This document discusses the cognitive processes associated with language. It explains that language is important for communication and is influenced by cognitive functions like encoding, storage, retrieval, problem-solving, and memory. The paper will review how these cognitive processes affect the brain in relation to language. It describes theories about how language information is stored, such as retaining meanings rather than exact words, and using visual and verbal representations. Memory of language experiences involves both semantic and episodic memory systems. Linguistic knowledge involves overlearned information stored in long-term memory, while new episodic knowledge is often short-term. Storage and retrieval are important for discussing memory of verbal episodes but less so for long-term linguistic representations.

1. Running head: COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH
LANGUAGE 4
Cognitive Processes Associated with Language
Austin Reynolds, Cristoria Castrejon, LaTonya Bethune, Maria
Munoz, and Melvin Brown
PSYCH/640
December 17, 2018
Dr. Gurinder Bolina
Cognitive Processes Associated with Language
Language is very important to all humans and is many
times taken for granted. This is the main source of
communication for all humans. Without the ability of language,
no human will be able to communicate with one another.

2. Language is used to communicate feelings, thoughts,
information, ideas, etc. There are many methods of language
that include verbal language, body language, and sign language.
Throughout the world there are different cultures which implies
many different languages that are used. Since there are many
different languages throughout the world, we also rely on
interpreters to help us better understand what the other language
is trying to communicate.
It is crucial in everyday lives to be able to communicate
and understand the people that are around us. Language has a
great connection to cognitive psychology. This includes
cognitive functions such as encoding, storage, and retrieval of
information that supports problem-solving, remembering,
memory, decision making, thinking, reasoning, learning,
speaking, and attention. All of these influence languages and
the cognitive process in many different ways. It is important for
verbal, body, and sign language to be used in the cognitive
process in order for the brain to have a better understanding of
what is going on and how one can communicate with other
people. In this paper we will be reviewing more information on
language along with the cognitive process and how their
functions affect the human brain in different ways.
Encoding and Language
Storage and Language (Melvin)
According to Anderson (2010), people do not have a tendency
to retain the exact words of language communication; instead,
they retain “a more abstract representation of the meaning of
the communication” (p. 338). Representations of information
are stored in both short-term and long-term memory for recall
or retrieval at different times in the life of a person. In 1999,
Barsalou proposed the hypothesis known as the perceptual
symbol system—an extension of Paivio’s dual-code theory. The

3. perceptual symbol system suggests that thought is more than
just subvocal speech; it consists of rich internal perceptual
representations. Instead of abstract propositional
representations of language and other stimuli, information is
represented in combined visual and verbal codes (Anderson,
2010).
Language or linguistic knowledge does not mean a person
has an explicit understanding about the elements and rules of a
language (Francis, 1999). To effectively communicate, an
individual must have knowledge of the meanings of familiar
words or expressions, knowledge of phonetic symbols or
sounds, and the syntactic rules of language (Francis, 1999).
Memory of an experience in language communication stems
from a given place or time when the experience occurred.
Linguistic knowledge and memory of a verbal experience are
different; semantic memory is associated with linguistic
knowledge, but episodic memory is associated with memory of a
verbal experience (Francis, 1999). Both are part of the
declarative memory system. A large amount of linguistic
knowledge is stored in long-term memory and consists of
overlearned information that is not explicit; whereas new
episodic knowledge is often short-term, not learned well, and
may sometimes be explicit (Francis, 1999). “Storage and
retrieval processes are very important in the discussion of
memory for verbal episodes but less important in the discussion
of the long-term linguistic representation of a word” (Francis,
1999, p. 197).
Retrieval of Information and Language
Conclusion

4. References
Anderson, J. R. (2010). Cognitive Psychology and Its
Implications (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers
Francis, W. S. (1999). Cognitive integration of language and
memory in bilinguals: Semantic
representation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 193-222.
http://dx.doi.org.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/10.1037/0033-
2909.125.2.193