Lecture 2
Language
Basics
What is language
- Objects of language (sentence, words, letters, sounds).
- Linguistic levels (phonemes, morphemes, lexemes, syntax, semantics, pragmatics).
o Phonemes -> the smallest units that distinguish words in a particular language.
o Morphemes -> things you add to words such as -ing.
o Lexemes -> a unit of lexical meaning that exists regardless of the number of
inflectional endings it may have or the number of words it may contain.
o Syntax -> set of rules in sentences.
o Semantics -> the meaning of language.
o Pragmatics -> the use of language.
- Modalities (comprehension, production, spoken, written).
Importance of language
- Everyday life -> communication, relationships with others.
- Neuropsychological testing -> many tests are based on language, including instructions (low
scores may be dependent on the instruction language).
o Are you measuring what you think you are measuring?
o Phonological loop -> keep repeating something in your mind (e.g. 197818).
Phonological working memory deficit -> on MMSE will cause problems with
WORLD backwards, repetition, and following commands.
Value of language
- Theoretical
o Understanding how our brain works.
o Understanding how language works.
- Application
o Diagnostic
o Therapeutic
History of language in neuropsychology
Neuro-autonomy -> historical progress
- Paul Broca (Broca, 1861)
o Patient Leborgne -> could only say Tan Tan because his speech production regions
were affected.
- Carl Wernickes (Wernicke, 1874)
o Found an area in the back of the brain who made understanding of language possible.
- Historical Alzheimer case -> Auguste Deter
o 51-year-old woman from Frankfurt who had shown progressive cognitive
impairment.
1
Language
Basics
What is language
- Objects of language (sentence, words, letters, sounds).
- Linguistic levels (phonemes, morphemes, lexemes, syntax, semantics, pragmatics).
o Phonemes -> the smallest units that distinguish words in a particular language.
o Morphemes -> things you add to words such as -ing.
o Lexemes -> a unit of lexical meaning that exists regardless of the number of
inflectional endings it may have or the number of words it may contain.
o Syntax -> set of rules in sentences.
o Semantics -> the meaning of language.
o Pragmatics -> the use of language.
- Modalities (comprehension, production, spoken, written).
Importance of language
- Everyday life -> communication, relationships with others.
- Neuropsychological testing -> many tests are based on language, including instructions (low
scores may be dependent on the instruction language).
o Are you measuring what you think you are measuring?
o Phonological loop -> keep repeating something in your mind (e.g. 197818).
Phonological working memory deficit -> on MMSE will cause problems with
WORLD backwards, repetition, and following commands.
Value of language
- Theoretical
o Understanding how our brain works.
o Understanding how language works.
- Application
o Diagnostic
o Therapeutic
History of language in neuropsychology
Neuro-autonomy -> historical progress
- Paul Broca (Broca, 1861)
o Patient Leborgne -> could only say Tan Tan because his speech production regions
were affected.
- Carl Wernickes (Wernicke, 1874)
o Found an area in the back of the brain who made understanding of language possible.
- Historical Alzheimer case -> Auguste Deter
o 51-year-old woman from Frankfurt who had shown progressive cognitive
impairment.
1
