:) Flashcards
language
the systematic and conventional use of sounds (or signs or written symbols) for the purpose of communication or self-expression
phonology
the sounds, sound system, rules about sounds, and putting sounds together in language (blicks “s” vs. wugs “z”)
lexicon
words knowledge (horse vs. wolf vs. dog)
morphology
system for combining units of meaning (words and parts of words such as -ed)
syntax
system for combining words into sentences (the boy washed the dog vs. the dog washed the boy)
pragmatics
knowledge that underlies the use to language to serve communicative functions (talking to supervisor vs. friends)
sociolinguistics
knowledge that allows the socially appropriate use of language
literacy
knowledge of reading and writing
behaviorism
change in behavior occurs in response to the consequences of prior behavior (ex: rat learns task because it is given food as reinforcement)
cognitivism
behavior cannot be understood without understanding what is going on in the mind of the organism producing the behavior (cognitive science emerged from cognitive rev. of 1950s)
what are WIERD populations?
Western, educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic- WEIRD samples mostly used research on language development
bootstrapping
when one aspect of language is used to understand another (ex: use grammar to understand meaning- “she blicks the ball”)
generativity/productivity of language
the ability to create new meanings with words
What is the primary debate that theorists are trying to answer related to language development?
Given the speed and complexity of language development, how and why does (can) it occur?- Focus on grammar
Describe Psammetichus’s study of language development and what assumptions he had about where language came from
Psammetichus: Egyptian king in 640 BC
- Question: who were the “first people”?- idea that people intrinsically have language
- Study: two newborns
- Results: “becos” Pyrgian word
- Assumes language is innate to humans
Describe the study of the Wild Child of Aveyron. What questions were the researchers looking to answer? How successful were the attempts to teach Victor language?
- Child found in the winter of 1800, untouched by culture
- History: Revolutions and questions of innate abilities, what it means to be human
- Question: What is intrinsic to humans if they are not touched by culture?
- Result: able to speak words, show empathy, but not full syntax
what is behaviorism and how would a behaviorist explain how language develops?
learning through classical and operant conditioning; focus on observable behaviors, no consideration of internal mind (The environment shapes our behavior; imitation, punishments, and rewards)
What was Skinner’s theory of language development and what was the name of his book?
language is learned through imitation, rewards, and punishments- behaviorist approach (correct imitation is rewarded with social interactions); book: “Verbal Behavior” (1957)
What is Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition?
countered behaviorist approach with an extreme nativist/nature argument- language is biologically programmed into humans and is innate; book: “Syntactic Structures” (1957)
What are the tree things Chomsky noted about how children learn grammar to support his claim?
language develops rapidly, effortlessly, and without instruction
Universal Grammar (UG)- chomsky
rules underlying structure of all language
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)- chomsky
innate human mechanism allowing for UG acquisition
What was the “Chomskian revolution”
part of the revolution away from behaviorism- thinking about behavior in a new way
interactionism theory of language acquisition
humans have special abilities that when exposed to language allow for language development (nature & nurture work together)
what is Constructionism ?
an interactionist theory in which a child actively explores to change their knowledge-actively construct knowledge by incorporating new info into their pre-existing knowledge (Piaget)
what is Social Interactionism?
social interaction drives language acquisition (Snow)
what is Nativism?
people who take the nature approach
domain specific view
language is an innate, self-contained module, a.k.a. “modular view”- ability to learn language is not affected by any other cognitive abilities (Grammar (UG): Chomsky- module in the brain LAD)
domain general view
general cognitive skills that lead to language are innate- skills are not specific to language and support areas of cognition too