Language can be used by all individuals’ as a form of communicating. There are many ways people can communicate, from cries of a baby to a complicated math problem. By using the language process language allows individuals’ to not only communicate with each other, but to communicate across time and space. Semantic memory can be memory that is acquired over time and is very important to the process of language. For many people, language is considered to be second nature, especially for people that already know what, when and how to say something. For example, when it comes to language, the belief is whenever people speak; it is often done unconsciously and without any thought. According to Belinchon (2003, p.534)“language is a very peculiar object of study, it is both a declarative body of knowledge possessed by adult competent speakers and a set of procedures (or abilities) by which such knowledge is put to use in a variety of ways in linguistic activities” (lgoa, Belinchon, 2003, p. 534). People can use semantic memory and language production to draw upon knowledge they posses about language.
Function and Nature of Semantic Memory Semantic memory can be described as a part of long-term memory that deals with information that has no contextual elements. For instance, the place and time the information was learned. Semantic memory is described as being more permanent memories than personal memories. When it comes to “semantic memory, the brain has to store information” (Strickland, 2001) on what the word look like and how people use words. “Semantic memory contrasts with episodic memory, where memories are dependent upon a relationship in time” (Semantic, Memory, 2001, p. 573). However, Semantic memory can be used as a production of language, which people possess their knowledge about language. “Words and other memories, which are stored in semantic memory, contribute to episodic memory with the two working together to function as an effective long-term memory system” (Strickland, 2001, p. 573). Semantic memory provides a network of concepts, images and words making the process of language understandable for people to perform the functions of language. For example, speaking, comprehending, reading and writing.
Functions of Language There are a number of reasons why people consider language to be important. One example is that language often serves as the means, which cognitive processes are revealed. Another example is language can be complex and play a vital role in cognition. For instance, if people could not comprehend looking at articles would be meaningless. Without the individuals’ ability to speak, the individual would not be able to say the article is meaningless. When it comes to the basic cognition of language pattern recognition, working memory and knowledge representation are all crucial to language. Language has the ability to function in many forms; one way language can function is informative words, words that are used to be passed on information. Another example is expressive words, words that evoke an emotion and are not the direct result of their meaning. Everything from society and laws of how to build a house are all developments of language.
Language Production Language production can be explained and broken down into four stages conceptualizing, planning, articulating and self-monitoring. In the stage of conceptualizing an individual is thinking about what they want to say and how to form their idea. For example, if an individual is writing a speech, the individual would have to form an idea of how to write a speech. The second step is planning; in this step an individual forms a linguistic plan, a plan that can organizes an individuals’ thoughts into language. For instance, in order to write a speech an individual would have to decide what words to use and how to arrange them in order to convey the speech in an understandable manner. Third stage is to