Language Development Flashcards
To which types of sounds do infants have a preference for?
- preference to speech sounds over artificial
- prefer mother’s voice
- prefer native language
What are some evidences that bilingual develop two separate linguistic systems?
Progression of language development is similar for bilingual and monolingual
- same vocabulary size when combining both languages
Select language they used based on conversational partner
Language mixing in adults bilinguals is normal
- 90% of bilingual parents mix their languages in speech
Describe the High Amplitude Sucking Procedure
Discrimination→ Use of habituation paradigm
- present stimuli until sucking has declined significantly (e.g. by 20%)
- test phase→ Hears new speech stimulus every time produces a strong
suck
Preference→ 2 different stimuli are played on alternating minutes each time a strong
suck is produced
- number of strong sucks more important for one stimulus indicate preference
Explain the Preferential listening Procedure
Speaker on either side of infant’s head
- when looks at speaker, a recording of speech plays
- look for how long infant look at each side
When do infant lose the ability to distinguish between non native sounds?
8months→ ability to distinguish between non-native speech sounds diminishes
10-12months→ perceptual abilities are narrowed to those sounds that are relevant to their native language
- improves perception in native language
What is word segmentation and when does it appear?
Def→ knowing where words begin and end in fluent speech
- begins around 7months
—>use of statistical learning
What are the two strategies used by infants to segment words?
Stress patterning and Distribution of speech sounds
What are the developmental milestones of language?
- 2 months→ Cooing and gurgling
- 7 months→ Babbling
- 12months→ First words
- 18months→ Knows 50words
What is cooing?
Around 2months
- Drawn around vowel
- help gain motor control over vocalizations
- elicits reactions from caregivers
—>no language exposure needed
What is babbling?
Around 7months
- Repetitive consonant-vowel syllables
- babbling similar across languages/ cannot recognize language of infant
Manual babbling→ deaf infants exposed to sign language babble with repetitive hand movements
—>language exposure critical for babbling
What are the functions of babbling?
- Social function→ Practicing turn-taking in a dialogue
- Learning function→ Signal that the infant is alert and ready to learn
When do infants start to understand words?
6 months
What are some common mispronunciations when children first learn to talk?
- Often mispronounced in predictable ways
- Substitute difficult sounds for easier sounds
- Re-order sounds to put easy sound first
What are the limitations to infants’ first words?
- Overextension→ using a word in a broader context than is appropriate (ex: dog to all 4 legged animal)
- Underextension→ using a word in a more limited context than appropriate (ex: cat only for family’s pet)
What are the assumptions about language that help infants to learn words and explain them?
Mutual exclusivity
Whole-object assumption
Grammatical form
Shape bias
Cross-situational word learning
Pragmatic cues
Adult’s intentionality
