【英语时差8,16】语言结构（上）

（单词翻译）

 Cognitive psychologists believe that our language construction is a result of a two-step word retrieval process. The first step is the search for a word’s meaning, and the second step is the search for the actual sound of a word. Different speech errors occur when you get stuck at different stages of this two-step retrieval process. When you incorrectly substitute one word for another, calling a cat a “dog” for instance, your brain has erred¹ in the first step by choosing an incorrect word for the concept of “small domesticated² furry³ pet.” When you have a word or a name on the tip of your tongue, you’ve gotten stuck in the middle of the retrieval process. You’ve correctly retrieved⁵ the meaning of the word, but have been unable to retrieve⁴ the sound of the word. Because you’ve successfully completed one of these two steps, you can probably give the word’s definition, but can’t actually say the word.