Language and Cognition

In lesson five of Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 12th Edition, Joseph Williams and Joseph Bizup explains the importance of cohesion and coherence in writing prose. Williams and Bizup describes cohesion as the logical and grammatical flow of one sentence to another, which readers move through a passage in a way that communicates a complete thought. A reader should freely interpret a group of sentences without analyzing fancy words from a thesaurus to understand author’s intent. Furthermore, Williams and Bizup explains the importance to discuss familiar concepts at the beginning of a sentence, and introduce unfamiliar ideas at the end of a sentence. This approach allows readers to recognize the consistent “flow” of ideas toward the

Humans use language on a daily basis when they communicate with each other. This could

Psycholinguists are interested in the role of concreteness and imagery in mental processing. The dual coding theory proposes that mental representations are associated with two distinct systems: the verbal system, which deals specifically with language and the non-verbal imagery system, which deals with nonlinguistic objects and events (Clark & Paivio 1991; Harley 2008; Paivio et al. 1988). The two systems are distinct, yet they are interconnected to each other in a way that activation in one system can lead to activation in the other. For example, one can think of the word apple and also visualize the object apple. The dual coding theory holds that concrete language has the ability to activate both the verbal and the visual system, while abstract language activates only the verbal system (Clark & Paivio 1991; Kounios & Holcomb 1994).

Although it is clear that human language is a very different communication system than those of other species. The jury is still out on the issue of whether language is a really a system different from other human cognitive systems. The status of language is a major issue for cognitive psychology.

Language is a cognitive function that most of us take for granted. It starts from early on, some say at conception, and it develops in complexity as we get older. It is an essential part of communication and without it its development would be greatly hindered. This natural process requires complex structures and reasoning, the bringing together of sounds and words to develop concrete ideas and thoughts. In this paper we will discuss the components of language and how it relates to cognitive processes.

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf

Cognition is the “science” term for "the process of thought.” Its usage varies in different ways in accordance with different disciplines: For example, in psychology and cognitive science, it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological makeup. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the neural circuitry. Cognitive psychology is the bases for most learning theories today, so it has made its mark to never be erased. This work would emphasize its impact and show its relevance, so consider the

Does the language affects the way people think or is it the other way around? Our textbook, Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics by Rene Dirven, provides two theories: linguistic relativity and universalism. Researchers who believe linguistic relativity claim that language affects the ways in which its respective speakers conceptualize their world. Benjamin Lee Whorf, representative researcher for linguistic relativity, argues that language determines thought, and that linguistic categories limit and determine cognitive categories. Universalism, which is a contrasting concept to the linguistic relativity, assumes that human thought is significantly alike across all cultures and that since language is a reflection of human thought, all languages are similarly related. For instance, every language has equivalent terms for live and death. Universalists use terms semantic primes and universal concepts to explain this phenomenon. In fact, both theories, linguistic relativity and universalism, could be advocated. However, after some strong researches done by universalists, Whorfian view or linguistic relativity theory has been undermined and abandoned in academic society.

Language and thought are closely connected. Language and vocabulary determines someone’s thought process. Based on the words in the dictionary, which make up language, a person’s thoughts are limited and restricted. In the novel, 1984, by George Orwell, Winston Smith, the protagonist, wants to overthrow a totalitarian government that follows rules of a fabricated man, Big Brother, in Oceania. In this society, the government, called the “Party”, limits and restricts what the citizens of Oceania can do and say. It limits the vocabulary, ultimately resulting in a limitation of language. In this novel, the thought process, of many people, is corrupted by language. Whatever the government says is always right. Newspeak, the dictionary in Oceania, is also limited, as it loses many words during the creation of a new edition, to prevent rebellion. The actions of the ministries, under the Party, contradict the name of the ministry. All these factors exemplify how language corrupts thought. In the novel, 1984, evidence of where language corrupts thought occurs during the interrogation of Winston Smith, the creation of new editions of Newspeak, and in the actions and names of the ministries.

Language, like perception, gives us the opportunity to gain knowledge. We use language to share different ideas in detail. However, it does

Linguistics has impacted cognitive psychology as the quest to understand language acquisition and the structure of language itself is undertaken. Linguistics is a complex and multifaceted; it includes language structural patterns and language development (Barsalou, 2005). The process of language development is complicated and dense, as the study of language is examined; the role of cognition is inherently examined and analyzed. Sternberg (2006) also explores language as an innate process and presents the idea that humans are born ready for language as a biological and cognitive process.

“The way we speak determines how we think”. Critically evaluate this statement, drawing on the key theories and research that describe the relationship between language and thought.

In “Jabberwocky” the stimulus of the words in context activates thought and the ability to recognize known structures in memory. The context and the placement of the words in sentences allow us to make assumptions about grammatical structure. We determine how a particular word functions in that sentence, i.e., an adjective, verb, adverb, etc. And the words’ placement within the sentence helps to reveal meaning. (“Sukar Ray”)

According to Widdowson (1973), in the field of applied linguistics, the researchers have an attempt to define coherence providing the basis for coherent texts. And in order to recognize the relationships between coherence and cohesion, it is important to recognize the sequence of a sentence as constituting cohesive discourse.

This paper will be answering and analyzing three questions; such as explaining the areas of the brain that are involved in comprehending and producing language, how animal’s communication differs from that of humans, and lastly how thinking influences language. From the minute we are born we are expected to have the ability to begin to comprehend and later have the motor skill to speak. One animal that we all know we have a lot in common with is a chimpanzee, they are the animal whom we have the most resembles to in all aspects including the brain and body structure.