CHAPTER 9: Language Development Flashcards
what is language
Form of communication that uses symbols to represent concepts
- single greatest human achievement
- only humans can do it
- every culture has a language
arbitrary definition
the meaning of linguistic signs is not predictable from its word form, nor is the word form dictated by its meaning/function
- symbolic
language shows displacement:
displacement is the ability to refer objects, places and events that are “not here” and “not now”
- can refer to objects that are not physically present; past or future
language is generative:
can create an endless series of new combinations, all built from the same fundamental units
- words are always evolving
- new words added to dictionary every year
5 language rule systems
- phonology
- morphology
- syntax
- semantics
- pragmatics
- Phonology
is the shortest segment of speech that, if changed, changes the meaning of a word
- most languages have 35-40
- refers to SOUNDS not letters
ex. egg, erase (different e sounds) - english has 47
Janet Werkers (1989) research
After 6 mo’s, infants become better at discriminating phonemes within own language, but worse within other languages
- at 12 months, infants specialize in the language most exposed to
perceptual scaffolding
Infants tend to learn the names of objects faster when they are first oriented with their own name
example: “Sophie, look at this elephant”
when is word comprehension evident by
- in evidence by 6 months
- understand common expressions by 9 months
language process
early vocalization (cooing)
“ooooooohhh” and “aaaaaaaahhh.”
7 months: babbling
“ya-ya-ya,” “ba-ba-ba”
infants produce “minimal words”
Mispronunciations common as children try to simplify words
- When first learning to speak actual words, children are only capable of alternating consonant-vowel sounds (e.g., “bye-bye,” “mama,” “dada”)
E.g., “du”, “ju”, “dus” = juice
morphology
refers to the units of meaning
- made up of phonemes, to create meaning
Morphemes can be whole simple words or parts of words that change meaning. For example, “love,” “loves,” “lover,” and “lovely” all have different meanings
morphemes
Truck = 1 morpheme
Table = two syllables, but only one morpheme
Houseboat = 2 morphemes, two syllables
holophrases
single word that can have multiple semantic meanings
example:
E.g., “Doggie!” = “There is a dog” or “I like the dog,” etc.
vocabulary spurt
12-18 months, learn 1-2 words a day
toddlers arrive at the realization that everything has a name and they want to learn all the names they can
fast mapping
the way in which children quickly connect new words with their meanings
- by 24 to 30 months, a child will fast-map even if they’ve merely overheard the word when a speaker is talking to someone else, or there are other objects competing for their attention
over-extensions and under-extensions
overextensions (e.g., once learning the word “dog,” thinking that all furry, four-legged animals they see, including skunks and raccoons, are also called dogs)
underextensions (e.g., thinking the term “dog” applies exclusively to their family pet, but not to other people’s dogs).
at what age to infants begin using two word phases
18-24 months
- telegraphic speech
example:
where doggie
my hat
daddy shirt
referential vs expressive styles
referential: more common with first born children
- mostly people or objects
expressive
- later born
- more social phrases (ex. stop it, oh no)
Zoe Liberman and colleagues (2017
suggests that compared to monolingual children, bilingual children (aged four through six) are better at taking the perspective of another person in tasks with similarities to Piaget’s three-mountain problem
- found it easier than their monolingual counterparts to override their own perspective and adopt the experimenter’s perspective in deciding which toy the experimenter was referring to
monolingual myth
the mistaken assumption that children are better off learning just one language instead of two or more
- learning more than one language does not overload a child’s mind
-….. and confers added benefits (enhanced executive control skills, enhanced perspective-taking ability)-
Syntax
The manner in which morphemes and words are combined to create grammatically correct phrases and sentences
the “wug” test
- Asks Ps to perform a grammatical manipulation on a novel word.
- Young children (4-5) are able to perform this task
-we learn general rules, and when we hear a new word, we use these rules to make plurals and other forms
syntax development
- young children grasp rules of morphology
- learning how to grasp syntax (grammatical rules)
ex. adding -s to create plural forms, -ed to create past tense
- questions, negations, imperatives
semantics
the meaning of words and sentences
- a sentence can be semantically correct but synactically wrong
Pragmatics
the process of learning the social and cultural conventions that govern how language is used in particular contexts
turnabout
speaker replies then adds something to get partner to respond again
Parent: How are you?
Child: I’m fine… how are you?
Illocutionary intent
what a speaker means to say
e.g., “There are toys all over the floor”
= “Clean up this mess!”
referential communication skills
producing clear verbal messages and recognizing when messages we receive are unclear
progression of narratives
Progress from “leapfrog” narratives (age 3 / 4)…
To chronological narratives (age 5) …
To classic narratives (age 6)
Sociolinguistic understanding
- adapting language style to social context
involves learning how to be polite to others (e.g., saying “hello” and “goodbye,” saying “please” and “thank you” when making requests)
behaviourist perspective on how children acquire knowledge
Babies start out as “blank slates”
Through experience they gain knowledge about language & the world
through imitation of others, and positive reinforcement
nativist perspective on how children acquire knowledge
children are born equipped with the necessary brain structures that will help them to learn a language, whatever one they are exposed to
Chomsky: humans biologically programmed to learn basic systems of langua
4 main points to the nativist perspective
- Specialized brain structures and networks to support language
- brocas area (language production), Wernickes area (language comprehension) - only humans learn grammer readily
- theres a strong link bw growth of vocab and mastery of grammer
- theres a critical period of learning language during development
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
social interactionist perspective on how children acquire knowledge
Language arises from a combination of biological maturation and environmental experiences
- Conversations more important than exposure to talking
first gestures infants learn
pragmatic in nature: waving hello or goodbye, pointing at an object they can’t reach, raising their arms in the air to indicate they want to be picked up
using gestures to communicate
- more children who gestured at 14 months, greater their spoken vocabulary was
- often accompany speech when toddlers are learning to talk
Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL)
- considered to be a true language
- symbolic, arbitrary, generative
- can be used to show displacement (referring to past or future events)
deaf children exposed to ASL
Progress through language milestones in much the same way as hearing children
- signs can be produced at an earlier age than spoken words
- fast mapping to expand vocab.
