Language and Thought: Nativism, Chomsky and Whorf

Language and Thought

1. Fundamentals

   • Aitchinson 4 unique to humans
     • Neand and human diffs
       • working mem capacity diffs
   • broad and narrow faculties

2. recursion

   • Taxi drivers hippo
     • what if

3. Nativism and Thought

   • Fodor
     • LOT
   • independence
     • Concept contents
       • internal hypotheses
         • symbolic rep - innate
           • structure of prep
             • thinking from thought to thought
               • like language
               • affirming consequent probs
               • false belief studies - Maxi test or chimps
                 • thought w/o lang but how sophis?
           • what of new concepts
   • Piaget constructivist
     • cog dev gives rise to lang
       • infant thought b4 speak
         • lang doesn't affect mid reasoning
           • blind children
             • causal rship difficult

4. Nativism and Language (Rad Prags)

   • Chomsky - innateness of lang - perfect system
     • SVO SOV
       • ling universals but various explanations
       • innate LAD
         • too complex for piecemeal
           • fine tuning
             • what of sign lang?
         • minimalist programme
           • optimal design
             • lang interfaces w/thought and other systems e.g perceptual
               • v fit for purpose so innate?
   • Rad prags - lang in context
     • implicature - meanings aren't fixed
       • irony/sarcasm
       • Pinker says not fixed but verbs used in specific ways
         • authorship
           • social dimension to lang

5. Linguistic Determinism

   • whorfian hyp
     • lang determines thought
   • colour perception - Dani people no, Berinmo yes
     • verbal element to task - method probs
       • spatial cog - frames of ref absolute vs relative
         • change of environment influence found
           • time metaphors Mandarin and English vertical horizontal
             • not replicated and can be trained
               • Ling relativism - weaker position
                 • relational reasoning task - labels re middle medium
                   • task specific effect? only kids?
                     • lang influences thought if thinking with intent to use lang
                       • not causal rship but complex interdependence