Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

Number of 
non-English 
speakers 
(by county)
RHODE ISLAND
CONNECTICUT
NEW JERSEY
DELAWARE
MARYLAND
VIRGINIA
D.C.
NORTH
CAROLINA
SOUTH
CAROLINA
GEORGIA
FLORIDA
LOUISIANA
MISSISSIPPI
TENNESSEE
PENNSYLVANIA
NEW
YORK
OHIO
MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS
MISSOURI
ARKANSAS
OKLAHOMA
KANSAS
NEBRASKA
IOWA
WISCONSIN
MINNESOTA
NORTH 
DAKOTA
SOUTH
DAKOTA
WYOMING
MONTANA
COLORADO
TEXAS
NEW
MEXICO
ARIZONA
UTAH
IDAHO
WASHINGTON
OREGON
NEVADA
CALIFORNIA
WEST
VIRGINIA
INDIANA
ALABAMA
KENTUCKY
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Module 25 
Language 
273
Neuroscience in Your Life: 
Bilingualism and the Brain
FIGURE 2
Researchers studying bilinguals (individuals fl uent in two languages) and 
monolinguals (individuals fl uent in one language) found diff erences in the way in which 
language was processed between the two groups. For example, this fMRI scan shows that 
bilinguals process information diff erently according to whether they are speaking in only one 
language or are switching between languages. The results show that there may be distinct 
patterns of activity for each language used. 
(Source: Kovelman et al., 2008.)
R E C A P / E V A L U A T E / R E T H I N K
R E C A P
How do people use language?
• Language is the communication of information through 
symbols arranged according to systematic rules. All 
l anguages have a grammar—a system of rules that 
determines how thoughts can be expressed—that 
encompasses the three major components of language: 
phonology, syntax, and semantics. (p. 265)
How does language develop?
• Language production, which follows language compre-
hension, develops out of babbling, which then leads to 
the production of actual words. After 1 year of age, 
children use two-word combinations, increase their 
vocabulary, and use telegraphic speech, which drops 
words not critical to the message. By age 5, acquisition 
of language rules is relatively complete. (p. 266)
• Learning theorists suggest that language is acquired 
through reinforcement and conditioning. In contrast, 
the nativist approach suggests that an innate language-
acquisition device guides the development of language. 
The interactionist approach argues that language 
development is produced through a combination of 
genetically determined predispositions and environ-
mental circumstances that help teach language. 
(p. 267)
• The linguistic-relativity hypothesis suggests that 
language shapes and may determine the way people 
think about the world. Most evidence suggests that 
although language does not determine thought, it does 
affect the way people store information in memory and 
how well they can retrieve it. (p. 269)
• The degree to which language is a uniquely human skill 
remains an open question. Some psychologists contend 
that even though certain primates communicate at a 
high level, those animals do not use language. Other 
psychologists suggest that those primates truly 
understand and produce language in much the same 
way as humans. (p. 270)
• People who speak more than one language may have a 
cognitive advantage over those who speak only one. 
(p. 271)
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