Development of language & Adolescents Flashcards
What 4 things characterise the human language
Communication system
Symbolic system (words refer to something other than themselves)
Rule-governed system
Productivity- novel sentences
Name the four systems language consists of
Pragmatic system, phonological system, syntax system, semantic system
What is meant by the pragmatic system?
The abilities that allow us to communicate effectively and appropriately in a social context
Is turn taking present in infants? What can demonstrate this
turn taking is present in infants as shown by proto-conversations; interactions between adults and infants where adults tend to vocalise when infants are not vocalising.
What is meant by proto-imperitive?
When an infant points to an object and alternates their gaze between the object and the adult until they obtain the object.
What is meant by proto-decleritive?
when infants use pointing or looking to direct an adults attention towards something
What parts does the pragmatic system consist of?
imitation
initiating communication- initially nonverbal; pointing, develops to be more verbal and less gestural
maintaining conversation- when to add something and for it to be substantial
repairing faulty conversation
how do adults and infants differ in their categorical perception of speech sounds?
Adult speakers can differentiate between sounds that differ in category but rarely between sounds within the same category. Infants can differ between phonemes, this diminishes with time. It could be said this ability could be innate.
Name and describe the first three phases of vocal production
Reflexive vocalisations (0-2m)- This includes cries burps coughs and sneezes, the type of cry changes in different situations according to the emotion or context etc. Laughing and cooing (2-4m)- The infant starts cooing and laughing and practicing putting sounds together. The reciprocal cooing between a parent and child may teach it turn taking for conversation. Babbling and vocal play (4-6m)- the infant starts to practice and play with controlled sound. Infants learn to produce a wide range of sounds and sound combinations.
Name and describe the last 2 phases of vocal production
Canonical babbling (6-10m)- The infant starts producing sounds that sound like words but don't have meaning attached to them yet. Early babbling does not require human interaction or reciprocal babbling. manual babbling is the sign language equivalent of babbling. Modulated babbling (10m onwards)- This is defined by the usage of intonation, place and stress patterns. This stage overlaps with the beginnings of speech. it may play a part in the infants acquisition of the intonation patterns of the native language.
Children are more likely to use words that they can pronounce correctly, what does this suggest?
They aware of the differences between their correct and incorrect pronunciations. While forming these pronunciations they might produce phonological distinctions adults don’t perceive.
What interrelated set of elements has Chomsky suggested that make up syntax in language?
the s-structure corresponds to the spoken part of a language and the d-structure corresponds a more abstract representation of a sentence.
Contrast children’s language between 10 and 18 months and 18 and 24 months
Between 10 and 18 months children make single word utterances. They comprehend more than they produce. Between 18 and 24 months they produce two word utterances. They mostly use words prevalent in their environment. They may be primed to learn syntax and make novel sentences. It is not known how much they know is this two word phase. Syntax develops rapidly after this.
What is meant by over-regularisation and what does it demonstrate?
over regularisation occurs when infants overuse a new syntax rule on things where it doesn’t apply. This demonstrates they’re learning the rules of syntax. They often mix up plurals, past tense and make creative over-regularisations.
What is an overgeneralisation?
When children add an ‘ing’ on the end of a noun making it a verb
How did Chomsky argue language was innate?
Language requires applying d structures to s structures. Children are only exposed to s structures by the environment so they must have some knowledge about d structures. Infants are not often corrected on their bad grammar and it is often reinforced. Chomsky argued parents play a small part in syntactic development.
what does the manner in which a child interprets a new world depend on
The child’s semantic system, their cognitive ability, their knowledge of the world and their selective attention
A child may broaden the meaning of a word or they might make it too narrow, what are these errors called?
overextension error; under extension error
Describe two possible constraints to word meaning development
Whole object constraint- This constraint assumes that infants believe the name for parts of an object refer to the whole object
Mutual exclusivity constraint- This constraint assumes there is a one to one correspondence between words and meanings.
Give an example of how the semantic system is developed by children’s acquisition of semantic relations
Words that fall on the far ends of the spectrum (hot, cold) will be learned before the words in between.
Describe the two strategies children use when facing gaps in their semantic / conceptual system
Acquiring a new word- Known concepts are searched through to attempt to attach a word to it. If no concepts are found, construct a new one.
Acquiring a new concept- Try and attach a known word to it, if none, find a new one
What are meant by cultural tools?
Any tools that help us calculate, produce models, make predictions and understand the world more fully.
What is the name given to a writing system? give an example of one
An example of an orthography is an alphabetic script, in which written symbols correspond to spoken sound.
What do children find hard about alphabetic scripts
To comprehend that each symbol corresponds to a sound, this gets better as they get older.
Is reading and writing innate?
No, instruction is necessary for reading and writing and environment is key.
What is meant by phonemic awareness?
The knowledge that words consist of a series of phonemes, this does not come easily to young children
What is meant by phonological skills?
The ability to detect and manipulate sounds at the phonetic , syllabic and intrasyllabic levels
What are intrasyllabic units>
Units that are larger than phonemes but smaller than syllables
Give an example of an intrasyllabic unit
A rime (the unit that rhymes).
What is the relationship between rimes and reading
Most children have an understanding of rimes from an early age. There is a positive relationship between sensitivity to rhyme and reading ability.