Chapter 1 - Language Development Flashcards
language
system of conventional spoken or written symbols used by people in a shared culture to communicate with one another
morphemes
- smallest unit of language that carry meaning
- combined to create words
4 characteristics of language
- Language is a system of symbols
- Language is shared by the members of a community or culture
- Language system is conventional
- Language is a tool for human communication
referent
the aspect of the world to which the word refers
communication
the process of sharing information such as thoughts, feelings, and ideas among two or more people
modularity
cognitive science theory about how the human mind is organized within the structures of the brain
modules
regions of the brain developed to process specific types of information
domain-specific
can process only very specific types of information, such as depth perception within the visual system
domain-general
ability to carry out very general tasks like memory and reasoning, as well as domain-specific modules that execute very specific types of tasks
inner language
when a person keeps thoughts and ideas to themselves
written language
when a person writes down thoughts and ideas
hearing
the sensory system that allows speech to enter into and be processed by the human brain
four systems of speech
- Respiration
- Phonation
- Resonation
- Articulation
respiration
breath of air inspired into and then expired from lungs to travel up through the trachea, or windpipe
phonation
breath of air moves through the vocal cords, which are set into vibration to create one’s voice
resonation
breath of air proceeds into oral and nasal cavities where it resonates
articulation
breath of air is manipulated by the oral articulators, including the tongue, teeth, and jaw, to come out as a series of speech sounds that are combined into words, phrases, and sentences
model
way to represent an unknown event on the basis of the best current evidence governing the event
model of speech production
perceptual target: abstract representation of speech sound stream is produced /m/ /a/ /m/ /a/ —>
motor schema: neurological brain systems produce a rough plan of the abstract representation. General instructions are fed forward in syllable chunks to muscle groups involved with speech /ma/ /ma/ —>
speech output: air pressure is modulated as respiratory flow is sent forward. Articulators and oral cavity are manipulated to produce /mama/
audition
hearing; the perception of sound that includes both general auditory perception and speech perception
acoustics
the study of sound
the transmission and reception of speech
four acoustic events:
- creation of sound source
- vibration of air particles
- reception by the ear
- comprehension by the brain
frequency
how fast sound particles move back and forth
intensity
how far apart sound particles move back and forth
speech perception
how the brain processes speech and language
auditory perception
describes how the brain processes any type of auditory information
coarticulation
phonemes overlapping over one another
sender
formulates and then transmits the information he or she would like to convey
receiver
takes in and then comprehends the information
formulation
process of pulling together your thoughts or ideas for sharing with another person
transmission
process of conveying these ideas to another person, often speaking but alternatively by signing, gesturing, or writing
comprehension
process of making sense of the message
symbolic communication
- also known as referential communication
- when an individual communicates about a specific entity (object or event) and the relationship between the entity and its referent is arbitrary
- ex: 1 yr old saying “bottle” to request something to drink because the relationship between bottle and its referent (drink) is arbitrary
preintentional communication
- communication in which other people assume the relationship between a communicative behavior and its referent
- ex: purring of a cat, infant crying, and the meaning is inferred by the communicative partner
intentional communication
- also known as iconic communication
- intent is precise
- relationship between communicative behavior and its referent is not arbitrary
- relies on shared spatial position among the sender, the recipient, and the referent
- transparent relationship between message and its referent
- ex: infant pointing to a bottle
oral communication
speaking and listening
model of communication
- sender formulates and transmits message
- receiver receives and comprehends message
- shared symbolic means for communicaiton
linguistic feedback
speaking
nonlinguistic or extralinguistic feedback
eye contact, facial expression, posture and proximity
paralinguistic feedback
use of pitch, loudness, and pausing
communication breakdowns
communication problems that occur when receivers do not provide appropriate types or amounts of feedback or when senders do not attend to the feedback
conversational repair
communication breakdown occurs and sender or receiver adjusts the exchange to mend the breakdown. requires the receiver to provide ongoing feedback and the sender to monitor the receiver’s feedback closely
major domains of language
- form: how words, sentences and sounds are organized and arranged to convey content
- content: meaning of language
- use: draws upon language functionally for meeting personal and social needs
form
sentence structure, clause and phrase usage, parts of speech, verb and noun structures, word prefixes and suffixes, and organization of sounds into words
content
- words we use and the meaning behind them
- lexicon: vocabulary system
- contextualized: language that focuses on the immediate context
- decontextualized: language with little reliance on the context for conveying content
use
- intention behind the utterance and how well it is received
- analysis f use requires an understanding o the context in which language is occuring
components of form, content, and use
- Phonology
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Semantics
- Pragmatics
phonology
- rules of language governing the sounds used to make syllables and words
- allophones: subtle variations of phonemes that occur due to contextual influences on how we produce phonemes in different words
- phonotactics: rules governing how sounds are organized in words for each language
morphology
- governs the internal organization of words
- adds precision to language
- expands vocabulary expontentially
syntax
- rules of language governing the internal organization of sentences
- provides structure to our utterances
- what permits a child to produce a seemingly endless sentence by linking a series of simple sentences
- provides meaning to sentence structure
semantics
- rules of language governing the meaning of individual words and word combinations
- provides meaning to utterances
- considers the meaning of various words and phrases
pragmatics
- social use of language
- rules that govern using language for different functions or intentions (communication intentions), organizing language for discourse (conversation), knowing what to say and how to say it (social conventions)
remarkable features of language
- rate of acquisition
- universality
- species-specificity
- semanticity
- productivity
rate of acquisition
- first 5-7 yrs of life are critical for language development
- “window of opportunity” during which language develops most rapidly and with the greatest ease
- similarity to other species for acquisition of behaviors considered essential for survival
universality
- all persons across the world apply the same cognitive infrastructure to the task of learning language
- way in which children learn language and the timepoints of achieving certain milestones is fairly invariant across the world’s language communities
species-specificity
- language is a human capacity
- no other animals share this aptitude
- nonhuman communication systems are more or less iconic
- no other animal communication system provides the means for the combination of symbols
semanticity
- decontextualized events: events that are removed from the present
- human language has no boundaries of time or space
- arbitrary relationship between a referent and the language used to describe it
- shared by no other species
productivity
- combination of a small number of discrete units into seemingly infinite novel creations
- capability of producing an endless amount of ideas and new constructions
- inherent to language in its earliest stages of acquisition
what are language differences and disorders?
- invariant pathway of language development
- communication using words begins ~12 months
- 2-word combinations at ~18 months
- adult-like grammar before puberty
- differences influenced by language learned, gender, temperament, and language-learning environment
- genetic predispositions, developmental disability, injury or illness result in mild to severe disabilities in language acquisition
language differences
- used to describe variability among language users
- influences: dialect, bilingualism, gender, genetic predisposition, language-learning environment
dialect
- natural variations of a language that evolve within specific cultural or geographic boundaries
- number of dialects for a given language tends to increase when:
- users are spread across a large geographical region
- significant geographical barriers isolate a community from others
- social barriers are present within a language community
bilingualism
- monolingualism: single language
- bilingualism: 2 or more languages
- simultaneous: develop languages concurrently
- sequential: develop one language and add in a second at a later time
- all languages reflect the same infrastructure of the human brain and are similar in their complexity
code-switching
interchanges between the syntax and the vocabulary of the languages being learned
gender
- girls have an advantage over boys in language development and start talking earlier than boys
- girls develop vocabulary faster than boys in the second year of life
- boys are more likely to have language difficulties with language development –> language impairment
- differences due to biological and environmental factor influences
genetic predisposition
twin studies: estimate the contribution of genetics to language development and heritability of language disorders
environment
- environment in which children are reared exerts considerable influence on their language development
- neural architecture is calibrated based on input from the environment concerning the form, content, and use of the language(s) to which they are exposed
- quantity: amount of language a child receives
- quality: characteristics of the language spoken in the caregiving environment of the child
responsiveness
promptness, contingency, and appropriateness of caregiver responses to children’s bids for communication through words or other means
- higher degrees of responsiveness in infancy and toddlerhood correspond with accelerated rates of language development in children
language disorders
- children with language impairment
- difficulties in the development of language
- achieve language milestones more slowly than others
- longstanding difficulties with various aspects of language form, content, and use
heritable language impairment
- specific language impairment
- depressed language abilities, typically with no other concomitant impairment of intellect
- affects 7-10% of children
- most common type of communication impairment affecting children
- most frequent cause for early intervention and special education services for young children
- evidence suggests it is a heritable condition
developmental disability
- language impairment often co-occurs with certain developmental disabilities
- secondary disorder: secondary to another primary cause: intellectual disability, autism, childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger’s, PDD
brain injury
- in utero
- perinatally
- acquired brain injuries: occur after birth
- traumatic brain injury: brain damage resulting from physical trauma, particularly blunt trauma to the head
- causes: abuse, intentional harm, accidental poisoning, car accidents, falling
- diffuse: affecting large areas of the brain
- focal: affecting only one specific brain region
