Child Language Overview Flashcards
What are the stages of child language acquisition?
Pre-verbal stage, babbling stage, one-word (holophrastic) stage, two-word stage, telegraphic stage, and post-telegraphic stage.
What is the pre-verbal stage?
The stage where infants produce sounds such as crying, cooing, and laughing but do not form words (0-6 months).
Define the term ‘holophrase.’
A single word used by a child to express a complete idea, often seen in the one-word stage.
What is overextension in child language acquisition?
When a child applies a word too broadly, e.g., calling all four-legged animals ‘dog.’
What is underextension?
When a child applies a word too narrowly, e.g., using ‘cat’ to refer only to their own pet cat.
Who proposed the theory of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD)?
Noam Chomsky.
What does Chomsky’s LAD theory suggest?
Humans have an innate ability to acquire language through a built-in mechanism.
What is B.F. Skinner’s theory on child language acquisition?
Skinner proposed the behaviorist theory, suggesting language is learned through imitation, reinforcement, and conditioning.
What is the critical period hypothesis?
Proposed by Lenneberg, it suggests there is an optimal time (early childhood) for acquiring language, after which it becomes much more difficult.
What is a protoword?
A consistent sound or pattern used by a child to refer to a specific object or idea before developing proper words.
What is the two-word stage?
Around 18-24 months, when children begin to combine two words to create simple sentences, e.g., ‘want cookie.’
Define the telegraphic stage.
When children use three or more words to form simple sentences, often omitting smaller grammatical elements (2-3 years).
What is the role of caregivers in language acquisition?
Caregivers provide models of language, correct errors indirectly, and engage in child-directed speech to support language learning.
What is child-directed speech (CDS)?
A way caregivers speak to children, characterized by higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, repetition, and simplified vocabulary.
What is Vygotsky’s view on language acquisition?
Language development is a social process where interaction with more knowledgeable others (e.g., adults) helps children learn.
