Language

Question 1

Language Aquisition Timeline

Answer 1

Speech perception
Preparation for production
First words
Putting words together
Conversational skills
Later development

Question 2

Speech Perception

Answer 2

• First step – figuring out sounds of native language (begins in womb)
• Use habituation to assess what infants know
• Habituation & speech perception
• -Play “ba…ba…ba….”
• -THEN switch to “pa” and see how baby reacts
• –1- and 4-month-olds sucking rates increased with pa

Question 3

Word Segmentation

Answer 3

• Infant-Directed Speech or Motherese
• -Positive emotion, exaggeration, slower, high pitched, high to low pitches
• -Exaggerated expressions
• -Seen in Arabic, French, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, deaf mothers – but NOT universal
• -Aids in language development – draws infants’ attention, infants prefer it

Question 4

First Words

Answer 4

-Limited by ability to pronounce words clearly
Simplify words – banana becomes nana

-Early vocab for children in US largely consists of nouns: people, objects, everyday events

Question 5

Word Learning

Answer 5

• Holophrastic period – one word used to express whole phrase
• Mine! Juice! Play?
• Vocab around 50 words - 18 months
• Vocabulary spurt
• Sources –
• -Joint attention
• -Mutual exclusivity
• -Association

Question 6

Association

Answer 6

With repeated exposure, words become associated with their referents.

Question 7

Overgeneralization/Overextension or Undergeneralization/Underextension EXAMPLE

Answer 7

own dog name oliver sees another dog…oliver is the only one thats a dog or sees horse and calls a dog
DEF: Underextension refers to [Page 152]applying a word more narrowly than it is usually applied so that the word’s use is restricted to a single object. Overextension refers to applying a word too broadly

Question 8

Putting words together

Answer 8

-First Sentences - Simple sentences by end of 2nd year

• First sentences are two words – More juice
• -Telegraphic speech: nonessential elements missing
• Grammar
• -Set of rules for how linguistic elements should be combined
• -Some words (in English) are irregular – men and went
• –Children initially use wrong terms – overregularization errors

Question 9

Conversational Skills

Answer 9

-Collective monologues - child’s turn has nothing to do with what other child said

EXAMPLE:
Sam: I love playing house. I make my bear be the baby.
Lucy: Balloons are my favorite – I really like red ones!
Sam: And then I make my baby some lunch, like mac and cheese
Lucy: That’s why I like birthdays because they have balloons.

Question 10

Later Development

Answer 10

• Age 5 or 6 on – continue to develop language
• -Learn words have multiple meanings – jokes/puns
• By Kindergarten = 10,000 words
• By 5th grade = 50,000 words
• By College = 200,000 words (and growing!)

Question 11

Fast mapping

Answer 11

a process of quickly acquiring and retaining a word after hearing it applied a few time

Question 12

Vocabulary spurt

Answer 12

a period of rapid vocabulary learning that occurs between 16 and 24 months of age

Question 13

Telegraphic Speech

Answer 13

Two-word sentences, such as “Kitty come,” or “Mommy milk.” Like a telegram, it includes only a few essential words.

Question 14

true or false. When infants are born, they are only able to hear the sound contrasts in their native language

Answer 14

false