Chapter 11 - Communication/Language Skills Flashcards
Describe the phases of language development (with example).
<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
What are the 5 components of language?
phonology morphology syntax semantics pragmatics
What is phonology?
basic units of sound
knowledge of a language’s sound system
ex. /p/ or /b/
What is morphology?
rules for how you put sounds together to form words with meaning
ex. past tense adds “ed”
What are errors common made in relation to morphology?
overextension = applying rules too often
underextension = only applying rules to specific items
What is semantics?
meaning expressed by language
understanding of meaning of bound morphemes, free morphemes, and sentences
What is syntax?
rules for word combinations
What is pragmatics?
knowledge of how language is used to communication
sociolinguistic/cultural rules of language
ex. manners
What is the learning perspective/theory of language development?
children aren’t born with anything, only acquire language through reinforcement
operant conditioning - Skinner
imitation - Bandura
What are the criticisms of the learning perspective of language development?
grammar is not shaped
early errors are creative, not imitated
What is the nativist/innatist perspective of language development?
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
What is Noam Chomsky’s LAD?
language acquisition device
in the brain
allows children to pick up on universal grammar elements (linguistic universals)
What is Dan Slobin’s LMC?
language making capacity
What is the interactionist perspective of language development?
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
What are some strategies to improve children’s language?
asking open-ended questions
repetition, expansion, and recasting of child’s speech
praise and corrective feedback
sensitivity to child’s development
What are the stages of the pre-linguistic period?
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
When can infant’s recognize their mother’s voice?
3 days old
prefer mother’s language
What is the holophrastic period?
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
What is the fast-mapping process?
linking word and meaning after 1 or 2 exposures
using social/contextual cues
improves with age
How does the use of referential and expressive language change with culture?
children of Western cultures develop referential styles
children of social-emphasizing cultures do not
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?
5 words before being flagged
6 year old knows 11,000 words
What types of grammatical developments occur with age?
asking questions
negative sentences
complex sentences
What is metalinguistic awareness?
thinking about your own language
What is the telegraphic period?
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
How does language improve during the preschool period?
becomes more similar to adults
begin to add grammatical morphemes
learn rules for transformational grammar
- ex. change statements to questions
understand pragmatic lessons
How does language improve during middle childhood? What causes this improvement?
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
How is bilingualism established? What are the benefits?
children exposed early and regularly to 2 languages can acquire both
cognitive advantages
promotes language skills and self-perceived academic and social competencies
