Language Acquisition Flashcards
Language
communication system consisting of sounds, morphemes, words, and rules for combining all of these
Inateness Hypothesis
humans are genetically predisposed to learn and use language
Linguistic Universals
basic features shared by all languages
Universal Grammar
the theoretically inborn set of structural characteristics shared by all languages
Homesign
gestures made up in the home, when signed language is not available. Extremely limited and without grammar
Imitation Theory
language acquisition theory that children learn language by listening to the speech around them and reproducing what they hear
Reinforcement Theory
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 incorrect forms
Active Construction of a Grammar Theory
children invent the rules of grammar themselves
Connectionist Theories
assume that children learn language by creating neural connections in the brain. The child develops such connections through exposure to language by using language
Social Interaction Theory
assumes that children acquire language through social interaction, with older children and adults in particular
Child-directed speech
slow and high-pitched and contains many repetitions, simplified syntax, exaggerated intonation, and a simple and concrete vocabulary
High Amplitude Sucking (HAS)
infants are given a special pacifier that is connected to a sound-generating system. Each suck on the pacifier generates a noise, and infants learn quickly that their sucking produces the noise.
Conditioned Head-Turn procedure (HT)
experimental technique usually used with infants between five and eighteen months with two phases: conditioning and testing. During the conditioning phase, the infant learns to associate a change in sound with the activation of visual reinforcers, first presented at the same time and then in succession, such that the infant begins to anticipate the appearance of the visual reinforcers and look at them before they are activated. During the testing phase, when the infant looks to the visual reinforcers immediately after a change in sound, it suggests that the infant has perceived the change in sound, thereby demonstrating the ability to discriminate between the two sounds involved
VOT: Voice Onset time
the length of time between the release of a consonant and the onset of voicing, that is, when the vocal folds start vibrating
Babble
producing sequences of vowels and consonants if they are acquiring spoken language, or producing hand movements if they are acquiring signed language
Repeated/canonical babbling
starts around the age of seven to ten months. The continual repetition of syllables helps the infant practice a sequence of consonant and vowel sounds. (mamamama)
Variegated babbling
10-12 months. infant strings together different syllables as in [buɡɑbimo].
Attention getter
Word or phrase used to initiate an address to children
Attention holder
A tactic used to maintain children’s attention for extended amounts of time
Bilingual
State of commanding two languages; having linguistic competence in two languages. In machine translation, a system that can translate between only one language pair
Code-Switching
Using words or structural elements from more than one language within the same conversation
Complexive Concept
A term used in the study of child language acquisition. A group of terms that a child refers to with a single word for which it is not possible to single out any one unifying property
Conversational Turn
The contributions to a conversation made by one speaker from the time that she takes the floor from another speaker to the time that she passes the floor on to another speaker
Critical period
Age span, usually described as lasting from birth to the onset of puberty, during which children must have exposure to language and must build the critical brain structures necessary in order to gain native speaker competence in a language
