Unit 2565: Psycholinguistics and Language Processing

1. Introduction to Psycholinguistics

• Definition and scope of psycholinguistics
• Historical development and key contributors
• Interdisciplinary connections: linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science
• Methods and tools used in psycholinguistic research

2. Language Acquisition

2.1 First Language Acquisition

• Stages of language development in children
• Theories of language acquisition: Nativist, Behaviorist, Interactionist
• Critical period hypothesis
• Milestones in phonological, lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic development

2.2 Second Language Acquisition

• Differences between first and second language acquisition
• Theories of second language learning (e.g., Krashen’s Input Hypothesis, Output Hypothesis)
• Factors influencing second language acquisition: age, motivation, exposure, and cognitive abilities

3. Language Comprehension

• Overview of cognitive processes in language understanding
• Parsing mechanisms: syntactic parsing strategies and models (e.g., garden-path theory)
• Semantic processing: meaning extraction and integration
• Discourse comprehension: coherence, inference, and context effects

4. Language Production

• Stages of language production: conceptualization, formulation, articulation
• Speech planning and lexical retrieval
• Common speech errors: slips of the tongue, tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
• Models of language production (e.g., Levelt’s model)

5. Bilingualism and Multilingualism

• Definitions and types of bilingualism/multilingualism
• Cognitive advantages and challenges
• Neurological aspects: brain plasticity and representation of multiple languages
• Language switching and code-switching phenomena
• Effects of language proficiency and age of acquisition

6. Reading and Writing Processes

• Cognitive processes in reading: word recognition, decoding, and comprehension
• Reading models: bottom-up, top-down, and interactive models
• Writing processes: planning, spelling, handwriting, revision
• Dyslexia and other reading-related difficulties

7. Speech Perception

• Auditory processing of speech sounds
• Phoneme discrimination and categorical perception
• Role of coarticulation and context in speech perception
• Theories and models of speech perception

8. Neurolinguistics

• Brain regions involved in language processing: Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and others
• Neural pathways and networks supporting language
• Neuroimaging techniques in language research
• Language disorders: aphasia types and characteristics

9. Language Development in Children

• Detailed examination of phonological, lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic milestones
• Factors influencing language development
• Role of environment and social interaction

10. Language Disorders

• Overview of common language disorders: dyslexia, specific language impairment (SLI), language delays
• Causes and diagnostic criteria
• Intervention and therapy approaches
• Impact on communication and learning