The
cognitive processes in humans that allow for the individual to express and
create language are complex processes with multiple layers. Language is a
process that is unique to humans and can be expressed in a variety of ways such
as through physical expression, verbal, or even through the use of visual
processes. There are different ideas on how language and thought are
connected with some believing that thought is dependent on language in a lot of
ways, while other individuals believe that language itself is dependent on a
person's thought, and even still other individuals in a third belief think that
both thought and language are independent systems. There is a large amount of
debate on how language and thought are connected and interconnected with one
another. Some of the debate resides on the fact of if language impacts
thought or how a person's thoughts will impact their language. Whatever
the debate, it is clear that an individual's thoughts and language systems are
connected through the person's cognitive processes and functions. The following
paper will look at language of individuals as the language relates to the
individual's cognitive functions and processes. The paper will look to
better understand the language process and how the process affects the
individual's cognitive functions and processes.
The Cognitive Process
Cognitive
psychology is the study of the inner workings of the brain. It tries to explain
how people gain information and what they do with it. It is no secret that
people learn things differently. Some people are visual learners while others
may be hands on learners. However, how we store the information is the same.
Within cognitive psychology lies the
cognitive process. The cognitive process is how people gain information, store
it and use it. An example of the cognitive process is driving a car. When a
person is learning how to drive a car they are gaining the information. Over
time that information is being used and being stored.
There are several types of cognitive
process. They involve attention, memory, perception, learning and language.
Each of these types is important, they are how we gain and use information.
There is a lot going on in the world around us. The information we gain can
make a big impact on our lives.
The cognitive process is at work
even when a person is not aware of it. People can learn from the world around
them. The mind can even pick up small details if the individual is paying
attention. Details can also be picked up
if a person is not paying attention. Those small details can combine and create
a large concept.
Over time an individual may find
their mind does not work the same as when it did when they were younger. That
is due to the changes in their cognitive process. There are ways to strengthen
a person’s memory and mind. They involve brain exercises and taking notes. It
can be different for everyone.
The cognitive process can be applied
in several areas of a person’s life. It can be applied while a person is
learning how to do a hobby for leisure. It can also be applied in a work
environment. Cognitive psychology is an
important field within psychology.
Association of Language and its
Functions
Language is a highly complicated
form of communication that is used to express thoughts, beliefs, or feelings.
In addition, there are several types of language that people use. The most
noticeable form, and the one most think about at first is verbal language.
However, one may also forget that people can also use body language to
communicate, and for those who are hearing impaired, sign language as well.
Language can certainly be difficult to define because of all the parts that are
involved and the linguistics. Researchers have studied language from its
origins to the association that it shares with neuroscience, cultural
psychology, and evolutionary psychology. The question remains if language is in
fact involved with cognitive psychology also, and the answer is yes. The
aspects of cognitive psychology range from problem solving, memory, attention,
learning, thinking, decision-making, speaking, perceiving, and acquisition of
information. If one looked at language from a broad perspective, he or she
could say that most of the processes associated with cognitive psychology can
be correlated to language. Clearly, people can remember language (memory), they
can acquire the information (vocabulary) as they get older, they can
communicate ideas, thoughts, and beliefs through speech, and they can keep or
selectively not focus attention on someone or something based on language.
Process of Language and its
Functions
To the
average human, the process of language is a very simple process. It appears to
be a function that comes naturally. For most, the steps that are associated
with learning are never thought of; one seldom recounts how words are processed
and how a response is formed. Language
is an art, an art that not only includes verbal communication, but it also
includes body language, gestures, and voice tones. Language is the expression of ideas by means
of speech-sounds combined into words. Different systems of communication
constitute what we call language. The science of language is known as
linguistics. It includes what are generally distinguished as descriptive
linguistics and historical linguistics. Linguistics is now a highly technical
subject; it embraces, both descriptively and historically, such major divisions
as phonetics, grammar (including syntax and morphology), semantics, and
pragmatics, dealing in detail with these various aspects of language (Characteristics
of Language, 2012). In 1861,
neurosurgeon Paul Broca discovered an area in the left hemisphere of the brain
responsible for learning, it is known as the Broca’s area. In the 1870’s,
neurologist Carl Wernicke discovered an area in the rear of the left hemisphere
of the brain that he linked to processing words that we hear. With the help of
these discoveries, language processing was birthed. Sounds are processed by the
auditory cortex, go then to Wernicke's area to be understood, travel along the
arcuate fasciculus to Broca's area, and the motor cortex, finally resulting in
speech (Pimsleur, 2014). Language functions include expressing needs and likes,
describing actions, retelling past events, making predictions, asking
questions, comparing summarizations, drawing conclusions, and describing
people, places, and things, just to name a few.
Conclusion
The
neurological regions that deal with the processing and understanding of
language include Broca’s area in the left hemisphere of the brain, as well as
Wernicke’s area in the rear of the left hemisphere of the brain. Broca’s area
is the central learning area of the brain, whereas Wernicke’s area that
processes language. Language is a highly complicated process that includes not
only speech, but body language, and sign language for those who are speech
impaired. Since the aspects of cognitive psychology include problem solving,
decision making, learning, and speaking, to name a few, all correlate to
language and language processing. Thus, language and all of its processing can
be explained, examined, and researched through the scientific procedures of
cognitive psychology.
Some
question whether language is dependent on thought or if thought is dependent on
language. The mind can perceive the smallest of details even without the
individual being aware. Small children see these details and incorporate them
in their study of language and how to speak. Adults do the same but not as
intensely as the foundation of language has been laid in the formative years
but details still emerge that are of interest to the mind and are used to
enhance the mind of the observer. Language allows for greater learning, fellowship
with friends and family. Language provides humans the ability to display
expressions of love and dislike, sharing of memories, and teaching to those
important and unimportant. Without language, the world as we know it would be
very still and silent.
References
Anderson, J. R. (2010).
Cognitive psychology and its implications (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Characteristics of language.
(2012). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved
from http://www.britannica.com.
Pimsleur, B. (2014). How
language is processed in the brain. Retrieved from http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/resources/language-research/language/how-language-is-processed-in-the-brain/
Awesome post what I was just looking for....Thanks
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