Chapter 6: Language Development

Question 1

Language learning in children

Answer 1

Learning starts in utero, and meaning is very important. Assumption is that children imitate to learn (environmentally-dependent nurture view)

Question 2

Chomsky’s Universal Grammar

Answer 2

Counters behaviorist beliefs. Cites that children can produce novel utterances and make errors that don’t match the correct stimulus that they hear.

Question 3

Inherent language genetics

Answer 3

Natural view; supported by the fact that we all progress through the same milestones, all cultures have language, and that language is uniquely human.

Question 4

Language milestones

Answer 4

Cooing, babbling, first word, word explosion

Question 5

Cooing

Answer 5

Non-crying regular vowel sounds. Occurs between 2-6 moths

Question 6

Babbling

Answer 6

Repeated consonant-vowel pairs. Occurs between 6-12 months. Same sounds regardless of native language. Sounds do not have meaning, purely motor development. Involved in learning how to converse and take turns talking

Question 7

Manual babbling

Answer 7

Sign language babble for non-hearing babies. Follows same patterns as verbal babbling

Question 8

The first word

Answer 8

Occurs around a year old. Usually a concrete noun. Different pronunciation than the adult word. Facilitated by baby-sign because verbal processing will develop before motor skills of the mouth do

Question 9

The word spurt

Answer 9

Violent jump in number of words known and used. Occurs around 18-24 months. Can form two word sentences (telegraphic speech).

Question 10

Bilingualism effects on language learning

Answer 10

No long term effects. Language mixing and slight delays may occur, but may also promote cognitive strength

Question 11

Jusczyk preferential looking experiment

Answer 11

Showed babies two videos while a sentence played in the background. Found that babies will prefer to look at the video that is accurate to what is being said verbally. Shows that language comprehension develops before motor skills of speech production. Similar findings for knowing the meaning of a word before being able to speak it (around 24 months)

Question 12

Nicaraguan sign example

Answer 12

Deaf children in Nicaragua were taught a sign language developed by hearing people. As the generations went on, the language was adapted and became more conversational.

Question 13

Gavagai problem

Answer 13

Each word has millions of possible meanings when used in any context, especially when there is no visual match

Question 14

Whole object constraint

Answer 14

Assume a label refers to an object as a whole

Question 15

Mutual exclusivity constraint

Answer 15

Expect that an object has only one name; used around 17 months old. Used less by bilingual children

Question 16

Fast mapping

Answer 16

Map novel words onto a novel item/object

Question 17

Caney and Bartlett fast mapping experiment

Answer 17

Gave kids (2 yrs old) new words with limited information to see if they could comprehend meaning. Half of the kids could remember the word a week later. Occurs in non-humans

Question 18

Overextension

Answer 18

Use one word for everything in a given category (all 4-legged animals are doggies)

Question 19

Underextension

Answer 19

Use specific words on general categories (all dogs are named the family pet’s name)

Question 20

Shape bias

Answer 20

Using shape to generalize a novel word. 2-3 years will generalize words across sizes and textures, but not shapes (dax experiment)

Question 21

Brown grammar study (1957)

Answer 21

Showed children the word ‘sib’ in various syntactic positions alongside the same image. Asked children to point out what ‘sib’ meant. Showed that syntax is used to parse novel meanings

Question 22

Syntactic bootstrapping

Answer 22

Use syntax to determine meaning

Question 23

Difficulty of learning morphology

Answer 23

Lots of irregularities that need to be learned. Leads to overextension of grammar rules. Parental correction will not facilitate learning.

Question 24

Wug test

Answer 24

Proved children can apply basic grammar rules to novel words with new meanings

Question 25

Socio-economic status effect on language development

Answer 25

Wealthier families hear more words and have faster reaction time for speech processing.

Question 26

Critical period of language development

Answer 26

There is a sensitive period where children need input to properly learn language. Evidenced by Lenneberg and Johnson + Newport

Question 27

Lenneberg study of language development (1967)

Answer 27

Kids with aphasia will recover better than adults. Issue is they are relearning a language, which might make a confound

Question 28

Johnson and Newport bilingual study

Answer 28

Found that learning a second langauge at different ages will effect the fluency reached, specifically in grammar rules. Later learning in life leads to less grammar fluency

Question 29

Newport ASL study

Answer 29

Looked at kids who did not have access to ASL. They would form their own home-sign language, but when they were exposed to ASL they made grammatical errors. Found same with late native learners of languages.

Question 30

Cross-situational word learning

Answer 30

parsing meaning from multiple ambiguous experiences

Question 31

Dual representation

Answer 31

an object is mentally represented as both a real object and a symbol for something else. Difficult for children until around 3 years old. Evidenced by shrunken room tests (children could not map the real big room onto the model room without some sort of transition item)