Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Encoding

Encoding

Information enters the brain through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once sensory information is received from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. The information is then organized with similar information and connected to existing concepts. Encoding occurs through automatic processing and effortful processing.
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...

Language Development

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...

Language and Cognition

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.

Non-Verbal Cues

Non-Verbal Cues

Non-verbal communication extends beyond gestures and facial expressions to include vocal elements known as paralanguage. Paralanguage consists of non-verbal vocal cues such as pitch, loudness, speech rate, pauses, and non-verbal vocalizations like laughter, sighs, and moans. These elements not only accompany speech but also provide critical emotional and contextual information.The Role of Paralanguage in CommunicationParalanguage adds depth to spoken language by conveying emotions and...

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are cognitive tools that facilitate memory retention by linking new information to familiar patterns or organizational strategies. These techniques are beneficial for remembering complex or lengthy sets of information by simplifying and structuring them in easily retrievable ways.
Acronyms
Acronyms are created by using the initial letters of a series of words to form a new word or phrase. This approach condenses complex information into a single, memorable entity. For example,...

Components of Language

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Contributions of phonetic token variability and word-type frequency to phonological representations.

Journal of child language·2010

Same journal

Word-types, not word-tokens, facilitate extraction of phonotactic sequences by adults.

Laboratory phonology·2021

Same journal

The Distribution of Talker Variability Impacts Infants' Word Learning.

Laboratory phonology·2020

Same journal

A Kinematic Study of Prosodic Structure in Articulatory and Manual Gestures: Results from a Novel Method of Data Collection.

Laboratory phonology·2017

Same journal

Phonetic reduction and variation in American Sign Language: A quantitative study of sign lowering.

Laboratory phonology·2015

Same journal

Variability in English vowels is comparable in articulation and acoustics.

Laboratory phonology·2014

Same journal

Aligning the timelines of phonological acquisition and change.

Laboratory phonology·2014

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

Phonological and Semantic Cues to Learning from Word-Types.

Peter Richtsmeier¹

¹Purdue University, US.

Laboratory Phonology

|December 1, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study investigated the definition of word-types in phonological learning. Results indicate that phonologically unique words, not semantic relationships, define word-types, supporting current models.

More Related Videos

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Published on: June 29, 2021

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Published on: June 29, 2021

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Science
Computational Linguistics

Background:

Word-types are crucial data for phonological learning models and psycholinguistic tasks.
The common definition of word-types as phonologically unique words lacks explicit testing.
Natural language patterns suggest word meaning might also influence word-type status.

Purpose of the Study:

To explicitly test the definition of word-types in phonological learning.
To investigate whether phonological uniqueness or semantic relatedness defines word-types.
To examine the influence of semantic and phonological variations on word-type generalization.

Main Methods:

A statistical phonotactic learning experiment was conducted.
Participants were familiarized with word-medial consonant sequences instantiated by one or four related word-types.
Phonological and semantic properties of related word-types were manipulated.

Main Results:

Participants generalized target sequences when exposed to four related word-types, regardless of semantic or phonological manipulations.
Higher ratings were given to novel words sharing consonant sequences with familiarization words when multiple word-types were presented.
The number of word-types, not their semantic or phonological characteristics, drove generalization.

Conclusions:

The findings support the established phonological definition of word-types.
Phonological uniqueness is the primary factor in defining word-types for learning.
Semantic cues do not appear to influence word-type status in this phonological learning context.