Chap 7 - Language Development Flashcards
Prelinguistic communication
Communication thru sounds, facial expressions, gestures, imitation, & other nonlinguistic means
Language
The systematic, meaningful arrangement of symbols, which provides the basis for communication
Babbling
Making speechlike but meaningless sounds
Holophrases
One-word utterances that depend on the particular context in which they are used to determine meaning
Telegraphic speech
Speech in which words not critical to the message are left out
Syntax
The combining of words & phrases to form sentences
Fast mapping
The process in which new words are associated with their meaning after only a brief encounter
Grammar
The system of rules that determine how our thoughts can be expressed
Pragmatics
The aspect of language relating to communicating effectively & appropriately with others
Private speech
Spoken language that is not intended for others, commonly used by children during the preschool years
Societal speech
Speech directed toward another person & meant to be understood by that person
Metalinguistic awareness
An understanding of one’s own use of language
Learning theory approach
The theory that language acquisition follows the basic laws of reinforcement & conditioning
Nativist approach
The theory that a genetically determined, innate mechanism directs the development of language; Chomsky
Universal grammar
A similar underlying structure shared by all the world’s languages, according to linguist Noam Chomsky
Language-acquisition device (LAD)
A neural system of the brain hypothesized to permit understanding of language structure & provide strategies for learning the particular characteristics of a language; nativist approach- Chomsky
Linguistic-relativity hypothesis
The theory that language shapes thought & may determine the way people of a given culture perceive & understand the world; Whorf
Infant-directed speech
A type of speech directed toward infants that is characterized by short, simple sentences
Formal characteristics of language
- Phonology - refers to basic sounds of language, called phonemes, that can be combined to produce words & sentences; English employs 40 phonemes to create every word in the language
- Morphemes - smallest language unit that has meaning
- Semantics - the rules that govern the meaning of words & sentences
Linguistic comprehension
The understanding of speech; comprehension precedes production, begins earlier & increases at a faster rate than production
Linguistic production
Use of language to communicate
Underextension
Using words too restrictively; occurs when language novices think that a word refers to a specific instance of a concept, instead of to all examples of the concept
Overextension
Words are used too broadly; overgeneralizing their meaning; I.e. assuming an object with wheels must be a car
Intonation
Tone of voice
3 major approaches have guided thinking on language acquisition
- Learning theory approach
- Nativist approach
- Interactionist perspective
Interactionist perspective
Theory that combines both the learning theory approach & the nativist approach; suggests that language development is produced thru a combo of genetically determined predispositions & environmental circumstances that help teach language
Bilingual education
Students are initially taught in their native language, while at the same time learning English
Piaget’s view on the development of language
Thinking shapes language
