Child Development - Language Flashcards

1
Q

What 4 things does a proficient user of language have a knowledge of?

A
  1. phonology
  2. semantics
  3. syntax
  4. pragmatics
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2
Q

What is phonology?

A

System of contrastive relationships among the speech sounds that constitute the fundamental components of a language

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3
Q

What are phonemes?

A

Any of the distinct units of sound in a language that distinguish one word from another

e.g. p, b, t and d in the words pad, pat, bat and bad

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4
Q

At what age do children recognise phonemes?

A

around the age of 4 or 5

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5
Q

How does phonology differ between languages?

A

Each language has its own phonetic structure and its own phonemes

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6
Q

What are combination rules?

A

Combination rules allow for meaningful speech

e.g. st and sk can go together but sb and sg cannot

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7
Q

How do children begin to learn about phonology?

A

They learn to distinguish different sounds

They segment the speech stream they are exposed to into units, which eventually become meaningful units

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8
Q

What is semantics?

A

The branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning

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9
Q

What is lexical semantics?

A

The analysis of word meanings and relations between them

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10
Q

What are morphemes?

A

The smallest linguistic units that carry meaning

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11
Q

What are examples of morphemes?

A

prefix/suffixes and small words

e.g. un and ex

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12
Q

What is syntax?

A

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

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13
Q

What is involved in understanding syntax?

A

Selection of a word, the tense of the word, the arrangement of words and the selection of punctuation

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14
Q

How does syntax differ between languages?

A

Each language has its own syntax - a set of rules

e.g. John hit Jim has a different meaning to Jim hit John

John Jim hit doesn’t make sense

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15
Q

What is pragmatics?

A

This involves the rules about language in social contexts

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16
Q

What are examples of using pragmatics?

A
  1. being polite and saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’

2. taking turns in conversation

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17
Q

What does pragmatics describe?

A

What you should say and how you should say it

Language is used differently depending on who you are talking to and what you are saying

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18
Q

At what age is the pre-linguistic period?

A

0 - 12 months

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19
Q

What is the pre-linguistic period?

A

The time period before children begin to say their first meaningful words

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20
Q

How do children bring attention to objects during the pre-linguistic period?

A

They bring attention to objects non-verbally through pointing and touching

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21
Q

What are the 4 forms of communication during the pre-linguistic period?

A
  1. vegetative sounds
  2. cooing and laughter
  3. vocal play
  4. babbling
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22
Q

What are vegetative sounds and at what age do these occur?

A

The natural sounds that babies make, such as crying

Occurs during 0 - 2 months

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23
Q

What is cooing and laughter?

At what age is this observed?

A

Vocalisations the baby makes when they are happy or content

Made up of vowel or consonant sounds

Occurs at 2 - 5 months of age

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24
Q

What is vocal play?

At what age does this occur?

A

The baby begins to string together longer vowel or consonant sounds

Occurs at 4 - 8 months

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25
Q

What is babbling?

At what age does this occur?

A

Child begins to produce a series of consonant-vowel syllables

They may develop utterances (ma-ma and da-da)

Occurs around 6 - 13 months

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26
Q

What is echolalia?

A

Repetition of speech by a child learning to talk

Babbling can involve echolalia

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27
Q

How do parents interact with their child during the pre-linguistic period?

A

They tend to repeat sounds back to the child

This acts to encourage them to continue making sounds

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28
Q

How does intonation teach children a feature about conversation?

A

They learn about taking turns in speaking and knowing when it is their turn to answer

Intonation denotes that a question is being asked

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29
Q

What is intonation?

A

The rise and fall of the voice in speaking

Involves the rhythm of speech and how language is not monotone

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30
Q

What do children learn about words during the pre-linguistic period?

A

Children learn that words have meaning

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31
Q

What happens between 8 and 12 months in relation to object recognition?

A

Children begin to associate an object with its name

These are verbal labels and not representations

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32
Q

Between 8 - 12 months, what do children begin to understand?

A

They understand that a sound has a meaning of action

They do not necessarily know what the word means

33
Q

What happens at 18 months in relation to object recognition?

A

Children associate words with objects

They can use the word for communication

34
Q

What feature do children begin to develop at 18 months?

A

They begin to overextend

They use one word for a collection of objects

e.g. calling all animals ‘dogs’

35
Q

What is telegraphic speech and when does it develop?

A

18 - 24 months

children start to put two simple words together

36
Q

What is involved in telegraphic speech?

A

two-word sentences which make this speech laconic and efficient

e.g. “all gone”, “more walk”

37
Q

When does complexity begin to be added to sentences?

A

At age 2 and beyond

Children begin to add verbs to their sentences

38
Q

In the progression:

daddy hat -> daddy wear hat -> daddy is wearing a hat

at what ages do the different stages develop?

A

The word “wear” is added at around 3 1/2 years

The term “is wearing” is added around age 5 - 6 years

39
Q

What is a compound sentence?

A

A sentence with more than one subject or predicate

e.g. words such as “and” and “so” are added to make more complex and longer sentences

40
Q

What other features do children show as they begin to add complexity?

A

They begin to use the past tense e.g. adding -ed

They make many logical errors, especially in pleurals

41
Q

Why is there an increased interest in rhymes and songs during years 3-5?

A

This follows the echolalia idea that language is ‘fun’

Rhyming is more pleasurable than producing technical language

42
Q

How do children communicate during play at ages 3 - 5?

A

They produce commentaries during play

They use language according to their age to describe what is going on in their head

43
Q

How do children communicate before sleep at ages 3 - 5?

A

They have pre-sleep monologues that act as an expression of their thoughts

44
Q

What do all the features of language used by 3-5 year olds show?

A

The emergence of narrative

Children are establishing thought processes and linking their actions to what they are thinking

45
Q

Why do children aged 3-5 like repeated stories?

A

They can predict what words are coming and how they will be spoken

46
Q

What are the 2 different modes of thought?

A

propositional thought and imaginal thought

47
Q

What is propositional thought?

A

Involves thinking through verbal language

48
Q

What is imaginal thought?

A

Involves thinking through visual imagery

49
Q

How do children use language within their thought processes?

A

They use concept and categorisations to establish hierarchies of concepts

50
Q

How does a child develop hierarchies of concepts?

A
  1. prototype is the object/concept
  2. core properties are the properties of the object/concept
  3. hierarchies of concepts allows the child to distinguish this object from others
51
Q

What is Skinner’s theory of language acquisition?

A

Language is learned

It is learned through imitation and progressive reinforcement

52
Q

What is progressive reinforcement?

A

This involves parents correcting language errors

Encourages children to try their best and complete tasks to their best potential

53
Q

Using Skinner’s theory, how is behaviour controlled?

A

Behaviour and actions are controlled by their consequences

Reinforcement can be positive or negative

e.g. rewarded with a sticker or threatened with a punishment

54
Q

What is meant by learning language through joint involvement episodes?

A

If a parent talks to their child at a high frequency, their vocabulary will grow at a greater rate

55
Q

According to Skinner, what are the 4 most important features of interactions with children?

A
  1. adopting helpful speech styles
  2. attention eliciting techniques
  3. timing of verbal input
  4. child-directed speech (motherese)
56
Q

What is meant by ‘adopting helpful speech styles’?

A

Changing the manner or speech to short sentences and words

Language is shaped according to the age of the child

57
Q

What is meant by ‘attention eliciting techniques’?

A

Involves asking questions and pointing to things

58
Q

What does Chomsky’s theory state?

A

Humans are born with a language acquisition device

Human brains are prewired to understand and use syntax

59
Q

What are the 3 pieces of evidence that support language being biologically programmed?

A
  1. spontaneity of language
  2. Lenneberg critical period hypothesis
  3. comparison to animal communication
60
Q

What is meant by ‘spontaneity of language’?

A

Children will reinvent and produce a language

If it is not provided to them, children invent their own language

They need language to communicate and make sense of the world around them

61
Q

What is the Lenneberg critical period?

A

It is a sensitive period that describes children before the age of 12

The first 6 years are the most critical

62
Q

What does the Lenneberg critical period hypothesis state about bilingual children?

A

Bilingual children who are exposed to a 2nd language during this period will develop the accent

After this period they will speak a second language in their native accent

63
Q

What does the Lenneberg critical period hypothesis state about recovery of language after a head injury?

A

If a child is born without or loses their left hemisphere, language functions migrate and develop in the remnants of the brain

64
Q

In what ways have animals been seen to communicate?

A

primates that were taught american sign language passed this on to their offspring

lexigrams are tiles that can be pressed to create meaning and communicate with the handler

65
Q

What is animal communication based on?

A

Stimulus-response learning

They have basic linguistic skills but do not have all the features of human language

66
Q

What area of animal connection is particularly poor?

A

Poor syntax as communication has no clear rules

Especially poor when it comes to word order

67
Q

How do deaf children with deaf parents tend to communicate?

A

The children have similar language milestones

They communicate through sign language

68
Q

How do deaf children with hearing parents communicate?

A

Children use a spontaneous language - ‘home sign’

Language development is slowed down if the parents do not sign

69
Q

What is ‘home sign’?

A

A language developed by the child when they are encouraged to lip read and not use sign language

They develop their own sign language

70
Q

How does sign language increase deafness rates?

A

Deaf community bond, end up marrying and pass on the genetics for deafness to their children

71
Q

What is aphasia?

A

An impairment of language that affects the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write

72
Q

How is aphasia caused?

A

Injury to the brain

A stroke often leads to aphasia

73
Q

What causes expressive aphasia?

A

Damage to Broca’s area

74
Q

How does expressive aphasia affect speech?

A

Speech halts, becomes hesitant and sufferers have difficulty finding words

75
Q

How does expressive aphasia affect comprehension?

A

It is largely unimpaired

76
Q

What causes receptive aphasia?

A

Damage to Wernicke’s area

This is where meaning is determined and assessed

77
Q

How does receptive aphasia affect speech?

A

Speech is fluent and grammatical, but has no substantial content and is nonsense

78
Q

How does receptive aphasia affect comprehension?

A

Comprehension is seriously impaired