Exam 1 Flashcards
3 characteristics of language?
productive, symbolic, not stimulus-bound
What is productivity in language?
The ability to be segmented and recombined to create different meanings.
EX: Watermelon, Snowman
How is language symbolic?
-Words are symbols that stand for something else.
-language is generalized and applies outside the situations where it was learned.
Define stimulus-bound.
Is it, or is it not, a component of language?
-behavior that occurs in response to specific stimuli.
-language is Not stimulus bound .
Identify 5 subsets of language
-Phonology
-Semantics
-Morphology
-Syntax
-Pragmatics
Phonology
The sound patterns of language
- A set of rules specific to a particular language that governs the occurrence and distribution of phonemes.
- Determines which phonemes are in the inventory of language
Phonological Rules
Determine changes that occur between phonemic input and phonetic realization
What are semantics
-The meaning of words or phrases/sentences.
-association of meaning; relation of a word to its referent (kids may call all things round balls)
What is morphology
The rules of a language that governs word structure
What is Phonological Development?
Acquiring the sound system of language
What is Semantic Development?
- Acquiring vocabulary (lexicon)
- Develop adult-like representations of words
- Organize. mental lexicon in an efficient semantic network
What are the two types of morphemes?
Free - can stand alone
Bound - attach to free morphemes
What are the types of bound morphemes?
- Grammatical/Inflectional Morphemes - inflect words for grammatical purposes (-ed, -s, -ly)
- Derivational Morphemes - modify roof words to change meaning (un- , re- , -er)
- Compound Morphemes - two free morphemes combine to form a new word ( pick-pocket)
What is Syntax?
Combining words to form sentences
-word order
-rules for grammatical arrangement of words
What is Pragmatics?
(appropriate) use of language in a social context
-using language for function
What is the critical period?
The sensitive period during the first few years of life when language develops rapidly
-if language is delayed until after (~5 years) language acquisition is slower/less successful
What is the critical period for 2nd language learning?
Between puberty and ~17/18
Historically, what are the different ways language acquisition has been researched?
Diary studies, large sample studies, longitudinal and experimental studies
What is the Nativist Theory of language acquisition?
Knowledge is innate and genetically transmitted
What is the Nurture-inspired theory?
Infant arrives in the world as a “blank slate”
Language is learned by experience
What is the Behaviorist Theory?
Nurture Inspired
Skinner
-Language is like any other human behavior
-Children learn through operant conditioning and shaping
What is the Linguistic Approach Theory?
Nativism
Chomsky
- Children are born with grammatical rules common to all language
-Use input to learn parameters of language
What is Bootstrapping? (linguistic approach)
Children use their knowledge to make inferences about other aspects of language
What is the Cognitive Theory? (Interactionist)
Piaget
-Language is an expression of more general cognitive human activities
-Cognitive prerequisites for language
What is Social Interactionist Theory?
Vygotsky
-Social interaction motivates language learning
What is the Connectionist Theory?
An attempt to visually approximate inner workings of the brain
-Relevant to modeling an array of cognitive processes
What is Evidence Based Practice? (EPB)
Using a combination of;
-Clinical Expertise
-Best Research Evidence
-Patient Values & Preferences
Links theory, science, and practice.
Why is language input important in terms of development?
Language is learned through social interaction
Why was Patricia Kuhl’s study important in terms of language development?
Study supported the theory that language development requires social interaction.
-Mandarin on TV vs. Mandarin in person
What are the Paralinguistic characteristics of Infant-Directed Speech?
Paralinguistic
-High pitch
-Exaggerated pitch contours
-Slow tempo
What are the Syntactic characteristics of Infant-Directed Speech?
Syntactic Features
-Shorter MLU
-Fewer clauses
-More content words (fewer function)
What are the Discourse characteristics of Infant-Directed Speech?
Discourse Features
-More repetitions
-More questions
What is MLU?
Mean Length Utterance
What are the characteristics of Expressive caretaker conversational style?
Prescriptive, fewer utterances, focus on personal-social language
What are the characteristics of Referential caretaker conversational style?
More descriptive, more utterances, greater focus on labeling
-These mothers talk more and use more descriptive language
Why does adult speech need to be at an intermediate level of complexity when speaking to infants/children?
Too simple - children won’t acquire all aspects of grammar
Too complex - child may not be able to extract grammar
What is joint reference / joint attention?
-Attendance to social partners
-Use of language to communicate intentionally with others
Three Stages of Early Communicative Development
- Perlocutionary - Partner perceived
–crying - Illocutionary - intentional (nonverbal)
–pointing - Locutionary - Symbolic
–imitating adults
How do we know what an infant can perceive?
Observe Behaviors
-Habituation Paradigm (sucking rate)
-Heart Rate
-Head Turn
Infants suck faster when…
They notice something new in the environment
-Habituation= sucking rate decreases after new stimuli introduced
-Dishabituation= sucking rate increases after new stimulus presented
What is Categorical Perception?
- Grouping sounds into categories despite acoustic variability
- Differences mentally represented as “not different” or as “different”
When does an infants ability to discriminate non-native sounds begin to decline?
8 months
-Is lost at ~10 months
What is Phonological Deafness?
The inability to discriminate phonemes in non-native languages
How does phonological deafness relate to categorical perception?
Children 10 months or older will filter out phonemes that are not part of the phonetic inventory of their native language
Why are infants perceptual abilities crucial to language acquisition?
-Assists in segmenting the stream of speech
-Necessary for subsequent word acquisition
-Ability is lost around 10 months (phonological deafness)
The infant’s vocal tract is… (in relation to an adults)
-Shorter
-Wider in relation to length
-Flatter (no teeth)
-Shorter pharyngeal tract
What aspect of an infants physiology allows breathing and nursing at the same time?
Orientation of the velum
When does the transition to oral breathing occur? Why is it important?
-Occurs around 6 months
-Necessary for the production of oral sounds
Oller’s 1st Stage
0;0 - 0;2
Reflexive
Oller’s 2nd Stage
0;02 - 0;4
Cooing / Gooing / Control of Phonation
Oller’s 3rd Stage
0;4 - 0;6
Expansion / Vocal Play
Oller’s 4th Stage
0;6 - 0;10
Canonical babbling
Oller’s 5th Stage
0;10 - ~0;15
Jargon / Variegated Babbling
(Advanced forms)
Characteristics of Reflexive Vocalizations (0-2)
crying, fussing
Vegatative - coughing, burping,
Mostly vowel-like
Some consonants (glottal/velar)
Characteristics of Cooing (2-4)
-Greater variety of sounds
-back consonants/vowels
-less crying
-beginning of laughter/chuckling
Characteristics of Expansion/Vocal Play (4-6)
-Variation of pitch/volume
-Experimenting with vocal apparatus
Characteristics of Canonical Babbling (6-10)
-Shift from back sounds to front sounds (m,b,d)
-Sequences of CV syllables
-Reduplicated babbling
-Variegated babble (variety)
Characteristics of Jargon/Variegated Babbling (10-15)
-Stops, nasals,fricatives,glides
-Phonemes are typically those which appear in first words
-Canonical syllables are building blocks for words
What is Jargon?
-Conversational babble with stress/intonation
-Takes on characteristics of ambient language
-Vocalizations paired with communicative intent (eye contact, gestures)
