Questions tagged [language]
For questions about the psychology and neuroscience of the production and perception of oral and written language.
22
questions
11
votes
1answer
768 views
How does a language deprived person think?
Question
Let us say a person is deprived of language (of any form, including verbal and non-verbal) since birth to an age where normal adult brain functioning would be expected. Then how would they ...
31
votes
4answers
51k views
Why do you sometimes write down one word while actually intending to write another?
I've caught myself writing (typing) "possible" instead of "possibly" a few times over the past few days, while I do intend to write "possibly". Only upon rereading the sentence I notice my mistake.
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24
votes
2answers
2k views
Does language and/or culture affect an individual's cognitive capacity?
Some languages have multiple expressions to identify, address, comprehend, and interpret a single concept and/or experience.
Are limits placed on understanding and describing aspects of cognition due ...
13
votes
6answers
3k views
is it possible to think without language?
I'm trying to fathom what it might be like for a person with aphasia and for one with agnosia. For a person with a visual agnosia I wonder this: if two unrecognizable objects are shown to them, and ...
22
votes
2answers
13k views
Is there a term for trying to remember a word, but only remembering its first letter?
This happens to me frequently. I'll say, "Oh you know that guy... uhh... I can't remember his name. But he starts with a 'Z'." You can remember part of the word but not the whole word.
Is there a ...
9
votes
1answer
13k views
Why does the brain skip over repeated “the” words in sentences?
For example, in this sentence by the the time you are done reading you will have already skipped over the double "the".
I have searched this on the internet a little, but I have found nothing that ...
23
votes
2answers
13k views
Is it possible to think in a second language?
Those who have learned a second language are guaranteed to consciously think of words and their corresponding meaning in your native language or vice versa.
This is common with more "complex" ...
18
votes
1answer
3k views
How is a young child able to learn language so easily?
It's a well known fact that the earlier children are exposed to languages the better, as young children have a better ability to learn new languages than adults.
Why is this?
At what age does a ...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
Why do people have different personalities when speaking different languages?
Edit: This study is much more relevant in terms of the question.
This study suggests (according to article linked below) that a multilingual person can have multiple personalities, each tied to one ...
7
votes
0answers
55 views
Why do I type “it's” when I know it should be “its” [duplicate]
I know the difference between "its" and "it's". When I read it, even in my own writing, I can see incorrect usages almost instantly. However, when I type, I often type "it's" when I should write "its."...
9
votes
1answer
160 views
Any attempts at testing or modeling the 'cognitive conception' of language?
For those unfamiliar, the 'cognitive conception of language' refers to a claim made by some theorists that, in the words of Carruthers:
"besides its obvious communicative functions, language ...
9
votes
3answers
977 views
Is it easy in languages other than English to read a paragraph where all but the first and last letters of every word have been rearranged?
I was really surprised how fast I was able to read and comprehend following text:
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg.
Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan ...
6
votes
1answer
129 views
Technical term for the loss of words in your mother-tongue when speaking a different language
I am basically looking for two words which are, though, related to some degree. It might even be that ultimately the same word is the answer to both parts of this question.
I split them up into two ...
8
votes
6answers
325 views
Is there any evidence that language is the limit of the world?
Philosopher Wittgenstein says that "the limit of my language means the limit of my world". One theory that supports this statement is that people couldn't see the blue colour until they have the word ...
3
votes
1answer
215 views
What is the relationship between language and the level of comprehension of consciousness?
I asked a similar/related question a couple days ago about how language and/or culture affect an individual's cognitive capacity.
I'm looking for materials, if any, on the subject of a language's ...
14
votes
2answers
18k views
Why does repeating one word over and over again sound weird to us after some time?
This effect seems to be observed with almost any word. I would say this phenomenon 'works' for longer and complex words better.
When we repeat a word over and over again, it starts to sound very ...
11
votes
1answer
252 views
Learning a language by Immersion
Immersion is the process by which children learn their native language, but it can also be used in educational settings. Apparently in some countries, where the official language is not the language ...
9
votes
1answer
985 views
Does a split brain affect the inner voice?
In the Nature link provided, split brain reportedly alters the processing of sensory input (e.g., an aberrant performance on monocular visual tasks under laboratory conditions), and impairs motor ...
6
votes
2answers
903 views
Is sub-vocalization when reading and writing merely a symptom of lack of fluency?
In reading & writing, I for one, find myself subvocalizing the statement to myself. This behaviour is language-independent. However, the effort and subvocalization involved is greater in any ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views
What is the name of the “Things are more visible once you learn about them” phenomenon?
(Excuse the horrible title of this question. I just can't find the proper (?) words. Please edit as pleased.)
It happens many times to me that when I learn about something (e.g. a word, a concept, ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Is there any research of spelling errors from a dual-process theory perspective?
Checking the rather comprehensive but somewhat dated 2008 review of Evans on dual-process theories, I didn't see anything about [mis]spelling.
But it seems to me an obvious thing to investigate ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
How the Brain Does Garbage Collection in Real Time [duplicate]
When we read a sentence we don't "pay attention to" each letter and the structure of each letter and the placement of the letter and color and lighting and all that. We just "end up with" the meaning ...
