Language and Thought.pptVIP

Ch8. Language and Thought The Nature of Language Language is communicative. Language is arbitrary. Language is meaningfully structured or rule governed. Language has multiple levels. Language is productive. Language is dynamic. A first language is spontaneously acquired Language and the Brain 研究語言功能定位的方法: 腦傷與語言缺損的關聯性 電刺激對語言功能的影響 大腦的代謝活動與血流量 與語言有關的大腦區域: Broca’s area , Wernicke’s area, the posterior cortex, association-cortex areas in the left hemisphere, the left temporal cortex, subcortical structures. Language and the Brain Hemispheric differences in processing For all right-handed and most left-handed persons, the left hemisphere of the brain is implicated in syntactical aspects of linguistic processing. Left hemisphere : speech, write Right hemisphere: auditory comprehension; linguistic comprehension and expression; metaphors and other nonliteral aspects of language Language and the Brain Sex differences Kimura(1987): Male: more left-hemisphere dominance for language Female: more bilateral, symmetrical patterns of language. Aphasic women: lesions in the anterior region Aphasic men: a more varied pattern of lesions The role of the posterior region in language use Women show less lateralization of language, their brains may be better able than men’s to compensate for any possible loss of function Language and the Brain Sex differences fMRI study: in the rhyming task Men: Only the inferior frontal region of the left hemisphere was activated Women:The inferior frontal region of both the left and right hemispheres was activated. Aspects of Language The aspects of language 音素(phonemes):the particular speech sounds the users of a given language can identify. 詞素(morpheme): the smallest unit of sound that denotes meaning in a particular language. 詞彙(lexicon): the entire set of morphemes in a given language or in a given person’s linguistic repertoire. 字彙(vocabulary): a repertoire of words, formed by combining morphemes. Aspects of Language 語法(syntax): the way users of