Language Acquisition Flashcards
Innate Hypothesis
A hypothesis that humans are genetically predisposed to learn and use language.
Universal Grammar
The theory that posits a set of grammatical characteristics shared by all natural languages. Also, the name of this set of shared characteristics.
Imitation Theory
Theory of language acquisition that claims that children acquire language by listening to the speech around them and reproducing what they hear.
Reinforcement Theory
Theory of language acquisition that says that children learn to speak like adults because they are praised, rewarded, or otherwise reinforced when they use the right forms and are corrected when they use the wrong ones.
Active Construction of a Grammar
Theory of language acquisition that says that children acquire a language by inventing rules of grammar based on the speech around them.
Connectionist Theories
Theory of language acquisition that claims that children learn language through neural connections in the brain. A child develops such connections through exposure to language and by using language.
Social Interaction Theory
Theory of language acquisition that claims that children acquire language through social interaction - in particular with older children and adults - and prompt their caregivers to supply them with the appropriate language experience they need.
Babbling
A phrase in child language acquisition during which the child produces meaningless sequences of consonants and vowels. Generally begins around the age of six months.
One-word stage
Stage in first-language acquisition during which children can produce only one word at a time.
Two-word stage
Stage in first-language acquisition at which children produce two-word utterances in addition to one-word utterances.
Linguistic Universals
Property believed to be held in common by all natural languages.
First-Language (L1) Acquisition
The process by which children acquire the lexicon and grammatical rules of their native language.
Second-Language (L2) Acquisition
Acquisition of a second language as a teenage or adult.
Principles
According to UG (Universal Grammar), the learner’s initial state is supposed to consist of a set of universal principles common to all human languages.
Parameters
Determines the way in which languages can vary.
Head Parameter
Specifies the position of the head in relation to its compliments within phrases for different languages.
Overgeneralization
In the study of child language acquisition, a relationship between child and adult application of rules relative to certain contexts: a process in which children extend the application of linguistic rules to contexts beyond those in the adult language.
Complexive Concept
A term used in the study of children language acquisition. A group of items (abstract or concrete) that a child refers to with a single word for which it is not possible to single out any one unifying property.
Underextension
Application of a word to a smaller set of objects than is appropriate for mature adult speech or the usual definition of the word.
Structure Dependency
This principle states that language is organized in such a way that it crucially depends on the structural relationships between elements in a sentence.
