words, displacement allows the exchange of ideas coming from imagination or something that is unseen but does exist as in a conversation about a planet that is known but has never been seen or visited.

Productivity

New sounds and sentences can be original. Productivity gives language the attribute of being dynamic and gives the speaker the ability to express something totally new. Productivity gives language the attribute of growing to encompass new things. Productivity also enhances the synergy of learning.

Traditional Transmission

For human beings to speak a language it must be learned, which is in contrast to many species like many birds or bees, which have innate communication skills. Traditional transmission is a feature of language, which allows language to grow and continue.

Duality of Patterning

Duality of patterning refers to switching already known sounds around to get new meanings. Duality of patterning allows communication of higher perception or new perception, an example would be poetry.

The Four Levels of Language Structure and Processing

Phonemes

Phonemes are the sounds of an alphabet. In English, has about 46 phonemes but the number in use in the world is about 200. (Willingham, 2007) Phonemes are important to distinguish words in speaking and to make up the written form of speech in a particular language.

Words

Words are the combinations of phonemes to make the structure of language (Willingham, 2007). Words give time, place, state of being and action to a person, place or thing.

Sentences

Sentences are the combinations of words, which form the structure of language. Sentences are important to transfer correct meaning and to preserve information.

Texts

Texts are groups of sentences that form a paragraph or paragraphs. Texts are important for brain processing to get a visual image or an idea that forms a story or coherent thought pattern. (Willingham, 2007) However, in contrast a text might be made of incoherent material through ignorance of proper writing or as a writers tool to demonstrate incoherency.

According to Willingham (2007), the four levels of language are important for psychologists because the study of the levels gives information on how the brain processes these levels and how they are produced. Willingham (2007) also refers to one goal of language research, which is finding universal rules that can be applicable to all languages.

Language and Cognitive Processing

Hatzidaki and Pothos (2006) did a study on bilingualism and translation and their finding suggested that bilinguals are flexible in translation tasks but that this depends on what kind of task. The study was on translation of words and word recognition from language one (L1) to language two (L2)… (L1 native and L2 learned) and in the converse from L2 to L1. The study shows that in translation semantic errors occur from L1 to L2 and lexical errors in the opposite direction L2 to L1. The interesting finding was that there were no semantic errors in word recognition from L1 to L2.

In essence, this implies that bilingual minds are able to grasp meaning in either language quickly but are not able to provide this meaning perfectly for monolingual speakers. This difference in cognitive processing of language shows that difference of ability in language affects ability of cognitive processing.

Conclusion

In the year 1967, Ulric Neisser introduced the name “Cognitive Psychology” (Goldstein, 2008). According to Neisser (Neisser, 1967 as cited by Goldstein, 2008, p. 1), “cognitive psychology is the study of how people learn structure, store and use knowledge.”

This definition of cognitive psychology implies that language influences all cognitive processes. Humans learn and interpret reality through language and thus language ability is the single cognitive process that separates humans from other forms of life. Language further separates humans themselves into racial and cultural groups. In addition, language ability determines a human’s ability to interact with other humans and to a very real degree that human’s success in social terms and in life itself.

References

Goldstein, M.A. (2008). Focus on: Goldstein research, Cornell University, Department of Psychology, Retrieved June 8, 2008 from http://www.psych.cornell.edu/

Hatzidaki, A. & Pothos, E.M. (2006). Bilingual language representation and cognitive processes in translation, Retrieved June 6, 2008 from tp://journals.cambridge.org/production/action

/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=1597396

Hyde, K. (1998). The features of human language, Retrieved May 29, 2008 from www.people.ex.ac.uk/bosthaus/Lecture/hockett1.htm

Willingham, D.T. (2007). Cognition: The Thinking Animal, (3rd ed.), by Daniel T. Willingham. Published by Pearson Education, Inc.


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