Chapter 11 - Communication/Language Skills

Question 1

Describe the phases of language development (with example).

Answer 1

<18 months = pre-linguistic

18 months = holophrastic
- ex. “car”

2 years = telegraphic
- ex. “Daddy car”

3 years = telegraphic
- ex. “Daddy push car”

4 years = grammatical
- ex. Daddy is pushing the car

Question 2

What are the 5 components of language?

Answer 2

phonology
morphology
syntax
semantics
pragmatics

Question 3

What is phonology?

Answer 3

basic units of sound

knowledge of a language’s sound system

ex. /p/ or /b/

Question 4

What is morphology?

Answer 4

rules for how you put sounds together to form words with meaning

ex. past tense adds “ed”

Question 5

What are errors common made in relation to morphology?

Answer 5

overextension = applying rules too often

underextension = only applying rules to specific items

Question 6

What is semantics?

Answer 6

meaning expressed by language

understanding of meaning of bound morphemes, free morphemes, and sentences

Question 7

What is syntax?

Answer 7

rules for word combinations

Question 8

What is pragmatics?

Answer 8

knowledge of how language is used to communication

sociolinguistic/cultural rules of language

ex. manners

Question 9

What is the learning perspective/theory of language development?

Answer 9

children aren’t born with anything, only acquire language through reinforcement

operant conditioning - Skinner
imitation - Bandura

Question 10

What are the criticisms of the learning perspective of language development?

Answer 10

grammar is not shaped

early errors are creative, not imitated

Question 11

What is the nativist/innatist perspective of language development?

Answer 11

humans are born with the ability to learn language

LAD

critical period from birth to 8/9 when child is most able to learn a language

• when LAD is active
• just need to be exposed to it

Question 12

What is Noam Chomsky’s LAD?

Answer 12

language acquisition device

in the brain

allows children to pick up on universal grammar elements (linguistic universals)

Question 13

What is Dan Slobin’s LMC?

Answer 13

language making capacity

Question 14

What is the interactionist perspective of language development?

Answer 14

language acquisition is result of interaction of biological maturation, cognitive development, and environmental experience

children’s desire to communicate with those around them motivates language development

Question 15

What are some strategies to improve children’s language?

Answer 15

asking open-ended questions

repetition, expansion, and recasting of child’s speech

praise and corrective feedback

sensitivity to child’s development

Question 16

What are the stages of the pre-linguistic period?

Answer 16

cooing

• 2 months
• oohs, ahhs

babling

• 4-6 months
• vowel-consonant combinations
• ex. “mamama”
• can match intonation to tonal qualities of language around them

vocables
- consistent use of sounds in situations

early sensitivity to speech

• react to human speech
• by 7-10 months can segment others speech into phrases/word-like units
• infants can discriminate more phonemes than adults

Question 17

When can infant’s recognize their mother’s voice?

Answer 17

3 days old

prefer mother’s language

Question 18

What is the holophrastic period?

Answer 18

single word utterances with the meaning of an entire sentence

slow at first, expanding vocabulary one word at a time

then naming explosion

• rapid acquisition if new words for objects
• 18-24 months
• mostly use words for objects they manipulate/like

learning the meaning of words
- fast-mapping

Question 19

What is the fast-mapping process?

Answer 19

linking word and meaning after 1 or 2 exposures

using social/contextual cues

improves with age

Question 20

How does the use of referential and expressive language change with culture?

Answer 20

children of Western cultures develop referential styles

children of social-emphasizing cultures do not

Question 21

How many words is a 2 year old child expected to know before being flagged for language difficulties?

How many does the average 6 year old know?

Answer 21

5 words before being flagged

6 year old knows 11,000 words

Question 22

What types of grammatical developments occur with age?

Answer 22

asking questions

negative sentences

complex sentences

Question 23

What is metalinguistic awareness?

Answer 23

thinking about your own language

Question 24

What is the telegraphic period?

Answer 24

moving from holophrases to 2-3 word sentences

18-24 months

omitting grammatical markers and less important words
- but more than random word combinations

becoming more sensitive to pragmatics

learn certain sociolinguistic prescriptions

Question 25

How does language improve during the preschool period?

Answer 25

becomes more similar to adults

begin to add grammatical morphemes

learn rules for transformational grammar
- ex. change statements to questions

understand pragmatic lessons

Question 26

How does language improve during middle childhood? What causes this improvement?

Answer 26

linguistic refinement
- ex. subtle exceptions to grammar rules, complex syntax, rapid growth in vocabulary

much better referential language since they can attend more carefully to literal meaning of ambiguous utterances

caused by cognitive development, sociolinguistic knowledge, opportunities to communicate with linguistically immature

Question 27

How is bilingualism established? What are the benefits?

Answer 27

children exposed early and regularly to 2 languages can acquire both

cognitive advantages

promotes language skills and self-perceived academic and social competencies