I found these readings on how we process and analyze language to be particularly interesting. I suppose that when we’re really studying a language in depth (whether it’s our native language or something new) it’s helpful to understand the most fundamental processes. The chapter “How the Brain Handles Language” reminded me of my AP Psychology class in high school. I remember learning about the relationship between Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and language disabilities then. I also thought the section about the neurological processes involved in tongue slips was very interesting. It’s a situation that seems so random, but is actually very formulaic—and when I was reflecting back on the times that I’d recently made tongue slips, that pattern was pretty clear to me. The chapter discussing semantics was interesting too. I enjoyed the notion of the naturalist approach vs. the conventionalist approach. I certainly think that there are words that sound like what they are (not just onomatopoetic words)—shampoo, tub, and windshield are all ones that come to mind, but those could just be my own personal associations J
I thought the discussion of monosemic words and collocations were particularly applicable to our study of new languages. Monosemic words are so helpful in learning new languages, since they only have one use! Since collocations are groups of lexemes working together they allow us to understand language by prediction (such as what words go together). Additionally, because these collocations are understood by everyone in a given language (and are not made by personal association), they can be relied upon. I think they’re helpful building blocks of phrases to master!
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