Language Development Flashcards
How is language first learnt?
Without direct instruction.
What is learnt alongside language when a baby is first trying to make sense of it?
What language essentially is, as well as its purposes.
What kind of knowledge does language help babies to acquire?
Their knowledge of the world.
What do babies develop at the same time as their language acquisition process?
Their memories, learning strategies, and brains.
From which gestational week are foetuses able to hear?
From the 24th gestational week.
What do newborns prefer to non-native language?
The language that they were exposed to in-utero.
What do newborns prefer to unfamiliar female voices?
The voices of their mothers.
Which two concepts provide evidence for prenatal learning?
- Newborns preferring the language which they were exposed to in-utero to a non-native language.
- Newborns preferring the voices of their mothers over unfamiliar female voices.
What varies according to the type of language that a newborn is exposed to (familiar versus unfamiliar)?
Their brain response.
What kind of speech is used all around the world?
Infant- or child-directed speech.
Which concept extends to sign language?
The concept of infant- or child-directed speech.
What are four features of infant- or child-directed speech?
- High pitch
- Exaggerated intonation
- Repetition
- A slow rate
What are two purposes of infant- or child-directed speech?
- The clarification of boundaries.
- The emphasis of important words.
What type of speech is preferred by infants?
Infant- or child-directed speech.
What is an example of perceptual narrowing?
The ability for newborns to perceive foreign sound distinctions.
Which phonological system do babies learn?
Those relating to their native languages.
What are susceptible to being lost between the ages of six to 12 months?
Sound distinctions that are not contrasted in the language being learnt by a baby.
What does a child do during the language acquisition phase referred to as the ‘babbling’ phase?
They will produce language sounds but will not use them to create meaningful words.
When does the ‘babbling’ phase of language acquisition begin?
When babies are approximately between the ages of five to seven months.
What does babbling consist of?
Sounds belonging to the language to which the baby is frequently exposed.
What purpose does babbling serve?
A communicative one
What precedes word production among babies?
Word comprehension
When does word comprehension typically occur among babies?
Between the ages of eight to ten months.
When does word production typically occur among babies?
Between the ages of ten to 20 months.
What are two faults associated with initial word production?
- Undergeneralisation
- Overgeneralisation
What is an example of an undergeneralisation?
A baby believing that the word ‘teddy’ is only applicable to their own teddy bear.
What is an example of an overgeneralisation?
A baby believing that the word ‘tiger’ is applicable to all animals with a feline appearance (such as a cat).
What happens following the gradual process of the acquisition of the first 50 to 100 words?
A vocabulary explosion
When does a so-called vocabulary explosion tend to occur during the process of language acquisition?
Generally between the ages of 16 to 20 months.
When do children start to produce two-word utterances, such as “throw ball”?
Between the ages of 18 and 24 months.
At what age do children begin to use longer and more complete utterances?
By the age of two-and-a-half.
