Grammatical Development Flashcards
WHEN DO CHILDREN LEARN GRAMMAR?
- Until the two word stage, it is difficult to argue that children apply any grammar rules.
a. For example, it’s kind of difficult to see if they are intentionally using the imperative. - As soon as they start to join words, they are applying rules about the order words go in
How do children order their 2 words.
typically in correct grammatical order. “find dolly” and “can you find my dolly” have the same rough word order. Also good example for the content vs grammar stuff.
- Teddy kiss
o Teddy is kissing the cat
- Kiss teddy
o Child is kissing teddy
How much do children in the 2 words stage say per utterance?
Also, at 2 word sentence stage there could be multiple sentences.
“Teddy floor. He sad.” Whole ass story being carried here through 2 word sentences in a cool and sensible order.
Once children move into the telegraphic stage, what methods do they use to develop their utterances? give each step divided by slash and each word by finger space.
1 subject verb/ verb object/ subject verb object.
eg. daddy kick/ kick ball/ daddy kick ball.
2 verb object/ subject verb/ subject verb object.
eg. sit chair/ mummy sit/ mummy sit chair.
3 doing this but adding in a pronoun.
eg. get ball/ my ball/ get my ball.
4 doing this but adding an adjective.
eg. see kitty/ big kitty/ see big kitty.
all of these require semantic understanding to achieve (eg. adjectives but also the concept of possession)
Who did the “simon” case (sign language L1)?
Singleton and Newport
Singleton and Newport (4)
- Demonstrate the function of Universal Grammar in their study of ‘Simon’.
- Simon learned ASL as his L1 (sign language) from parents who had learned it as an L2 after puberty and provided him with imperfect models.
- Results showed Simon learned normal and logical rules and was able to construct an organised linguistic system, despite being exposed to inconsistent input.
- Chomsky developed UG to explain L1 acquisition data, but maintains it also applies to L2 learners who achieve near-native fluency not attributable solely to input and interaction.
Who did the Wug Test?
Jean Berko-Gleason
The Wug test (3)
- She made up some nonsense words and asked children to apply grammatical rules.
a. One Wug, two ??? (Wugs) - Proof that children are applying rules rather than just copying parents saying the plurals, possessives, etc.
- Supports what Chomsky says because their LAD allows them to apply these rules rather than just imitation.
WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MORPHEMES? (2)
- Children learn the rules of morphemes as they develop their language, and they can often get them wrong (I eated it)
- Morphology is key in understanding the formation of new words (neologisms)
morpheme
the smallest grammatical unit of meaning.
Bound morpheme
needs to be added to another morpheme to make sense
Free morpheme
A morpheme that makes sense on it’s own
Affix
A morpheme that can be added to the end or beginning of a word.
Prefix
Affix at the beginning of a word
Suffix
affix at the beginning of a word