Child Language Acquisition

Question 1

Phoneme

Answer 1

A unit of sound eg. “m” + “ph”

Question 2

Morpheme

Answer 2

A unit of meaning eg. root, prefix, suffix

Question 3

Grapheme

Answer 3

A written unit to convey meaning.

Question 4

Morphology

Answer 4

The study of how PARTS of WORDS create DIFFERENT meanings by COMBINING with each other or standing alone.

Question 5

Phonology

Answer 5

The study of UNITS of SOUNDS.

Question 6

Syntax

Answer 6

The ARRANGEMENT of words in a SPECIFIC ORDER.

Question 7

Orthography

Answer 7

The study of the SPELLING SYSTEM.

Question 8

Pragmatics

Answer 8

The study of the PRACTICAL ASPECT of HUMAN ACTION and THOUGHT.

Question 9

Voiced

Answer 9

The sound is pronounced CLEARLY in a word eg. at the start of “Cat” the c is pronounced.

Question 10

Unvoiced

Answer 10

The sound is NOT pronounced clearly or AT ALL eg. in “hands” the d is missed out.

Question 11

Type of errors: Children’s writing

Answer 11

Morphology, Phonology, Orthography, Pragmatics, Syntax

Question 12

Morphology: Past tense formation

Answer 12

“I runned to the playground”
Correct version - “I ran to the playground”
A VIRTUOUS error –> OVER EXTENSION of “ed” morpheme to show past tense (not needed).

Question 13

Morphology: Homophone

Answer 13

“Your my best friend”
Correct version - “You’re my best friend”
Contracting the “you’re”, as they sound the same.

Question 14

Morphology: Incorrect use of possessives

Answer 14

“I have got three teddy’s”
Correct version - “I have got three teddies”
OVERGENERALISED the PLURAL RULE.
Might be to do with PRONUNCIATION –> might think it’s possessive for them.

Question 15

Phonology: Consonant deletion

Answer 15

“My hans are big” –> UNVOICED CONSONANT
Correct version - “My hands are big”
VIRTUOUS error - DELETION of the consonant “d”

Question 16

Phonology: Mispronounced phonemes

Answer 16

“I have Free cats”
Correct version - “I have Three cats”
Could be due to ACCENT or SPEECH IMPEDIMENT -
May be unable to produce the sound themselves.

Question 17

Pragmatics: Context

Answer 17

“I saw a blue dog as big as a house”
A dog is much smaller than a house.
Hyperbole –> From their perspective, may not see things in the same way that we do.

Question 18

Syntax: Superlative formation

Answer 18

“He is my most favourite uncle”
Correct version - “He is my favourite uncle”
Do not need the PREMODIFIER “most”.
INSERTION of “most”.

Question 19

Orthography: Spelling system

Answer 19

“My bog is called Dexter”
Correct version - “My dog is called Dexter”
Could be associated with FINE MOTOR SKILLS –> got b + g confused and reversed them.

Question 20

Learning to write key words-

Answer 20

Insertion - A letter is ADDED which DOES NOT BELONG in the word.
Omission - A letter is MISSED from the word which SHOULD BE THERE.
Substitution - A letter is SUBSTITUTED for another letter.
Graphemic cluster omission- A CLUSTER of letters has been OMITTED from the word.
Graphemic cluster substitution- A CLUSTER of letters has been SUBSTITUTED for another set.
Transposed letters- A letter has been WRITTEN THE WRONG WAY ROUND.
Cursive - Joining up letters when writing.
Magic e - The <e> at the END OF WORDS which is silent. For example, "make" or "cake".
Hypotaxis - JOINING clauses using SUBORDINATION.
Parataxis - Simple sentences JOINED with NO CONJUNCTION or COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS.</e>

Question 21

Types of errors: Children’s speech

Answer 21

Addition, Deletion, Consonant Cluster Reduction, Substitution, Assimilation

Question 22

Addition

Answer 22

The child ADDS something COMPLETELY NEW into the pronunciation. For example, “cat-o” (cat + o).
This links to DIMINUTIVES –> “doggy” - makes it EASIER for the child and indicates SMALLNESS.

Question 23

Deletion

Answer 23

The child REMOVES A SOUND from the word altogether. For example, “ca” instead of “cat”.

Question 24

Consonant Cluster Reduction

Answer 24

The child REMOVES some CONSONANT SOUNDS from the word. For example, “ra-it” instead of “rabbit”.

Question 25

Substitution

Answer 25

The child SUBSTITUTES an EASIER PHONEME in place of a HARDER one. For example, “loghurt” instead of “yoghurt”.

Question 26

Assimilation

Answer 26

The child uses a SOUND from EARLIER or LATER in the word, as it is EASIER to say. For example,
“lellow” instead of “yellow”.

Question 27

CDS key words-

Answer 27

Deixis - Referring to the “here” and “now”.
Labelling - Providing the label eg. “that’s a BALL” - Links to Aitchison
Over articulation - ELONGATING VOWEL SOUNDS eg. “baby’s fooooooooood”
Echoing - REPEATING what the child says.
Expansion - REPEATING what the child said, but in a MORE LINGUISTICALLY SOPHISTICATED WAY.
For example, “doggy chew” –> you say “yes, that’s right, the dog is chewing”.
Expatiation - REPEATING what the child said, but ADDING MORE information. For example, “bottle cold” –> “yes, the bottle is so cold, so I’ll warm it up for you.”
Reformulation –> REPEATING what the child says, but in a DIFFERENT way. For example, “doggy tail wag” –> you say “is the dog wagging his tail?”.