infant language development Flashcards
phonological development
learning about the sound system of a language
- every language has a distinct set of phonemes
- adults are only able to discriminate from their native language but babies can discriminate many languages
phonotactics
the permissible structure of syllables, groups of consonants and sequences of vowels in a language
statistical learning
the ability of infants to perceive and learn regularities in language, such as which speech sounds make up words
infants producing sounds
- crying: not all cries are equal
coos at 2-3 months - bables or canonical syllables (6-7 months)
- conventional words: 12 months
receptive language
the ability to understand language and the meaning of words and phrases
productive language
the words that infants produce
- increases more slowly than receptive language
- first words - 12 months
- vocabulary spurt at 18-24 months
- multi-word utterances at 24 months
fast mapping
children’s learning of a new word with only one or two exposures
words in early vocabularies
children who speak similar languages, tend to have their first words be simple nouns referring to objects
underextension
the mapping of words to an overly narrow class of objects
- ex: knowing rubber duckie but not real duck
overextension
overgeneralizing of words to an overly broad class of referents
syntax
set of rules that govern the ordering of parts of speech to form meaningful sentences
syntactic bootstrapping
use of the syntax of a sentence to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words
telegraphic speech
a form of communication used commonly by toddlers that is characterized by simple 2 word sentences
- mostly in grammatical order
morpheme
the smallest unit of meaning in language that cannot be divided further
over-regularization
toddler will hear parents say things and then say them right but will then learn grammar rules and start getting those rules wrong
actually a sign of progressing
pragmatic development
learning how language is used in social contexts
proto-conversation
caregiver-infant interactions that include word, sound and gestures which are well-timed and responsive to each other
- the way infants understand turn taking in conversations
non-verbal social cues
infants use other’s gesture like pointing and eye gaze to learn new words
- using social cues to learn new words
proto-imperative
infant using a gesture to get something they want (pointing at a toy)
proto-declarative
infants using a gesture to point something out in their environment
- trying to show something
family context
- parents and caregivers are usually infants first language partners
- caregivers support language learning by using infant directed speech, amount of diversity in language, responsiveness
infant diected speech
- unique way that adults talk to infants
- higher pitch and more exaggerated intonation
- captures attention and helps babies discriminate among speech sounds which is good because they could have longer convos where they get more words
diversity in speech to infants
amount of language: total number of words that an infant hears
- lexical diversity: number of different words
- reading is very important and helps with this and introduces to words that dont come up naturally
contingent responsiveness
caregivers prompt, attuned responses to infant behaviours
- ex: baby pick up ball and adult say “look a ball”
- parents who are more contingent are supporting language development
the 30 million age gap
by the time kids are ready to go to school, kids from professional families have heard about 30 million more words than kids from low income families
simultaneous bilinguals
- children who hear two languages from infancy
- hearing two languages at home
dual language learners
children who learn 2 languages because they are exposed to a new native language at home that differs from their community
- one at home the other at school
similarities in monolinguals and bilinguals
- same ability to discriminate among speech sounds
- same total vocabulary but it is smaller and proportional in each language
- same general trajectory for learning speech and words
unique precesses for bilinguals
- simultaneous bilinguals are less sensitive to mispronunciations and accept more variations in the words that they know
- exposure to accented speech
- learning words: more willing to accept two labels for the same thing
communicative accommodation
the adjustments that caregivers make to language and behaviours when communicating with young infants
- child centred vs situation centred
child centred
- common in north america
- talk about things of interest for infant
- use special register
- ## high responsiveness to infant
situation centred
- parents talk about what is relevant
- use adult register
- responsibility of child to figure out whats going on
channels of communication
different cultural communities have different channels of communication like gaze, language, touch and gestures
ex: moms in boston speak to their babies more but moms in kenya hold their babies more
