7.4 Language

A-Lister A close-up shot of Orlando Bloom during the Los Angeles premiere of The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. His performance as the elven character “Legolas” in The Rings trilogy established him as a major force in Hollywood.

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Orlando attended elementary school in the 1980s, when dyslexia was still not well understood. A large number of cases went unrecognized, and many children struggled to get through school in a fog of confusion. Unless you have dyslexia or know someone with this disability, it’s hard to understand how far-reaching its impact can be. In order to write an essay on a novel in English class, you have to read the book. To answer word problems in math, you must understand the written part of the question. Every standardized test requires fast and fluid reading. So many aspects of modern life reflect a general assumption that every adult knows how to read.

When dyslexia was first recognized over a century ago, many people assumed children fell behind in reading because they were ignorant or lazy, or had bad teachers (International Dyslexia Association, 2012; Shaywitz, 2003; Wolf, 2007). Scientists have since discovered that dyslexia is rooted in the brain. With scanning technologies such as fMRI, scientists can examine the brain of someone with dyslexia as she reads, writes, or speaks. “We now know exactly where and how dyslexia manifests itself in the brain,” writes dyslexia researcher Sally Shaywitz (2003, p. 4). Dyslexia, the evidence suggests, is caused by defects in the brain’s ability to retrieve and manipulate certain components of language (Démonet, Taylor, & Chaix, 2004).

Language, Amazing Language

Language is an amazing ability. Try to imagine human relationships in its absence. There would be no saying “What’s wrong?” or “I love you.” Language gives us the power to explicitly convey complex thoughts and feelings to others, and that is a remarkable feat.

Language can be defined as a system for using symbols to think and communicate. These symbols are words, gestures, or sounds put together according to specific rules. Pinker (1994) reminds us that words usually don’t match their content. While a small number of words are onomatopoetic—or formed by sounds that resemble the realities they represent (“plop” to signify something dropping into the water)—the majority of the words we use are just arbitrary symbols. Within a language, speakers generally agree on the meaning of these symbols. We use them when we think, mentally manipulating them while solving problems, making decisions, and lying in bed daydreaming. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like if we only thought in images.

Language is the ultimate medium for creativity. We can use words, gestures, and sounds to create an infinite number of statements.

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The average English speaker is familiar with some 30,000 (Lessmoellmann, 2006, October 4) to 60,000 words (Pinker, 1994). What’s more, humans are always finding new meanings for old words or inventing new ones. If we say “apple product,” for example, we could be referring to a crunchy red fruit or to a fancy new computer. Just think of how many new words have come from the use of digital technologies like text messages, and social media. Do you know what “friend farming” is (we didn’t, btw)? This is the “practice of adding many contacts (on Facebook or other social media) by using a list of another person’s friends” (Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary, n.d.). Another example, “phonecrastinate,” means “to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the name and number” (Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary, n.d.).

The Basic Elements of Language

Language can be portrayed as written, spoken, and signed. Speaking comes naturally to us because we are born with brains evolved for that purpose (Shaywitz, 1996). Young Orlando did not need speaking and listening lessons; neither did you. Children learn to speak by hearing others talk. (In Chapter 8, we will describe the consistent pathways through which language develops for children.)

Dyslexia usually begins to manifest itself as soon as a child starts learning to read, often in kindergarten. Think back to your first reading lesson. Your teacher probably introduced you to written language by teaching you to break words into their basic sound units (for example, the combination of kuh, aah, and tuh to form the word “cat”; Shaywitz, 1996). She was introducing you to phonemes (fō-nēmz), the basic building blocks of spoken language.

All spoken languages are made up of phonemes. Examples of English phonemes include the sounds made by the letter t in the word “tail” and the letter s in the word “sail.” Every phoneme has its own individual characteristic(s) (see Infographic 7.3). For example, the letter i can represent two phonemes with distinctly different sounds in the words “bit” and “bite.” The symbols we call words are made up of phonemes.

Infants can recognize all phonemes from all languages until about 9 months of age. After that, they can no longer distinguish between phonemes that are not in the language(s) they regularly hear spoken (de Boysson-Bardies, Halle, Sagart, & Durand, 1989; Werker & Tees, 1984). This is what makes it so difficult for older children and adults to learn to speak a foreign language without an accent.

If you have children (or plan to have them), it wouldn’t hurt for them to learn more than one language very early in life. Not only will their pronunciation sound natural; they may enjoy some cognitive perks, too.

Pays to Be Bilingual A sign in French and English outside a restaurant in Canada’s Quebec City, where many people are bilingual. Speaking two languages may boost the brain’s ability to manage many different activities (Bialystok, 2011).

Rob Crandall/The Image Works

Understanding phonemes is the first and most essential step in reading. In order to digest the writing on the page, your brain must chop words into these fundamental sound bites (Shaywitz, 1996, 2003). This is where young Orlando probably encountered his first and most disabling roadblocks. A growing body of evidence suggests that the roots of dyslexia frequently lie in the person’s problems with phonological processing (Shaywitz, Mody, & Shaywitz, 2006), the ability to distinguish and manipulate phonemes. Like most children with dyslexia, Orlando probably had trouble naming letters in the alphabet and knowing what sounds they make, identifying words that rhyme (for example, “hat,” “mat,” “rat”), and understanding how a word changes when one letter is swapped for another (for example, the transformation of “cat” to “cut” when the middle vowel is changed; L. Hecker, personal communication, July 22, 2011). If a child with dyslexia does not receive the special instruction he needs to overcome difficulties with phonemes, mastering the more complex layers of language will be very challenging.

Morphemes ( ) represent the next level of language. They consist of one or more phonemes (the fundamental units of spoken language). It is the morpheme that brings meaning to a language. For example, “unimaginable” has three morphemes: un, imagine, and able. Each morpheme has a meaning and communicates something. Remove just one, and the word takes on a whole new significance. Clipping off un, for example, produces the word “imaginable,” which means the exact opposite of the word you started with.

The syntax of a language refers to the collection of rules dictating where words and phrases should be placed. Syntax guides both word choice and word order, providing consistency in sentence organization (Brandone, Salkind, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006). We say, “I love you,” not “Love you I,” because English syntax demands that the words appear in this order. Different languages have different syntaxes. In German, helping verbs often come toward the end of sentences, a variation in syntax that is strikingly noticeable to English speakers learning to speak German.

Grammar refers to the rules associated with both word and sentence structure (Evans & Green, 2006). It tells us how words are made from sounds, how sentences are formed with words, where to place punctuation, and which word tenses to use. It combines syntax (the rules governing word choice and word order) and semantics. Semantics represents the rules used to bring meaning to words and sentences. Here are two sentences with different syntax, but the same semantics: Jill kicked the ball. The ball was kicked by Jill.

Semantics also refers to the context in which words appear. Let’s consider the word “chip”:

• I would like to eat a chip.
• You have a chip on your shoulder.
• I lost my last chip in that hand.
• You are going to have to make a chip shot.
• The new policy will finally start to chip away at the retirement benefits.
• The store just installed a new computer chip.

In each instance, we determine the meaning of the word “chip” based on the context in which it is used in the sentence.

INFOGRAPHIC 7.3: The Building Blocks of Language

Language is made up of a collection of units and rules. These build upon each other to help us think and communicate. At the base are phonemes, which combine to make up morphemes, the smallest unit of language that carries meaning. At the top is displacement, which is the human ability to refer to things that are abstract or hypothetical.

Credits: Stacked cupcakes, Thinkstock; Portrait of butler, Ljupco Smokovski/Shutterstock; Red maraschino cherry, oksana2010/Shutterstock

Language is used in social interactions, which are governed by certain norms and expectations. Pragmatics represents the social rules that help organize language. We have to learn how to take turns in a conversation, what gestures to use and when, and how to address people according to social standing (speaking with someone who occupies a higher status, an equal status, and so on) (Steiner, 2012, September 4; Yule, 1996). When addressing the Queen of Denmark, you would say, “Good day, Your Majesty,” but when addressing your friend, you might say, “Hey, there. What have you been up to?”

How do we “know” these rules for language? Learning theorists propose that children learn language just like they learn other behaviors through processes such as reinforcement and modeling (Bandura, 1977a; Skinner, 1957). In contrast, linguist Noam Chomsky (1928–) suggests that humans are born with innate language abilities. Children needn’t be taught the basics of language, according to Chomsky (2000); language develops like other organs in the body. Chomsky’s position is based on the observation that children possess a much deeper knowledge of language than that which could have been acquired through experience. Their knowledge of language is not simply the result of hearing and imitating; it is hardwired within the brain. This built-in language acquisition device (LAD) accounts for the universality of language development. In fact, researchers have observed this innate capacity for language across cultures, and in non-hearing children (Chomsky, 2000; Petitto & Marentette, 1991).

Babble Deaf babies who are exposed to sign language develop their own version of babbling. Instead of rattling off spoken syllables (da-da-da or ma-ma-ma) as hearing infants typically do, they babble with their hands, repeating the basic units of sign language (Petitto & Marentette, 1991).

Courtesy Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto

Many scientists argue that language, more than any other human ability, truly sets us apart from other species. Animals have evolved complex systems of communication, but there are some features of human language that appear to be unique. One of these unique features is displacement—the ability to talk and think about things that are not present at the moment. “I wonder if it’s going to rain today,” you might say to a friend. This statement demonstrates displacement, because it refers to an abstract concept and a hypothetical event. Displacement allows us to communicate about the future and the past, and fantasize about things that may or may not exist.

Thinking What We Say or Saying What We Think?

Psychologists are not in total agreement about the relationship between language and thought. The major controversy concerns the potential effect language can have on thinking. According to the linguistic relativity hypothesis (earlier known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis) developed by Benjamin Lee Whorf (b. 1956), languages have different effects on thinking and perception. For example, the Inuit and other Alaska Natives have many terms that refer to “snow” (in contrast to the single word used in English). This may cause them to perceive and think about snow differently than English speakers.

Whorf’s hypothesis is not without controversy, however. Critics suggest that he exaggerated the number of words the Inuit and other Alaska Natives had for “snow” and underestimated the number of words in English (Pullum, 1991). For example, although English doesn’t have different words for “snow,” this does not mean that we don’t understand or cannot express understanding using word combinations (such as “light snow,” “wet snow,” and the like).

Whorf also observed different color-naming systems across languages. For example, there are 11 generally recognized words referring to color in English (black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and grey). The Dani of New Guinea have far fewer names for color. The linguistic relativity hypothesis would predict that the Dani’s experience of color is different than an English-speaking person’s (Rosch, 1973). However, most research has not found this to be the case; color discrimination across cultures does not consistently indicate differences of color perception.

Although language might not determine thinking and perception, it certainly has an influence. Consider the role of gender in language. The English language tends to use “he” and “his” when gender is unspecified. Research indicates that the use of masculine pronouns often results in people ignoring females and focusing on males when forming mental images (Gastil, 1990; Hegarty & Buechel, 2006). “He” and “his” in these situations theoretically refer to either males or females, but the majority of English-speaking Americans think of males. Perhaps you can predict the potential downside of this tendency. Narrowing the focus to male images inevitably promotes gender bias and stereotyping.

The capacity for language is one of the defining characteristics of humanity. But it is not certain whether this capacity is unique to human beings. Animals communicate with a variety of instinctual (unlearned) behaviors (for example, chirping, whistling, tail slapping, and dancing). Is it possible they use language as well? Read on and draw your own conclusions.

Bright Dog Rico the Border Collie demonstrated his linguistic prowess by fetching toys on the German game show Wetten, dass…? (Bet That). Rico reportedly knew 200 different words (Kane, 2004, June 10). More recently, researchers trained another Border Collie by the name of Chaser to recognize the names of 1,022 objects (Pilley & Reid, 2011).

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Where would we be without the complex system of symbols we use to think and communicate? Through our innate language ability, we exchange ideas, make plans, and communicate emotions. We have discussed the significance of language, broken it down into its constituent phonemes and morphemes, and described its various rules. Now it is time to address intelligence.