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Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Language01:16

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...
Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Introduction to Language of Pathophysiology l01:25

Introduction to Language of Pathophysiology l

Pathophysiology investigates how biological mechanisms—typically starting at the cellular level—disrupt normal bodily functions. It bridges anatomy and physiology to explain the progression of disease. With this foundation, it is important to understand the following key terms used to describe disease processes: Diagnosis:The process of identifying a disease using clinical evaluation, including signs (objective evidence like rashes), symptoms (subjective experiences like pain), laboratory test...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
07:18

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Published on: January 26, 2024

How language production shapes language form and comprehension.

Maryellen C Macdonald1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, USA.

Frontiers in Psychology
|May 3, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Language producers

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Language production offers insights into comprehension and typology.
  • Existing theories link language form to use, acquisition, or comprehension ease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present the Production-Distribution-Comprehension (PDC) account.
  • To link language production biases to comprehension and typology.

Main Methods:

  • Drawing on memory retrieval, motor planning, and action planning.
  • Analyzing biases in utterance planning and their statistical regularities.

Main Results:

  • Production biases reduce utterance planning burdens, enhancing fluency.
  • Repeated production choices shape language form distributions.
Keywords:
language acquisitionlanguage comprehensionlanguage productionlanguage typologymotor controlserial ordersyntaxworking memory

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  • Comprehension relies on learning statistical regularities shaped by production.

    • Conclusions:

    • Language form is largely shaped by producers' efforts to simplify utterance planning.
    • Comprehension is linked to learned lexico-syntactic statistics, not innate features.
    • The PDC account offers an alternative to traditional views on comprehension and working memory.