Language and cognitive science.ppt

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1、Language and cognitive scienceLinguistics lecture#1October 26,20061OverviewLinguistics and cognitive scienceLinguistic cognitionThe cognition of linguists2Linguisticsand cognitive scienceLinguistics is the scientific study of language,not of the mind in generalMINDvisionetcLANGUAGEhistoryetclinguist

2、iccognition3Why is linguistics importantto cognitive science?Language is coolLanguage is easy to study4Language is coolAlmost all humans have language(Not little babies,not some brain-damaged people)-Every culture on earth,even isolated islands-Geniuses,stupid people-Hearing people,deaf people-Peopl

3、e cant stop talking,cant stop understanding5Language is coolLanguage lets you read other peoples minds-Thought can be translated into physical form-Physical forms can be translated into thought6Language is coolLanguage gives you power-You can boss people around-You can tell somebody how to make some

4、thing-You can talk to yourself and write things down when youre trying to figure out something-Having a natural language helps you invent artificial language tools(logic,math,computer programs,etc)7Language is coolBabies are smarter than adults and computers-Babies begin to master language long befo

5、re going to school-Adults suffer a lot learning a new language-Computers are still very stupid at using language,and even stupider at learning it8Language is coolLanguage makes us special-Other animals are probably conscious-Other animals have vision-Other animals walk on two legs,make tools,etc-No

6、other animal has human-style language:words+rules9Language is easy to studyLanguage is“out there”in the world-Other aspects of the mind seem“hidden”(memories,consciousness)-Language can be heard and seen-Observable language patterns seem to correspond with actual mental patterns10Language is easy to

7、 studyLinguistics fits well with philosophical functionalism-Key metaphor:The brain is a computer,the mind is a program(or system of programs)-The math-like language of computers is inspired by natural human language,so natural language seems easy to analyze within this metaphor11Linguistic cognitio

8、nThe mind operates by information processing-One kind of information is translated into another kind of information within the mind-Information can also be transduced into or out of physical forms12Linguistic information processingThoughts are translated into sentence syntax(句法)Syntactic structures

9、are filled in with wordsWord structure is morphology(構詞)Sentences and words are prepared for transduction into physical forms by phonology(音韻)13A key concept:GRAMMARSyntax,morphology,and phonology are all part of grammar(語法)Linguists actually study grammar,not really language itself14Linguistic stru

10、ctureOne of the first to emphasize that grammar can open a window into the mind was American linguist Noam ChomskyHis 1957 book Syntactic Structures gave a“computer-like”theory of syntaxHis 1959 review of Skinners linguistic theories helped to kill BehaviorismStill very active and influential today1

11、5Noam Chomsky1960sToday16Generative grammarChomsky invented it,and its still the dominant concept in linguistics today-A grammar is generative if it can“generate”a language in an abstract sense,that is,if it can describe a language explicitly and completely.-Chomskys“generative”does NOT mean“generat

12、e speech”when actually using language!17Grammar and languageLanguages are infinite,grammars are finiteLanguage:他來了。他說他來了。他說他說他來了。他說他說他說他來了。Grammar:他說+sentence=sentence18Unconscious knowledgeSince the mind/brain is finite,“knowing a language”is really“knowing a grammar”But this is mostly unconscious

13、knowledge:you dont know what you know-For example,if you know Southern Min(閩南),how do you say these words?詩文詩文時間時間寺寺19Unconscious knowledge詩詩文時時間死死人四四點寺寺僧色色彩熟熟茶20Knowing vs.usingGrammar is knowledge,not language use(“I know English”vs.我會說英文)Grammar=linguistic competenceLanguage use=linguistic perfor

14、mance Language:.他說他說他收收他說他來了Grammar:他收+sentence=sentence?!No!Speech errors are performance,not competence21Competence vs.performance(1)Those two little mice were very frightened.(2)Those two little mice the cat chased were very frightened.(3)Those two little mice the cat I hate chased were very frig

15、htened.(4)The mouse the cat the dog bit chased ran.Sentence(4)must be grammatical,but it is hard to process(performance problems)22Linguistic universalsIf human grammar is in the mind,and human minds are all identically“human”,we expect linguistic universals:aspects of grammar shared by all language

16、sChomskys Martian would think that all human languages are the same23Linguistic universalsSome universals are obvious:Syntax always distinguishes nouns and verbsPhonology always uses syllables(音節)Others are less obvious:Some word orders are“more popular”than others:boy eat apple boy apple eat eat bo

17、y apple eat apple boy apple boy eat apple eat boy24Linguistic universalsChinese and English are unrelated languages with many differencesYet they also share many similarities:-Both have nouns,verbs,etc-They share sounds,including weird ones like l-Word order is really not extremely different-Order i

18、nside words too:bookstore=書店-Meanings often match:“should”=應該25Linguistic universalsEven sign languages(手語)are not weirdEvery sign language has its own grammar(e.g.American Sign Language,Taiwan Sign Language,etc)-Many,many different words-Syntax and morphology-Even phonology:knowledge of linguistic

19、transduction(patterns in physical forms)26The cognition of linguistsLinguistics belongs in cognitive science,but are linguists scientists?Two answers.Yes:They try to find general laws governing observed patternsNo:They ignore causal relationships(as noted by psychologist George Miller):for them,“exp

20、lanation”=simple description 27FormalismChomsky,like most linguists,believes in linguistic formalism:linguistic theories should refer only to the form of languageLanguage:買馬 sounds like 埋馬Formal analysis:+Not formal:“is too hard to say,so you have to change it to”28Advantages of formalismTheories ar

21、e more precise and explicitFormalism often seems to describe the way the mind really works(6)Colorless green ideas sleep furiously(Chomsky 1957)Sentence(6)has no meaning,and you would never use it in real life,but it still seems grammatical(it fits with English competence)29FunctionalismHowever,othe

22、r linguists believe in linguistic functionalism:the form of language may be explained by language use and non-linguistic cognitionOK:我從圖書館走到宿舍Bad:我到宿舍走從圖書館-Here,word order matches“real”order(Tai 1985)30Where do universals come from?Formalist answer:Innate linguistic knowledge:basic concepts like“syl

23、lable”are in your DNA.Functionalist answer:Universal needs(munication)31SummaryLinguistics belongs in cognitive science,but it may be“less scientific”than psychologyGrammar=knowledge of language=linguistic competence(performance)Generative grammar=100%explicitGrammars have universal propertiesLinguistic formalism vs.linguistic functionalism:are both necessary?32