Psycholinguistics

1.
Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics is “an interdisciplinary field of study that includes psychology and
linguistics and concerns with the study of the psychological factors that enable
humans to acquire, process and produce language”.
Psycholinguistics mainly concerns with the use of psychological, scientific,
experimental methods to study language acquisition, production and processing. As
the name interdisciplinary suggests, it counts with contributions from psychology,
linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience.
Psychological processes involve listening, reading, speaking and writing
Concerning the interdisciplinary nature of psycholinguistics, debate has been ongoing
about how the melding of psychology, linguistics, and other fields has historically
been characterized by a “crossing of boundaries” between disciplines. The scope of
psycholinguistics includes language performance under normal circumstances and
when it breaks down.
1. Existence of Psycholinguistics as a scientific discipline
“Psycholinguistics came to existence as a scientific discipline, with the Chomsky’s
review of Skinner’s book Verbal Behaviour which detailed how language is acquired
from a behaviourist perspective. Chomsky claimed that behaviourist principles were
not enough to account for language acquisition or for higher order mental processes
in general”.
Moreover, the work of Skinner and Chomsky introduced a long-standing debate
regarding the degree to which language is acquired through innate faculties, and
the role that environmental input plays in language acquisition. The review of
Chomsky still holds that the human ability to use syntax is qualitatively different
from any sort of animal communication; this ability may have resulted from a
favourable mutation or from an adaptation of skills evolved for other purposes.
Currently, cognitive neuroscience has enabled further understanding of the role of
language in human experience through brain imaging and other technological
advances. Since its rise in the 1960s, the study of psycholinguistics, has involved
a wide range of topics.
2. The object of study of psycholinguistics and its application to education
The object of study of psycholinguistics are the cognitive aspects that encode
language processing, language comprehension and language production in the human
mind.
It is assumed that the cognitive process that are revealed as individuals acquire
proficiency in a second language share a common bases with the process that are
in place for competent bilinguals. Therefore, the second-language teaching is a field
that provides an excellent meeting ground for the many theoretical and practical
aspects of psycholinguistics to come together.

3. The three themes in Psycholinguistics
“The three main themes in psycholinguistics are language processing, language
comprehension and language production”.
Language processing: research in psycholinguistics has produced several theories of
how human beings process language. Chomsky claimed that language ability is seated
in innate capacities and that evolution of mental processes has enabled the
sophisticated use of language.
Processing is carried out through weights on linguistic cues that provide probabilistic
information about meaning. The model rests on learning principles. Other theories
of processing state that as language is processed, it integrates with past linguistic
information that has already been encountered and forms meaning by linking
together past and current input.
Language comprehension: comprehended language is called receptive language,
whereas produced language is known as expressive language. Language comprehension
is known to precede language production developmentally. A major area of study
in language comprehension is that of spoken language comprehension. Authors
provide theories of spoken language comprehension and how single-word theories
have evolved, including modular, parallel, and dual-route processing of words. The
role of phonology in language comprehension is an important aspect of processing.
It has been argued that the processing of morphological information takes place
during comprehension.
Language production: the production of language, called expressive language, occurs
after the ability to comprehend language has been acquired. Spoken language
production is a large area of research that has flourished since the 1950s. The
four stages (conceptual basis, lexical encoding, phonological encoding, and
articulatory program) are discussed in terms of the process of lexical access during
speech production.
4. Lateralization of the human brain
Lateralization of brain function is the view that functions are performed by distinct
regions of the brain. It’s believed that there are different areas of the brain that
are responsible for controlling language, formulating memories, and making
movements. If a certain area of the brain becomes damaged, the function associated
with that area will also be affected. The human brain is split into two hemispheres,
right and left. They are both joined together by the corpus callosum, a bundle of
nerve fibres which is located in the middle of the brain.
Hemispheric Lateralization is the idea that both hemispheres are functionally
different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled
by one hemisphere rather than the other. There is evidence of some specialization
of function mainly regarding differences in language ability. For instance, the left
hemisphere controls the right half of the body, and the right hemisphere controls
the left half of the body.

The left hemisphere is associated with language functions, such as formulating
grammar and vocabulary, speech production, understanding and containing different
language centres (Broca’s and Wernicke’s area). The right hemisphere, however, is
associated with more visuospatial functions such as visualization, depth perception,
and spatial navigation.

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1.

Psycholinguistics is “an interdisciplinary field of study that includes psychology and

humans to acquire, process and produce language”.

Psycholinguistics mainly concerns with the use of psychological, scientific,

experimental methods to study language acquisition, production and processing. As

the name interdisciplinary suggests, it counts with contributions from psychology,

linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience.

Psychological processes involve listening, reading, speaking and writing

Concerning the interdisciplinary nature of psycholinguistics, debate has been ongoing

been characterized by a “crossing of boundaries” between disciplines. The scope of

psycholinguistics includes language performance under normal circumstances and

when it breaks down.

1. Existence of Psycholinguistics as a scientific discipline

“Psycholinguistics came to existence as a scientific discipline, with the Chomsky’s

from a behaviourist perspective. Chomsky claimed that behaviourist principles were

favourable mutation or from an adaptation of skills evolved for other purposes.

Currently, cognitive neuroscience has enabled further understanding of the role of

language in human experience through brain imaging and other technological

a wide range of topics.

2. The object of study of psycholinguistics and its application to education

language processing, language comprehension and language production in the human

in place for competent bilinguals. Therefore, the second-language teaching is a field

aspects of psycholinguistics to come together.

“The three main themes in psycholinguistics are language processing, language

comprehension and language production”.

Language processing: research in psycholinguistics has produced several theories of

sophisticated use of language.

of processing state that as language is processed, it integrates with past linguistic

together past and current input.

Language comprehension: comprehended language is called receptive language,

whereas produced language is known as expressive language. Language comprehension

is known to precede language production developmentally. A major area of study

in language comprehension is that of spoken language comprehension. Authors

provide theories of spoken language comprehension and how single-word theories

role of phonology in language comprehension is an important aspect of processing.

four stages (conceptual basis, lexical encoding, phonological encoding, and

4. Lateralization of the human brain

are responsible for controlling language, formulating memories, and making

nerve fibres which is located in the middle of the brain.

Hemispheric Lateralization is the idea that both hemispheres are functionally

the left half of the body.

grammar and vocabulary, speech production, understanding and containing different

associated with more visuospatial functions such as visualization, depth perception,

and spatial navigation.

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