Psychology of Language
- Course Code:
- 152900082
- Unit value:
- 0.5
- Year of study:
- Year 2 or Year 3
- Taught in:
- Term 2
Examines the psychological and cognitive mechanisms which underlie the acquisition and function of human language. It addresses questions such as:
- Is there such a thing as a Language Instinct?
- Why is learning a new language easier for children than for adults?
- What processes are involved in the production and comprehension of language?
- How are the various aspects of language knowledge and use modelled in the brain?
- What is the relationship between language, thought and concept formation?
Introduction to the theories, methodology and controversies relating to some of the central topics in psycholinguistics:
- concepts and lexical recognition etc,
- sentence production and processing,
- language disorders,
- language acquisition
- and second language learning.
Prerequisites
152900069: General Linguistics
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
This course examines the cognitive mechanisms which underlie the acquisition and function of Human Language concentrating on linguistic theories and research methods concerned with the acquisition and learning of languages and with language disorder (aphasias). On completion of this course the student should have grasp of the main issues relating to these fields of research, and to have developed an understanding of the processes and problems involved in the acquisition of a second language.
