胡壮麟 语言学教程修订版 课堂笔记和讲义精选Chapter (6)

Chapter 6 Language Processing in Mind

6.1 Introduction

1. Language is a mirror of the mind in a deep and significant sense.

2. Language is a product of human intelligence, created a new in each individual by

operation that lie far beyond the reach of will or consciousness.

3. Psycholinguistics “proper” can perhaps be glossed as the storage, comprehension,

production and acquisition of language in any medium (spoken or written).

4. Psycholinguistics is concerned primarily with investigating the psychological reality of

linguistic structures.

5. The differences between psycholinguistics and psychology of language.

Psycholinguistics can be defined as the storage, comprehension, production and acquisition of language in any medium (spoken or written). It is concerned primarily with investigating the psychological reality of linguistic structures.

On the other hand, the psychology of language deals with more general topics such as the extent to which language shapes thought, and from the psychology of communication, includes non-verbal communication such as gestures and facial expressions.

6. Cognitive psycholinguistics: Cognitive psycholinguistics is concerned above all with

making inferences about the content of the human mind.

7. Experimental psycholinguistics: Experimental psycholinguistics is mainly concerned

with empirical matters, such as speed of response to a particular word.

6.1.1 Evidence

1. Linguists tend to favor descriptions of spontaneous speech as their main

source of evidence, whereas psychologists mostly prefer experimental studies.

2. The subjects of psycholinguistic investigation are normal adults and children

on the one hand, and aphasics----people with speech disorders-----on the other.

The primary assumption with regard to aphasic patient that a breakdown in

some part of language could lead to an understanding of which components

might be independent of others.

6.1.2 Current issues

1. Modular theory: Modular theory assumes that the mind is structured into

separate modules or components, each governed by its own principles and

operating independently of others.

2. Cohort theory: The cohort theory hypothesizes that auditory word recognition

begins with the formation of a group of words at the perception of the initial

sound and proceeds sound by sound with the cohort of words decreasing as

more sounds are perceived. This theory can be expanded to deal with written

materials as well. Several experiments have supported this view of word