Higher Order Semantics Flashcards
Over time what increases as children grow and develop?
Abstract thought
What is the order of the landscape of semantics?
- Lexical Semantics
- Semantic Relations
- Semantic Network
- Contextual Terms
- Higher Order Semantics
Derivational Morphemes are what
These are bound morphemes- prefixes and suffixes that modifying the meaning of the root morpheme.
What are examples of derivational morphemes?
Prefixes: un-, non-, pre-, in-, trans-, dis-
Suffixes: -ly, -ist, -er, -ness, -al, -ment
What ages are associated with the development of derivational morphemes?
No ages/stages! Happens between birth to 40 months including universal meaning, basic structures, similar experiences.
When are derivational morphemes mastered?
Tightly tied to experience, educational system, and the level/type of language around them
How do cultural practices and norms affect communication with the world around you?
Education is extremely diverse across the globe- all of this language and education creates the diverse pattern of how a person may master the derivational morphemes.
Examples of experiential diversity
3 yr olds- 1 child at a home daycare with 6-8 other kids, vs 1 child at home with 1 caregiver vs 1 child who goes to an ECE program 3 days a week from 8-2 vs 1 child who goes to a rigorous 7-7 preschool program at a highly revered private academy
How do kids learn meaning?
Learning how to “mean” is a huge achievement. Meaning develops way beyond individual words!… we have to talk about words and find the meanings between the words!
Higher order semantics
Definitions, Humor, Synonyms and Antonyms, Sem. Absurdities, and Figurative Language
Definitions for HO Semantics
Meta skill: abstract thoughts
Requirements: Subordinate terms, disembodied knowledge, categorization of semantic features, understanding of genre
How do young children connect information to direct meaning?
Information offered by young children is often more relevant to the object or activity denoted by the word than to the meaning of the word itself.
Forrest: “4” (for) “sleep” (rest)
Island: “eye” (first sound) OR “we went to an island!” (showing recognition of the word and connecting it to an experience they had)
Later on, how do older children and adults display knowledge of terms?
information offered by older children and adults is more likely to be universal and criterial (information offered by children is typically personal and incidental)
Forrest: “it has trees”
Island: “it’s a place you go”
With time, how do definitions change in form?
form becomes more conventional -superordinate and restrictive complement.
“An island is a body of land surrounded by water.”
Synonyms must…
recognize critical semantic attributes of the word and retrieve another semantically similar word
Synonyms example
Enormous-Huge
Humorous- Funny
Antonyms must…
recognize critical semantic attributes of the word and retrieve a semantically opposite word with the direct opposing attributes to the original word
How do synonyms and antonyms change the way you use language?
Makes it more sophisticated
Semantic Absurdities are…
Testing what children can realize about incorrect semantics- this is an older practice that is not fully functional given the absurdity- from a meaning standpoint, something doesn’t work, although grammar is okay.
Subordinate Terms Example
Dog falls under animal
Disembodied knowledge example
Not just here and now
Categorization of semantic features example
How to make sense of something- dogs have 4 legs
Understanding of genre what needs to happen
form becomes more conventional- we need superordinate and restrictive compliment
What is the Omnibus test of language?
“The skier descended to the top of the mountain”
If you really think hard, a skier could descend to a mountain (via helicopter or plane) but it doesn’t happen in day-to-day life.
What is wrong with published materials for teaching semantic absurdities?
This is just a test to see if children’s semantics are developed. We don’t need to teach it! Just a discriminating task! Some subskills are applicable but certainly not enough to justify targeting this in treatment but may need to be probed.
What is task hierarchy for semantic absurdities?
The 4 specific subskills for semantic absurdities include: speaker must be able to accurately determine the meaning or meanings of 1 or more key vocab items; compare the meanings of the words (what associated words could I switch out to make this sentence make sense or make it meaningful); selecting a word from an array of possibilities that makes sense
Humor
The majority of things we find funny are language based (besides slapstick, Hoffman doesn’t find that funny) and are anchored in semantics (specifically standup comics- which hoffman does enjoy).
Figurative language includes….
Literal/nonliteral language
What is at the core of figurative language?
Abstraction from the true meaning, variations of semantic meanings
Idioms
without higher order semantic functioning “It’s raining cats and dogs” will be thought of literally (as well as other idioms
Sarcasm
a twist on meanings, if you say something sarcastically it intersects with pragmatics (and semantics)- one foot is in HO semantics and the other in pragmatics
What is higher order semantics all about?
increasing levels of abstraction and reasoning
What 2 functors must you have to function at a higher cognitive level?
Abstraction and reasoning
How do abstraction and reasoning affect students?
Students with SLI and DLD have a lower level of cognition and typically struggle with the areas outlined above (meaning discrimination, humor, etc.)
