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Essay Subject: Exploration of the relationship between language and cognitive development in terms of how reading, writing, & discussion contribute to cognitive development.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Exploration of the relationship between language and cognitive development in terms of how reading, writing, & discussion contribute to cognitive development. Paper Introduction: Language and Cognition Introduction Robbins Burling (1993) noted that language is indelibly linked to human cognitive processes and that studying these processes can give us a better understanding of language emergence and language acquisition. The intent in the following pages is to explore the relationship between language and cognitive development, looking particularly at how reading, writing, and discussion  the basic language functions  contribute to cognitive development. Origins One of the current theories regarding the relationship of the brain and cognition to language is that expressed by Terrence Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. For example, Gibson et al. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Passingham, R.E. Burling noted that the basic assumption about language for most of thehistory of its study is that language was invented in order for humanbeings to communicate to each other more clearly. Hanson (1991) noted thatlanguage enabled people not only to increase their reasoning capacity, butto maximize that capacity by interfacing with other people. According to Deacon (1992), the brain and human language didnot develop separately from each other, but essentially coevolved. . Even more revolutionary in its conceptualization is the contention ofJerison (1977) and others that language did not serve primarily as acommunication system, and that that was not its reason for evolving.Instead, language is connected much more strongly with thought,consciousness, and the development of the human brain than withcommunication systems. Cognitive mapping and the origin of language and mind. (1993). Proceedings, Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity, 11, Redwood City, CA: Addison-Wesley.Burling, R. Instead, he noted, studying animal,particularly primate, gesture-call systems has shown little sign ofproviding the route by which language developed. Current Anthropology, 34(1), 25-53.Ellis, J.M. Language, thought and logic. They truly are interdependent. He noted specifically that: The use of language for thought vastly amplifies the level of intelligence that can be achieved. According to him, it is language that makesour minds different from those of other animals, and the use of languagecontinues to encourage our mind to evolve further capacity and complexity.The nature of consciousness, in this view, has been forever changed by theuse of language. 55). Information, language and cognition. In M.C. Its primary functionwould be providing the individual with evolutionary advantage inconstructing, understanding, and navigating a complex world. (1977). Different changes have been identified asprecursors to the neurological changes necessary for the creation of thelanguage capacity, including the ability to throw accurately. Jerison stated that "from an evolutionary point ofview, the initial evolution of language is more likely to have been as asupplement to other sensory systems for the construction of a real world"(1977, p. In the field of education, itpoints up the importance of addressing the basics of reading and writing asessential for the development of the individual child's capacity for allforms of thought and reasoning. Evolution of the brain. Language also serves as an interface. Oxford University Press.Jerison, H.J. Animals think, but people can think in a totally new way, with a completely different code. (1992). Primate calls, human language, and nonverbal communication. This languageuse contributes to further brain development, which works in a reciprocalarrangement to encourage more language use. Cambridge University Press.Hanson, P.P. Language serves to network, or link, peopletogether and their cognitive capacities together. Notonly language, but logic, contributes to brain development and cognition.In other words, systems do not simply emerge from the brain wholly, but aregradually developed historically through the interplay of current braincapacity and current brain use. (1982, p. Again, there is reciprocity. Theintent in the following pages is to explore the relationship betweenlanguage and cognitive development, looking particularly at how reading,writing, and discussion - the basic language functions - contribute tocognitive development.Origins One of the current theories regarding the relationship of the brainand cognition to language is that expressed by Terrence Deacon in a 1992discussion. Northwestern University Press.Gibson, K.R., Ingold, T. The system of logic is one form of language as organizing tool or a typeof concrete cognitive map. Current Anthropology, 8, 518-526. Tools, language and cognition in human evolution. (1993) discussed the contribution oflanguage and cognition to the development of the fundamentally humanreliance on technology. In J.A. Thus, this serves as yetanother way in which reading, writing, and discussing work to make peoplesmarter. . This is, however, anassumption that has not been proven. This would be analogous to linking two or more computers together in aprocessing network, except that there is greater creativity and potentialfor interaction effects involved. Presumably if language were not used,brain capacity would begin to degenerate. and Harris, P.R. Language and CognitionIntroduction Robbins Burling (1993) noted that language is indelibly linked tohuman cognitive processes and that studying these processes can give us abetter understanding of language emergence and language acquisition. Wallace(1989) indicated that the cognitive maps that were adaptational to earlyhuman foragers could have assisted in language development by providinganalogue functions that language could emerge from. John Ellis (1993) provided a good look at the way language and thoughtinterrelate in his more philosophical discussion of cognition andreasoning. In other words, the purpose of language would be informationreceiving and processing, rather than communication. Reading, writing, and discussion are allactivities that demand language use, often at a high level. (1993). Language, like computer languages,organizes the contents of the individual and enables that individual tocommunicate with other individuals with similarly organized contents andcapacities. According to Passingham (1982), the affect of language was torevolutionize consciousness, or human thought. Inother words, the brain needed language to develop fully, while languageneeded certain cognitive abilities in order to become something separatefrom other species' communication systems. Instead, human gesture-call systems remain quite similar to their origins and similar to those ofother primates, and other species. Thus, they are inseparable,which is one resolution of the discussion about the category to whichanimal communication systems belong. (Ed.) (1991). BibliographyDeacon, T.W. (1993). It contributes to the discussionof IQ and other forms of intelligence, and the contention that intelligenceis more malleable than some might believe. With humanlanguage, however, the use of language works to constantly change theorganization of the human brain toward greater complexity and capacity.Like the human body, the brain benefits from exercise of its functionsthroughout the life cycle and can decline in function with neglect.Conclusion The recent work on the reciprocal relationship of language andcognition is fascinating and has important implications for both short- andlong-term efforts in human development. But the emergence of language from a developing brain is not the endof the story. Oxford: W.H. While other species use rudimentary forms oftools, only human beings have developed such an intricate tool-dependentculture. Freeman.Wallace, R. Hawkins and M. Gell-Mann (Eds.) The evolution of human languages. . Wittrock (Ed.) The human brain. Language is a function of the humanbrain and the human brain needs language in order to develop itscomplexity. Brain-language coevolution. In other words, the gesture-callsystems of humans show little evidence of having evolved beyond the primatesystems or having served as the foundation for the emergence of language.He contended that it is more reasonable to assume what Jerison assumed,that language was invented as a tool for thought, but turned out to beimportant for communication efforts also. This, according to many of the authors contributing to thisoverview, is directly attributable to the difference in the human brainwhich is reciprocally related to the use of language. Not only do they contribute to cognitive development and theorganization of complexity, they serve directly to link up one cognitivecapacity to another for even greater complexity and synergistic effectsintellectually. Essentially Ellis asserted that logic is also a built-incapacity of the human brain as it developed in its use of language. Yet, it is as a tool for thoughtthat it remains fundamental to human evolution, human being, and humanculture. The human primate. There are differences between computers and people, however, in thatcomputer languages do not seem to serve to make computers smarter.Computers talking to each other do not increase their individual capacitiesfor cognition, even though they increase capacity additively. it is only because we possess spoken language that our technology and culture are so much advanced. Again, the relationship is a reciprocal one in whichlanguage provides the brain with the description of the world, or thecognitive mapping system, which enables the individual to think moreclearly and the brain to organize itself toward greater complexity.The use of Language to Increase Cognitive Capacity It is the fundamental assumption of this essay that using language canmake the individual smarter by increasing cognitive capacity and thecapacity for brain complexity. (1982). Language is an organizing tool as well as an interface with the world. It is a map pulled from the interior of thebrain which allows us to make some assumptions about how the brain itselfis organized and operates. Burling, too, supported this position, noting that language and thehuman mind are independent. 243) Language itself, according to many contemporary thinkers, emergedbecause of changes in the brain. Yet this is not an entirelyaccurate formulation either, because brain and language seem to beinseparable. It really istrue that two heads can be better than one, at least in terms of dealingwith environmental complexity. (1989). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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