8 - Language Flashcards
Phoneme
Smallest unit of sound
What is phonemic awareness
Ability to identify/use phonemes
Why is phonemic awareness important?
- Number one predictor of reading ability
- Aids in ability to parse
Morpheme
Smallest unit that conveys meaning
Semantics
Definitions, influenced by societal norms
What is the order of object, subject, verb for English?
Subject, verb, object
What is the order of object, subject, verb for Japanese?
Subject, object, verb
In what type of culture is the subject often dropped?
Collectivist
Pragmatics
Communicative functions of language that lead to effective communication
When does cooing appear?
1-2 months
When does babbling appear
6 months
What is babbling
Mimicking of phonemes
Which comes first, word recognition or walking
word recognition
How can you tell if a baby has developed word recognition?
Will listen longer to sentences including words they’ve just been exposed to
What age is sensitive to statistical regularities in speech?
≈8 months
When do gestures emerge
8-12 months
Joint attention
Ability for adult and infant to pay attention to the same object/person
Is joint attention required for language development
No
When do one word utterances occur
6-15 (mean 13)
When do 2 words utterances occur
18-24 months
When does grammar start to appear
2-3 years
When do 3 word utterances occur
2-3 years
When can children use novel word combinations correctly
3-4 years
Vocabulary spurt
Stage where infants learn new words rapidly (10 words/week)
When does the vocabulary spurt happen?
18-20 months
Fast mapping
Connects new words to objects without considering all possible meanings
One-to-one mapping
One word per object
If a name refers to a whole object, how is a second (related) name understood?
As a subcategory
Who learns verbs faster, English or East Asian babies?
East Asian
Why do East Asian babies learn verbs faster
Often just the verb is used to ask a question
Under-extension
Defining a word too narrowly
Over-extension
Defining a word too broadly
When do under/over extension errors usually fuck off
3-4 years
What is morphology mastery and when does it occur
Understanding morphology enough that they can apply them to new instances, occurs around 5ish
Matthew effect on reading
Good readers will enjoy reading -> continue doing it -> improvement (and vice versa)
Phonological processing errors in a child can be an early sign of ____
Dyslexia
Reading ability and dyslexia in girls vs boys
- Higher reading scores = girls
- higher dyslexia = boys
General rule of ideal time to teach new language
Early as possible, before puberty
Critical period for bilingualism
Before puberty
Deaf children of hearing parents learning sign language
Better mastery of sign language if taught earlier
Interference from first language
Can hinder learning more than missed critical period
Sensitive period
More flexible - ideal rather than law. behaviour can still be modified outside of this window it
Are sensitive periods the same for everyone?
No, can expand or contract depending on individual experience
What are some cognitive benefits of bilingualism
Attentional control, concept formation, analytic reasoning, inhibition, cog flexibility
True or false, a bilingual child will learn faster if the content is presented ONLY in their native language
False, fastest if presented with combination of 2 languages
What is the behaviourist perspective for language development?
Skills acquired through conditioning (classical/operant), rewarded for speaking correctly therefore continue
Limitations of behaviourist perspectives for language (3)
- Cannot explain novel use of words
- Cannot explain under/over extensions
- Parents rarely correct grammar
What is the nativist perspective of language acquisition?
Humans are born with “neural circuitry” that allows for acquisition of grammar/language development. Innate knowledge.
Semantic bootstrapping theory
Brain is ready to categorize the world into nouns and verbs (you know words tend to be either things or actions)
Universal grammar
Every language has subject, verb, and object
Supports for universal grammar (5)
- Specific brain regions for processing language
- Only humans learn grammar readily
- Children develop language with minimal formal input
- Critical period for learning
- Development of grammar is tied to development for vocabulary
Brocca’s aphasia
Difficulty with speech production
Wernicke’s aphasia
Words are flowing without meaning (gibberish)
Is language unique to humans? (2)
Yes
- Animals can learn words in form of things and symbols (1-1 mapping)
- Animals can’t use syntax
How do babies learn sign language from deaf parents
Follows same patterns as speech development, babbling, 1-word signs, 2/3 word sentences
Does being blind impact a child’s ability to develop language?
No, but interpretation can be different
How do neural structures differ in blind children learning language
When using braille, areas of visual cortex activate. Fine discriminations of letters and wholistic interpretation of letters -> words is done best by visual cortex
Do children learn words or position of words first?
Neither, both at same time
Do bilingual children confuse grammar structures of two languages
No
What is the cognitive perspective for language acquisition?
Cog dev -> infants/children extract statistical regularities from perceptual environment (NOT universal grammar)
Evidence for cog perspective
Vocab improves as memory improves
Limitations of cog perspective
Cannot explain William’s syndrome (low intelligence, high expressive verbal ability)
Social perspective for language acquisition
Children master language in context of social interactions (also applies to adults with motivation)
