Chapter 14 Flashcards
a special register with distinctive linguistic properties that is used in certain societies for addressing very young children
Child‑directed Speech (CDS)
an online system of resources on language acquisition, including an archive of children’s speech from various languages, programs for data analysis, and instructional materials
CHILDES (Child Language Data Exchange System)
the process by which a linguistic unit, such as an utterance, conversation, or narrative, is produced by more than one person
co‑construction
how humans learn and process knowledge; the mental processes that take in information from the environment, use it to form mental representations, and apply this stored knowledge in activities such as thinking, speaking, and remembering
cognition
term used in language acquisition for a type of assimilation in which one consonant is produced with the same place or manner of articulation as a nearby consonant; see vowel harmony
consonant harmony
the hypothesis in nativist acquisition theory that children have the same syntactic categories and rules as adults from the outset
continuity hypothesis
in first language acquisition, research which compares children in different age groups at a single point in time, either in their spontaneous speech or in their performance of an experimental task
cross‑sectional research
in language acquisition research, obtaining more frequent samples of child speech than is customary, e.g., at least five hours per week
dense sampling
when a linguistic unit, such as a word, phrase, or clause, is not uttered; the “missing” unit can be understood in the speech context by the listener without explicit mention
ellipsis
in narrative research, the particular linguistic and non‑linguistic strategies, such as repetition, that the narrator uses to highlight the significance or point of the story, i.e., why it is worth telling
evaluative device
in narrative research, the function of conveying the significance or point of the story, i.e., why it is worth telling
evaluative function
in language acquisition, a caregiver utterance that provides a fuller, more grammatical version of a preceding child utterance that is incomplete or ungrammatical
expansion
a type of study in which the researcher manipulates linguistic or contextual features to observe the effects on the performance of a particular task
experimental research
the process by which young children come to know and use the language(s) of their caregivers
first language acquisition
term used in language acquisition to indicate a phonological error pattern in which a child moves consonants forward in the mouth; e.g., pronouncing car [ka?] as [da] by replacing velar [k] with alveolar [d]
fronting
the persistence of the same function (e.g., direct listener’s attention) over time, even though that function may be expressed by different non‑linguistic or linguistic forms as time passes
functional continuity
theories that attribute the process of first language acquisition to general cognitive abilities such as learning and analogy; contrast with nativist theories
functional discourse‑based theories of first‑language acquisition
a gradual process of change in which a particular linguistic form is applied in an increasing number of cases, so that the frequency of the form increases and its function/meaning becomes more general; used in discussing language change and language acquisition
generalization
information that is activated in the listener’s mind because it has just been mentioned or is obvious in context; therefore it is information that the speaker assumes to be already in the focal consciousness of the addressee
given informationssee
in language acquisition, a phonological error pattern in which a child substitutes the glides [j] or [w] for liquids [l] and [?], e.g., pronouncing lap [læp] as [jæp]; see phonological error pattern
gliding
lexemes or expressions that share the same form (in spelling, in pronunciation, or in both) but have different senses; e.g., sea and see
homonyms
the beliefs held by an individual or social group about how children acquire language, e.g., by imitating adult speech
ideology of language acquisition
the study of how language is learned, includes first language acquisition (the study of how children learn their native language) and second language acquisition (the study of how speakers learn a language that is not their native tongue)
language acquisition
in language acquisition, a type of error in which a word is applied to a larger number of referents than is appropriate in adult speech; see referent and overextension
lexical overextension
in first language acquisition, a type of error in which a word is applied to a smaller set of referents than is appropriate in adult speech; see referent and underextension
lexical underextension
in first language acquisition, a type of research which follows the language development of one or more individual children over time
longitudinal research
the average number of morphemes per utterance in a sample of speech; used in language acquisition research as a measure of linguistic development
Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)
forms of stored information/knowledge in the mind, including imaginal forms such as mental images, symbolic forms such as words and grammatical constructions, and physiological forms such as patterns of neural activation in the brain
mental representation
the production of a narrative by more than one person
narrative co‑construction
theories of first‑language acquisition based upon the view that innate grammatical structures ( Universal Grammar ) are required to explain the process of first language acquisition; contrast with functional discourse‑based theories of first‑language acquisition
nativist theories
information a speaker assumes is not already in the focal consciousness of the addressee
new information
a linguistic context in which the use of a particular morpheme is required in order for the utterance to be grammatically correct
obligatory context
in language acquisition research, a type of study in which the researcher makes a written, audio, or video record of children’s naturally occurring communicative behaviors
observational study
in language acquisition, a type of error in which a linguistic form or construction is used in a larger number of contexts than is appropriate in adult speech
overextension
in language acquisition, a type of error in which the regular form of a morpheme is used in cases that require an irregular form, e.g., goed instead of went
overregularization
in language acquisition, a consistent difference between the adult and child pronunciation of a phonological unit such as a syllable or speech sound
phonological error pattern
in nativist linguistic theory, the argument that the speech children hear does not provide sufficient evidence for them to acquire fundamental aspects of linguistic structure through learning; it is therefore assumed that the necessary syntactic information must be innately available as part of Universal Grammar
poverty of the stimulus
the study of how context shapes our use and interpretation of linguistic expressions; the competence to draw from context plausible inferences, which complement linguistic meanings
pragmatics
term used in narrative research for the function of recounting who did what to whom, i.e., the sequence of events that comprise the plot of the narrative (its primary referential content); contrasts with evaluative function
referential function
in language acquisition, caregiver behaviors that support young children’s use of language before they are capable of performing independently, e.g., adult questions that support a child’s telling of a story
scaffolding
a biologically programmed period of time during which, it is hypothesized, young children are able to acquire language most easily and successfully
sensitive period
in language acquisition, a type of phonological error pattern in which speech sounds that are difficult to perceive or produce are replaced with ones that are easier to perceive or produce
sound substitution
a social action that a speaker intends to perform by producing an utterance, such as a command, greeting, or request
speech act
term used in language acquisition to indicate a phonological error pattern in which a child replaces a fricative or other type of consonant with a stop, e.g., pronouncing English see [si] as [di]
stopping
in first language acquisition, a type of error in which a linguistic form or construction is applied to a smaller set of referents than is appropriate in adult speech
underextension
in formal linguistic theories, a set of innate linguistic categories, structures, principles, and constraints that form the basis for the grammars of all languages; in nativist theories of language acquisition, UG is hypothesized to account for children’s first language acquisition
Universal Grammar (UG)
a cognitive system for temporarily storing and processing information that has just been experienced or recalled; enables performance of tasks such as language comprehension and production, learning, and problem‑solving
working memory
