Grammatical development Flashcards
Successful language requires knowledge of…
…vocabulary, grammar and morphology.
Are vocabulary, grammar and morphology skills innate or are we taught how to do them/do we develop them?
We develop these skills rather are than taught them by others
Between which ages do we transition from word-gesture combinations to joining 2 words (= telegraphic speech)?
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years-old
- we focus on high-content words and omit smaller, less important words
What is a morpheme?
The smallest unit of language that carries meaning (changes the meaning of a sentence)
What types of morphemes are there and what are they?
Free morphemes - occur in large numbers and in isolation
Bound morphemes - occur in small numbers and are always attached to a free morpheme (change the meaning of the free morpheme)
When we combine morphemes, what does it create?
Complex words
What does MLU stand for and mean?
Mean Length Utterance
- the number of morphemes in a phrase/sentence
How many morphemes does ‘my brother’s hamster’ have in it?
4
Who created the stages of grammatical development, including the MLU at each stage?
Brown (1973)
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what abilities do infants have at stage 1?
- infants only use the most important words
- grammatical function words are often omitted
- infants can understand word order
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what is the MLU at stage 1?
MLU = 1.75
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what abilities do infants have at stage 2?
- they add morphemes to their sentences
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what is the MLU at stage 2?
MLU = 2.25
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what abilities do infants have at stage 3?
- they ask questions
- use negation (= a grammatical construction that contradicts part/all of a sentence’s meaning)
- use copula (= link verbs)
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what is the MLU at stage 3?
MLU = 2.75
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what abilities do infants have at stage 4?
- use complex sentences
- use regular past tense
- use 3rd person
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what is the MLU at stage 4?
MLU = 3.50
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what abilities do infants have at stage 5?
- use more complex grammar
- can coordinate noun and verb phrases
- can use conjunctions (= parts of speech that connect words and sentences)
In Brown’s (1973) stage model, what is the MLU at stage 5?
MLU = 4.0
There is little variation between individuals in terms of skills they have at each stage but the order that behaviours appear can differ between children.
True/false?
False
There is individual variation but regularity in the order in which grammatical behaviours appear
Children’s utterances have errors of COMMISSION or OMISSION?
Omission - they miss out words rather than add extra
- their speech/sentences look like simplified versions of the adult form
What are the 3 theories of language development?
- Learning theory
- Language learnability problem (Baker’s Paradox)
- Chomsky’s universal grammar
What does Learning theory state about how grammar develops?
We learn to produce grammatical sentences through imitation and reinforcement
Skinner (1957) said that in verbal behaviour under stimulus control, we must take 3 aspects into account. What are these aspects?
- Stimulus
- Response
- Reinforcement
Skinner (1957) said that the contingency between the 3 aspects involved in verbal behaviour under stimulus control is exemplified when…
…the child receives reinforcement when they label an object.
What can indicate the grammaticality of the child’s utterances?
Parental approval/disapproval –> reinforces correct utterances
What are the 3 premises of Baker’s Paradox?
- Productivity
- Arbitrariness
- No negative evidence
In Baker’s Paradox, what does ‘productivity’ mean?
A pattern is productive if an unbounded number of items represent it
In Baker’s Paradox, what does the ‘arbitrariness’ premise state?
There are arbitrary exceptions to productive patterns