KEMENTERIAN PENDIDIKAN DAN KEBUDAYAAN

UNIVERSITAS SULTAN AGENG TIRTAYASA

FAKULTAS KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN

PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INGGRIS

MID TEST

Subject             :  Psycholinguistics

Semester          :  VII /2013-2014

Lecturers         :  Dr. Yudi Juniardi, M.Pd. / Rosmania Rima, M.Pd.

Name               : Eni Wahyuni

NIM                : 2223102388

Class               : 7 D

Answer the questions below briefly and support your answer with some examples!

1. What is the underlying reason of the existence of psycholinguistics as one of linguistic fields?

Answer:

The reason is because psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. And then psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of psychological states and mental activity that are associated with the use of language. Psycholinguistics covers the cognitive processes that make it possible to generate a grammatical and meaningful sentence out of vocabulary and grammatical structures, as well as the processes that make it possible to understand utterances, words, text, etc.

The field studies the way in which operations of the mind make language possible. Specifically, it explores the cognitive processes that underline the use, storage and acquisition of language. It takes into account affective and contextual factors only as far as their impact on performance is concerned. Psycholinguistic's main goal is the identification of general patterns of behavior across language users, which might reflect the capabilities and biases of the human brain or the processing requirements of the language under investigation.

A long-term area of interest has also been the way in which vocabulary is stored in the language user's mental lexicon. Developmental psycholinguistics study is language acquisition. Another area of psycholinguistics contributes to an understanding of language impairments, both developmental impairment and impairment that is acquired as a result of illness or accident. Psycholinguists study the processes that contribute to dyslexia and dysgraphia, with aphasic symptoms produced by strokes and with disorders of speech. 

2.   Is there a critical age for first language learning?

Answer:

Yes. The concept of a critical age for first language was raised. Recall, if you will, that although solid evidence was lacking, some theories hypothesized that there was an age (puberty, for example) beyond it would be impossible to acquire a first language. Brain changes were suggested as a possible explanation for such a psychological barrier.

Between the ages of two and three years language emerges by an interaction of maturation and self-programmed learning. Between the ages of three and the early teens the possibility for primary language acquisition constitutes to be good; the individual appears to be most sensitive to stimuli at this time and to preserve some innate flexibility for the organization of brain functions to carry out the complex integration of sub-processes necessary for the smooth elaboration of speech and language. After puberty, the ability for self-organization and adjustment to the physiological demands of verbal behavior quickly declines. The brain behaves as if it had become set in its ways and primary, basic skills not acquired by that time usually remain deficient for life (Lenneberg 1967:158).

3.   Can person who are mute but hearing develop the ability to comprehend speech?

Answer:

 

Yes. Because speech comprehension occurs without speech production:

·         Mute but hearing can develop the ability to comprehend speech without their being able to produce speech.

·         Mute persons developed a grammar. A mental grammar is based on speech comprehension that enabled them to understand the speech to which they were exposed.

4.   How ‘sign language’ differ from sign and gesture?

Answer:

• Sign language

Sign language is a system of communication utilizing gestures. Each letter and sound is represented by a specific gesture. It is much more codified than a general gesture. Sign language is not where letters and sounds are represented by gestures. Rather sign language is where specific concepts are represented by specific established signs, movements and facial grammar. Sign language based on the speech of ordinary language can be of two different kinds: one which represent the morphemes of speech and one which represents spelling (orthography).

• Gesture

According to Adam Kendon (2004) stated that gesture as visible body actions that may be used in conjunction with spoken expressions or as alternatives to them. Gesture can be a natural form of expression or may be shaped by cultural codes. A gesture, as I would define it, is a motion that creates a shape that has a specific meaning. 

5.   Can animal communication be regarded as language?

Answer:

 

No, because as linguist Chomsky (1957) claims that humans possess an innate universal grammar that is not possessed by other species. This can be readily demonstrated, he claims, by the universality of language in human society and by the similarity of their grammars. No natural non-human system of communication shares this common grammar. And then according to Macphail (1982, cited by Pearce, 1987) made the claim that humans acquire language (and non-humans do not) not because humans are (quantitatively) more intelligent, but because humans possess some species-specific mechanism (or mechanisms) which is a prerequisite of language-acquisition.

Natural animal communication, Pearce (1987, p252) cites a definition of animal communication by Slater (1983, see Pearce for reference), which we will also use as a working definition in this lecture. Animal communication is the transmission of a signal from one animal to another such that the sender benefits, on average, from the response of the recipient.

And then natural animal communication can include:

·         Chemical signals (used by some very simple creatures, including protozoa)

·         Smell (related to chemical signals, eg. pheromones attract, skunk secretions repel)

·         Touch

·         Movement

·         Posture (eg. dogs, geese)

·         Facial gestures (eg. dogs snarling)

·         Visual signals (eg. feathers)

·         Sound (eg. very many vertebrate and invertebrate calls)

6.   Can we teach animal a language?

Answer:

Yes. Lots of animals can actually talk, but they communicate differently to the way that we do. Animals don’t have a spoken language but instead they communicate with each other using sounds and gestures. That said, some animals (such as parrots and mynah birds) can make noises that sound like words, but they’re actually just mimicking us and they don’t really understand what they’re saying.

The scientists have managed to teach some chimpanzees to speak using different sounds, sign language and computer keyboards. Some chimps can speak with as many as thirty different sounds and seem to be on the verge of human speech. They also use many different facial expressions and gestures like we do. But they don’t seem good at putting sentences together. This seems to be a very human trait.

We must avoid using features of human language that are physiologically difficult or impossible for the animal to manage.

 

For example, spoken human language is extremely difficult or impossible for most animals because of the structure of their vocal organs. Apes, for example, can't produce a large proportion of the vowels and would have difficulty with some of the consonants. This may be due not only to the shapes of the vocal organs but also to the limitations of the motor centers in the brain that control these organs. We might attempt, on the other hand, to teach apes language that involves them using their hands (eg. sign language or the manipulation of symbols).

7. There are 3 factors involved in second language acquisition: psychological, social situation, other psychological variable. Explain them!

Answer:

• Psychological

In this section, we shall consider intellectual processing which is involved in an individual's analytical determination of grammatical structures and rules. Memory which is essential if language learning is to occur and remain and motor skills which Concern the pronunciation of the sound involved in second language. Example: the use of articulators of speech (tongue, lips, mouth, vocal cords, etc)

• Social Situation

The types of situation, setting, and interaction which an individual experiences can affect the learning of a second language. Thus, we will be concerned with where and with whom exposure to the second language occurs. Example: in natural situation (family, play, workplace). In contrast to the classroom situation Will focused on.

• Other psychological variables

Here we shall see the effect of other individual factors such as what the person's first language is, and how the motivation, attitude, and other individual factors may affect learning.