Chapter 6 - Language Development and Symbol Use Flashcards
By what age are children very good with comprehension?
age 5
What are the two types of language? What is the difference between the two?
expressive - what we can produce
receptive - what can we comprehend (both in signed or spoken language)
What are the basic components of language? Are they seen in all languages?
1) sounds are combines to form words
2) sentences are formed to compose stories, conversations, and narratives
3) words are combines to form sentences
yes, all human languages share similarities
What are the first parts of language comprehension which develope?
1) phonological dev’t - identifying sounds, learning phonemes
2) semantic dev’t - learning meanings of sounds
3) syntactic dev’t - learning syntax rules for combining words (grammar)
4) pragmatic dev’t - learning context in which words are learned
Do animals use language?
- no, animals can communicate but don’t use language bc they can’t speak or use syntax
Which part of the brain is responsible for expression and speech production.
Brocas Area
Describe the critical period
The period from birth - 5 years old in which you must learn a language to be at the native level
Describe the Genie Case Study? Was she able to learn language?
- Genie’s parents kept her socially isolation for her entire life and abused her
- once rescued from her situation she was able to learn vocabulary and basic communication, but not develop language
- example of existence of critical period
How do we teach kids language?
Infant-directed speech:
- slowing things down
- repeating words
- high pitch speaking
What are the most important things needed to learn language?
- people (human environment)
- the human brain
What is prosody?
- includes sensitivity to spoken language characteristics: rhythm, tempo, cadence, melody, international patterns
What is voice onset time?
the amount of time it takes to pronounce words that sound similarly
Describe the voice onset time studies done on babies?
- babies (~4 months) were given pacifiers that change the sound they’re listening to depending on their sucking pattern
- after a while they get habituated, and suck in a different pattern for new song
- they began to go back and forth
- able to distinguish phonemes at young age
How does babies/ infants’ ability to discriminate sounds from different languages change over time? What does this demonstrate?
- at 6-8 months ability to discriminate peaks as almost 100%
- by 8-10 months abilities decrease slightly
- by 10-12 months abilities are almost non existent, and they perform the same as adult would
- demonstrates the rapid language development that occurs in early life
What are the standard steps taken in the progression of language development?
1) crying (at 1 month)
2) cooing (6-8 weeks)
3) babbling (7 months)
4) single-word stage (10-15 months)
5) telegraphic speech( (18-24 months)
*babies all around the world follow stages 1-3 at the given time markers
What may happen to the order of language development milestones if babies are raised in a language-deprived environment?
- stages 4 and 5 (single-word and telegraphic speech) may not be met
- ex: deaf babies with hearing parents
What is cooing? when does it start?
- starts around 6-8 weeks
- infants start producing drawn out vowel sounds
What is babbling? when does it start?
- begins round 6-10 months
- repetition of strings of sounds comprising aconstants followed by a vowel (pa, ma, ba)
What is the order of early word recognition?
1) infants first recognize words
2) then comprehend
3) then produce them
At what age are babies able to reference words, say their first words, an produce two-word utterances
- reference at 6 months
- first words st 15 months
- two words at 24 months
Describe the holophrastic period.
What does it lead to?
a period where infants suggest a whole phrase with a single word
- example: saying “drink” to indicate “I would like to drink that”
- leads to the overgeneralization of words to other things
Does SES influence language development?
yes
What is the difference in the linguistic environment of children raised in different SES
- children in higher SES often have more words spoken to them within the first few years of life which influences the richness of the linguistic environment
- lower SES children have significantly less words exposed to them in their early years
- all children have roughly the same levels of conversation, but the quality/ complexity of language is the primary difference
Describe the Justice et al. study about improving language development
- This study was designed to help improve the vocabulary of children from low SES families
- kids were read story book with 60 new words
- kids w low vocab initially were able to remember new words the best
- similar to linguistic scaffolding
Describe the Ridge et al case study about grocery stores
- signs were put up around grocery stores which encourages parents to interact with their children
- signs had questions like “where does milk come from?”
- increased interaction is good for language dev’t
What is fast mapping?
rapidly learning a new word simply from the contrastive use of familiar and unfamiliar words
- kids 1-2 y/o can successfully do this
What is novel mapping?
- introducing novel items with familiar ones to quickly distinguish and learn what the new item is
What are pragmatic cues?
the use of emotion to cue the correct answer
