Part 1(General Issues) contains three chapters.
Chapter 1 describes the scope of psycholinguistics along with a short history of the field.
Chapter 2 discusses basic grammatical concepts such as phonemes,distinctive features, and morphology. The chapter also includes the grammatical features of American Sign Language.
Chapter 3 focuses on basic concepts of information processing and how they may apply to language.
1 Introduction: Themes of Psycholinguistics
Becoming self-consciously aware of what is known unself-consciously carries a special brand of excitement. -------- George A. Miller (1991, p. 2)
Main Points
- Psycholinguistics is the study of how individuals comprehend, produce, and acquire language.
- The study of psycholinguistics is part of the field of cognitive science. Cognitive science reflects the insights of psychology, linguistics, and, to a lesser extent, fields such as artificial intelligence, neurolinguistics, and philosophy.
- Psycholinguistics stresses the knowledge of language and the cognitive processes involved in ordinary language use.
- Psycholinguistics are also interested in the social rules involved in language use and the brain mechanism associated with language.
- Contemporary interest in psycholinguistics began in the 1950s, although important precursors existed in the 20th century.
The psychology of language deals with the mental processes that are involved in language use. Three sets of processes are of primary interest: language comprehension, language production, and language acquisition.
1⃣️ The Scope of Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics is part of the emerging field of study called cognitive science. Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary venture that draws upon the insights of psychologists, linguists, computer scientists, neuroscientists, and philosophers to study the mind and mental process( Stillings et al. , 1995).
- Language processes and linguistic knowledge
Psycholinguistic work consists of two questions:
What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language? Tacit knowledge: the knowledge of how to perform various acts.
Explicit knowledge: the knowledge of the processes or mechanisms used in these acts.
What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language?
- Four Language Examples
Garden Path Sentences: What happens when we comprehend a sentence? We get a hint of what is involved when the process breaks down. ( In the course of comprehending language we are making decisions---we are doing mental work.)
Indirect Requests( It is necessary to recognize the social dimension of language.)
Language in Aphasia( Although our primary focus is on language processes in normal individuals, we can learn a great deal about language by studying individuals with impaired language functioning.)
Language in Children( language acquisition)
Summary
Psycholinguistics is part of an interdisciplinary field known as cognitive science. Two primary psycholinguistic questions are, What mental processes are involved in language use? and What linguistic knowledge is involved in language use? These questions reemerge in different forms in studied of adult language comprehension and production, the social use of language, language use in aphasia, and language in children.
2⃣️ The Historical Context
Psycholinguistics is part of an interdisciplinary field known as cognitive science. Two primary psycholinguistic questions are, What mental processes are involved in language use? and What linguistic knowledge is involved in language use? These questions reemerge in different forms in studied of adult language comprehension and production, the social use of language, language use in aphasia, and language in children.
2⃣️ The Historical Context
Blumenthal( 1987) has observed that the interdisciplinary field of psycholinguistics flourished twice: once around the turn of the last century, principally in Europe, and once in the middle of the 20th century, principally in the United States.
In the early decades of the 20th century, linguists turned to psychologists for insights into how human beings use language. In the later period, psychologists turned to linguistics for insights into the nature of language. In between these two periods, behaviorism dominated both fields.
- Early Psycholinguistics
From the development of the first psychological laboratory(1897)---the early 1900s
major figure: Wilhelm Wundt (He believed that it was possible to investigate mental events such as sensations, feelings, and images by using procedures as rigorous as those used in the natural sciences. He also believed that the study of language provide important insights into the nature of the mind.
One of Wundt's contributions to the psychology of language was developing a theory of language production. He regarded the sentence, not the word, as the primary unit of language and saw the production of speech as the transformation of a complete thought process into sequentially organized speech segments.
Blumenthal(1970) refers to Wundt as the master psycholinguist.
Some significant developments were also being made in measuring various language process.
Huey----examined reading from the perspective of human perceptual abilities.(the eye-voice span; the tachistoscope) - Behaviorism and Verbal Behavior
In the first decades of the 20th century in the United States, there was mounting opposition to the focus on mental life as a goal for psychology.
By the 1920s, behaviorism took over the mainstream of experimental psychology. Behaviorists favored the study of objective behavior, often in laboratory animals, as opposed to the study of mental processes.( the role of experience in shaping behavior, emphasis on the role of environmental contingencies)
From the 1920s to the 1950s, psychologists expressed relatively little interest in language.( B. F. Skinner )
Similar developments were occurring within linguistics. Linguistics of this period tended to emphasize behavioristic treatments of language, in which reference to mental states or processes was meticulously avoided.( Despite the inherent interconnections between the fields, psychology and linguistics "divorced" for a period of several decades.
3⃣️ Later Psycholinguistics
By the early 1950s, psychologists and linguists became interested in talking to one another.
The second period of interdisciplinary psycholinguistics really took hold in the late 1950s, beginning with the emergence of the linguistic Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is generally regarded as the most influential figure in 20th-century linguistics, and he also played a powerful role in how psychologists perceived language because he argued that the behaviorists' accounts of language were inadequate.( Chomsky, 1957, 1959).
The revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s emphasized the role of linguistic theory in psycholinguistic research and the role of innate mechanisms in language acquisition. These themes continue to be influential, but there are indications that psychological interest in linguistic theory has waned.
Reber(1987) points out the growing realization that the two fields were quite distinct in their methodologies.
By the early 1950s, psychologists and linguists became interested in talking to one another.
The second period of interdisciplinary psycholinguistics really took hold in the late 1950s, beginning with the emergence of the linguistic Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is generally regarded as the most influential figure in 20th-century linguistics, and he also played a powerful role in how psychologists perceived language because he argued that the behaviorists' accounts of language were inadequate.( Chomsky, 1957, 1959).
The revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s emphasized the role of linguistic theory in psycholinguistic research and the role of innate mechanisms in language acquisition. These themes continue to be influential, but there are indications that psychological interest in linguistic theory has waned.
Reber(1987) points out the growing realization that the two fields were quite distinct in their methodologies.
- Rationalism: emphasize the role of innate factors in human behavior(emphasize the use of argument)----linguists
- Empiricism: stress the role of experience in behavior(favor the collection of data as a mean for evaluating hypotheses. -----psycholinguist
4⃣️ Current Directions
- early psycholinguistics primarily focused on syntax
more recently on phonology semantics pragmatics - early on language comprehension
recently on language production - considerable interest in the brain mechanisms associated with language
- application of psycholinguistic principles that are useful to society
Summary
The history of psycholinguistics can be divided into two periods of interdisciplinary activity separated by several decades of behaviorism.
The first period was dominated by Wundt, who presented a cognitive view of language. The behaviorist position later held that verbal behavior can be explained in terms of environmental contingencies of reinforcement and punishment. This view was criticized by Chomsky, leading to a second wave of psycholinguistic activity. This period was characterized by an effort to incorporate linguistic theory in psychological research as well as by the view that innate linguistic mechanism are necessary to explain child language acquisition.
The history of psycholinguistics can be divided into two periods of interdisciplinary activity separated by several decades of behaviorism.
The first period was dominated by Wundt, who presented a cognitive view of language. The behaviorist position later held that verbal behavior can be explained in terms of environmental contingencies of reinforcement and punishment. This view was criticized by Chomsky, leading to a second wave of psycholinguistic activity. This period was characterized by an effort to incorporate linguistic theory in psychological research as well as by the view that innate linguistic mechanism are necessary to explain child language acquisition.
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