1、Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics,Helena H. Gao Graduate Institute of Linguistics Fu-Jen University 2005,Lecture 2; 5 Oct. 2005 Required readings:Whorf, B. L. (1956) Language, mind, and reality. In: J.B. Carroll (ed.), Language, thought and reality. selected writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. Cambr
2、idge, Massachusetts: the MIT Press. pp. 246-270. Fodor, J. (1990). Defending the “language of thought”. In W. G. Lycan (ed.), Mind and congnition. A reader. Basil Blackwell. pp. 282-310 Jackendoff, R. (2002). Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar, Evolution. Oxford University Press. Chapt
3、er 2: Language as a Mental Phenomenon. pp. 19-37Recommended readings: Whorf, B. L. (1956) The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language. In: J.B. Carroll (ed.), Language, thought and reality. selected writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. Cambridge, Massachusetts: the MIT Press. pp. 134-159. S
4、hapiro, K., & Caramazza, A. (2003). The representation of grammatical categories in the brain. Trends in Cognitive Science, 7(5), 201-206.,Language, Mind, and Thought,Lecture 2 5 Oct., 2005,What is Thought,Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world, and so to deal
5、 with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires. Concepts akin to thought are sentience, consciousness, idea, and imagination. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia)The meanings of Thought revealed in its use in language: “The thought never entered my mind.“ “Thinking always made him frown.
6、“; “She paused for thought.“ “19th century thought“; “Darwinian thought“ “My opinion differs from yours“; “What are your thoughts on this proposal?“,What is Mind,The mind is the term most commonly used to describe the higher functions of the human brain, particularly those of which humans are subjec
7、tively conscious, such as personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia),Understanding Mind by its use in Language,His mind wandered. The idea came to mind. Follow your mind, not your heart. I dont mind your behavior. She changed her mind. The great minds of
8、 the 20th century Dont pay him any mind. He had in mind to see his old teacher. He reads to improve his mind. Things to keep in mind when preparing a talk.,Different Theories,Mind is a device that operates according to strict rules concerning the manipulation of symbols The mind is some sort of digi
9、tal processor that runs on the highly parallel neural structure of the brain Since about the mid-1980s researchers have increasingly challenged the idea that the mind is a computational device.,Three dominant theories in the past hundreds of years,The blank slate (John Locke: 1632-1704 ) compares mi
10、nd to white paper inscribed gradually by experience The noble savage (Jean Jacques Rouseau:1712-1778) “nothing could be more gentle than man in his primitive state” (Translated by G.D. Cole, 1913, p. 207) The ghost in machine (Rene Descarte: 1596 - 1650) belief in the division of soul and body,Chall
11、enges to the trilogy of theories,Modern sciences particularly cognitive understanding, evolutionary psychology, and neurology “There have to be some innate mechanisms to do the learning, to achieve the socializing, to create and transmit the culture” upon which experiences are based (Pinker, August,
12、 2005).,Innate Mechanisms (Pinker, 2005),From a cognitive perspective, such mechanisms include a sense of spatial representation the ability to grasp the thoughts of others a language instinct decision rules that govern behavior Other human drives can only be understood within the context of evoluti
13、on.,Different Theories - The modularity hypothesis of language,Language,General Cognition,Lexicon irregulars,Rule System regulars,The Mind/Brain,Big Modularity,Little Modularity,Different Theories “Mentalese”,The medium of thought is an innate, behind-the-scenes language known as mentalese. (e.g., F
14、odor, 1975; Pinker, 1994) “Mentalese“ is supposed to be an inner language that contains all of the conceptual resources necessary for any of the propositions that humans can grasp, think or express-in short, the basis of thought and meaning. Natural language would not in itself shape the human mind
15、in any fundamental way, although the internal mentalese thoughts being represented by the natural language sentences would.,Fodors Language of Thought (LOT) Hypothesis,Including five components:(1) Representational Realism: Thinkers have explicit representational systems; to think a thought with a g
16、iven content is to be appropriately related to a representation with the right meaning, e.g., to have the belief that capitalism breeds greed is to have a representational token with the content “capitalism breeds greed“ in ones belief box.,Fodors Language of Thought (LOT) Hypothesis,Including five
17、components:(2) Linguistic Thought: The (main) representational system that underlies human thought, and perhaps that underlies thought in other species too, is semantically and syntactically language-like, i.e., it is similar to spoken human languages. Specifically, this representational system cons
18、ists of syntactic tokens that are capable of expressing propositional meanings in virtue of the semantic compositionalilty of the syntactic elements. E.g., there are mental words that express concepts (and the like) that can be formed into true or false mental sentences.,Fodors Language of Thought (
19、LOT) Hypothesis,Including five components:(3) Distinctness: The language of thought is not identical to any spoken language. (4) Nativism: There is a single genetically determined mental language possessed by humans, and perhaps (at least partially possessed) by all other thinking species. (5) Seman
20、tic Completeness: This language is expressively semantically complete-any predicate that we are able to semantically comprehend is expressible in this language.,Jackendoff, R. (2002) Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar, Evolution,If UG is not learned, how does the child acquire it? The
21、only alternative is through the structure of the brain, which is determined through a combination of genetic inheritance and the biological processes resulting from expression of the genes, the latter in turn determined by some combination of inherent structure and environmental input.,Jackendoff, R
22、. (2002) Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar, Evolution,Generative grammar was mistaken to assume the syntactic component is the sole course of combinatoriality, and everything else is “interpretive.“ The proper approach is a parallel architecture, in which phonology, syntax, and semant
23、ics are autonomous generative systems, linked by interface components. The parallel architecture leads to an integration within linguistics, and to a far better integration with the rest of cognitive neuroscience,Actually, thinking is most mysterious, and by far the greatest light upon it that we ha
24、ve is thrown by the study of language. This study shows that the forms of a persons thoughts are controlled by inexorable laws of pattern of which he is-unconscious. These patterns are the unperceived intricate systematizations of his own language-shown readily enough by a candid comparison and cont
25、rast with other languages, especially those of a different linguistic family. every language is a vast pattern-system, different from others, in which are culturally ordained the forms and categories by which the personality not only communicates, but also analyzes nature, notices or neglects types
26、of relationship and phenomena, channels his reasoning, and builds the house of his consciousness. (whorf, 1956. p. 252),Sapir Whorf Hypothesis,Different Theories,The other theory states that a persons language of thought is their native natural language - for example, English for English speakers, F
27、rench for French speakers, or Japanese for Japanese speakers.,Different Theories Sapir and Whorf Hypothesis,Our thoughts are constructed from sentences of natural language. (e.g., Sapir and Whorf on linguistic determinism; Wittgensteins work on meaning and representation),Sapir Whorf Hypothesis,The
28、structure of ones language influences the manner in which one perceives and understands the worldTherefore, speakers of different languages will perceive the world differently,Whorf , B. (1939). The Relation of Habitual Thought & Behavior to Language,Are our own concepts of time, space, and matter g
29、iven in substantially the same form by experience to all men, or are they in part conditioned by the structure of particular languages?Are there traceable affinities between (a) cultural and behavioral norms and (b) large-scale linguistic patterns?,Degrees of Whorfianism,Linguistic Determinism (stro
30、ng Whorfianism) = Language determines our perception of the worldLinguistic Relativism (weak Whorfianism) = Language biases our perception of the world,Different Whorfian Questions (Gentner & Goldin-Meadow, 2003),Language as a Category Maker: Does the language we acquire influence where we make our
31、category distinctions?Language as a Lens: Do grammatical characteristics of a language shape speakers perceptions of the world?Language as a Toolkit: Does language augment our capacity for reasoning and representation?Gentner, Dedre and Susan Goldin-Meadow. 2003. Whither Whorf? In Gentner & Goldin-M
32、eadow (eds.) Language in Mind. MIT Press.,Different Whorfian Questions (Gentner & Goldin-Meadow, 2003),Language as a Category Maker: Does the language we acquire influence where we make our category distinctions?Sound inventory of a language and perception of speech sounds in native & foreign langua
33、gesColor terms and color perception,Different Whorfian Questions (Gentner & Goldin-Meadow, 2003),Language as a Lens: Do grammatical characteristics of a language shape speakers perceptions of the world?Spatial Frames of Reference (relative vs. absolute)Motion Events (manner encoded in verb or PP)Lan
34、guage for Spatial Location Relationships,Different Whorfian Questions (Gentner & Goldin-Meadow, 2003),Language as a Toolkit: Does language augment our capacity for reasoning and representation?Navigation (combining core knowledge systems info geometric & color)Number (combining core knowledge system
35、s info small, exact numbers & large, approximate numbers)Theory of Mind (realizing that someone can have a different point of view than you - when does this realization come, and how?),Childrens developing theory of mind,2 y-olds: Starting to use terms referring to mental states. 3-4 y-olds: startin
36、g to acquire an understanding that others can hold false beliefs 6 y-olds: starting to understand that others can have knowledge through inference,Wimmer and Perner (1983),False-Belief task Can a child understand that someone else can have a different belief (a false belief) despite the child posses
37、sing the correct belief? Allows researchers to separate the beliefs of the research participant from the beliefs of the model.,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Task,The False-Belief Ta
38、sk,Where will bunny look for her toy?,The False-Belief Task,Where will bunny look for her toy?,The False-Belief Task,To succeed, child must separate their own beliefs (the true belief) and attribute a false-belief to Bunny.,Where will bunny look for her toy?,The False-Belief Task,To succeed, child m
39、ust separate their own beliefs (the true belief) and attribute a false-belief to Bunny.,4-year-olds,Where will bunny look for her toy?,The False-Belief Task,To succeed, child must separate their own beliefs (the true belief) and attribute a false-belief to Bunny.,4-year-olds,3-year-olds,False-belief
40、 task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,3-year-olds have difficulty coordinating two different representations of a single situation,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-old
41、s fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Smarties task,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Smarties task,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Smarties task,E: What do you th
42、ink is in the box? C: Smarties,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Smarties task,E: Whats really in the box? C: Ribbons. E: What did you think was in the box before?,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual
43、 difficulties,Smarties task,E: Whats really in the box? C: Ribbons. E: What did you think was in the box before?,3-year-olds say ribbons,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Appearance-Reality Task,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the t
44、ask? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Appearance-Reality Task,E: What does it look like? C: A rock,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Appearance-Reality Task,Child discovers the rock is actually a sponge,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-
45、olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Appearance-Reality Task,E: What is it really? C: A sponge E: What does it look like?,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties,Appearance-Reality Task,E: What is it really? C: A sponge E: Wh
46、at does it look like?,3-year-olds say it looks like a sponge,False-belief task,Why do 3-year-olds fail the task? (1) Age-related conceptual difficulties Performance in a variety of tasks suggest that 3-year-olds have difficulty coordinating two different representations of a single situation(2) Prob
47、lems of response control,Can we find any language data to support Sapir and Whorf Hypothesis?,Swedish expressions that have direct Chinese equivalents but are associated with different animalsNr katten r borta dansar rttorna p bordet. When the cat is gone, the rats dance on the table. Shan zhong wu
48、laohu, houzi cheng da wang. When there are no tigers in the mountain, monkeys will be kings.,flitig som en myra as diligent as an ant xing mfng yyng qnfn as diligent as bees,Same expressions that exist in both Swedish and Chinese:,Bttre en fgel in handen n tio i skogen. A bird in the hand is better than ten in the bush. Y nio zi shu yun shng ling nio zi ln. frogen som en hund xing gu yyng zhngsh as faithful as a do,
