Language Development Flashcards
Theories of Language Development
what are the 3 major theories of language acquisition
1) learning
2) nativist
3) social interactionist
Theories of Language Development
according to language theory, language developmentis the result of what 2 things?
imitation & reinforcement
Theories of Language Development
according to nativist theory, humans are ____ ____ to acquire language.
biologically programmed
Theories of Language Development
define language acquisition device according to Chomsky’s nativist theory
an inborn linguistic processor that enables children to understand language & speak in rule-governed ways
Theories of Language Development
research findings provide evidence for Chomsky’s nativist theory by showing that all languages have what and that all children what?
the same basic underlying grammatic structure; pass through the same stages of language acquistion at similar ages
Theories of Language Development
according to social interactionist theory, language acquistion depends on a combination of ____ and ____ factors.
biological & social factors
Theories of Language Development
research findings supporting social interactionist theory have shown caregivers often use what type of speech when talking to young children
child-directed speech (and this speech facilitates language development
Theories of Language Development
child-directed speech (aka parentese) involves what characteristics
- speaking slowly
- a high-pitched voice
- restricted vocabulary
- simple repetitive sentences
- placing exaggerated emphasis on key words
- focusing on present events
Components of Language
list the 5 major components of language
1) Phonology
2) Morphology
3) Syntax
4) Semantics
5) Pragmatics
Components of Language
define Phonology
the rules for using phonemes
Components of Language
what are phonemes
the smallest units of sound in a language (each language has a limited number of phonemes e.g., English has about 50 phonemes [c, t, th])
Components of Language
define Morphology
the rules governing the use of morphemes
Components of Language
what are morphemes
the smallest units of language that have meaning
Components of Language
free morphemes vs bound morphemes
free morphemes
minimal units of meaning that stand alone as words (e.g., test, certain)
bound morphemes
must be combined with at least 1 other morpheme (e.g., pre in pretest, un in uncertain)
Components of Language
define Syntax
the rules that determine how words can be combined into sentences
Components of Language
syntax allows us to recognize that sentences with a different level of complexity and order of words have the same ____. Give an example.
meaning; The client signed the consent form means the same as The consent form was signed by the client.
Components of Language
define Semantics
the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences; focuses on their literal meaning (e.g., dictionary definition of the word
Components of Language
define pragmatics
the use and meaning of verbal & nonverbal language in different social contexts
Components of Language
the following are examples of what?
- adhereing to conversational rules (e.g., turn-taking, staying on topic)
- using language that is appropriate for the listener or situation (e.g., using different language when talking to an employer or a child), appropriately using and understanding body language (e.g., gestures, facial expressions)
- appropriately using & understanding non-literal language (e.g., idioms, slang, humor, sarcasm)
pragmatic skills
Crying
list the 3 types of cries immediately following an infant’s birth
1) a low-pitched rhythmic cry
2) a shrill
3) a loud high-pitched cry followed by silence
Crying
a low-pitched rhythmic cry signals what
signals hunger or discomfort
Crying
a shrill cry signals what?
anger or frustration
Crying
a loud high-pitched cry followed by silence signals what? silence is due to what?
pain; silence signals breath-holding
Research on Crying
Bell & Ainsworth (1972) found that, when mothers in their study responded quickly and consistently to their crying infants during the first few months of life, the infants…
a) cried more in subsequent months
b) cried less in subsequent months
c) cried the same amount in subsequent months
d) did not cry in subsequent months
b) cried less in subsequent months
Research on Crying
IJzendoorn and Hubbard (2000) failed to replicate the Bell and Ainsworth study with a larger sample and found that, when mothers ignored their crying infants during a nine-week period, the infants…
a) cried more frequently during the next nine weeks
b) cried less frequently during the next nine weeks
c) cried the same frequently during the next nine weeks
d) did not cry during the next nine weeks
b) cried less frequently during the next nine weeks
Research on Crying
to reconcile inconsistencies in research on crying infants, some experts suggest that the optimal response depends on what?
the severity of a distressed infant’s cry
Research on Crying
Siegler et al. (2003) suggest that If a parent responds quickly to severe distress but less promptly to minor upset, the infant may learn what?
to regulate distress caused from a minor upset on their own and hence end up crying less overall
Language Milestones
list the 6 stages of language development
1) Cooing
2) Babbling
3) Echolalia
4) First Words
5) Holophrastic Speech
6) Telegraphic Speech
Language Milestones
characteristics of Cooing
associated age range(s), features related to language, & examples
- 6 to 8 weeks of age
- repeating vowel-like sounds
(e.g., “ooo” and “aaaeeeooo”)
Language Milestones
characteristics of Babbling
associated age range(s), features related to language, & examples
- 3 to 6 months of age
- utterance of single consonant-vowel combinations
(e.g., “ba” and “goo”)
Language Milestones
babbling is followed by ____, which is the repetition of consonant-vowel combinations. Give examples.
canonical (reduplicated) babbling
(e.g., “mamamama” and “babababa”)
Language Milestones
Over time, infants exhibit ____ babbling, which is more complext and consists of different consonant-vowel combinations. Give examples.
variegated babbling
(e.g., “bamagubu”)
Language Milestones
a child’s babbling initially includes sounds from all languages, but by about ____ of age, it narrows to the ____ and ____ patterns of the child’s native language.
- 9 months of age
- sounds and intonation patterns
Language Milestones
similarities & differences of babbling among infants who are congenitally deaf
similarities
* begin babbling at about the same time as or slightly later than hearing infants
differences
* babble less frequently
* babbling consists of a more limited range of sounds
* vocalizations decrease & eventually stop unless they are provided with hearing aids or cochlear implants
Language Milestones
when deaf & hearing infants are regularly exposed to ASL soon after birth, they begin to exhibit ____ babbling at what age range? It consists of what behaviors?
- manual babbling
- 6 to 8 months
- repetitive hand movements that replicate components of ASL
Language Milestones
characteristics of Echolalia
associated age range(s), features related to language, & examples
- begins at about 9 month of age
- repeating speech sounds & words uttered by another person without understanding their meaning
Language Milestones
characteristics of First Words
associated age range(s), features related to language, & examples
children are able to understand words by about 8 or 9 months of age
* don’t say their first words to express meaning until 10 to 15 months of age
* usually refer to familiar people & objects (e.g., “mommy” and “cup”) and actions (e.g., “up” and “go”)
Language Milestones
beginning at about ____ of age, children exhibit a rapid increase in vocabulary, which is referred to as the ____ ____.
- 18 months of age
- vocabulary spurt
Language Milestones
characteristics of Holophrastic Speech
associated age range(s), features related to language, & examples
- begins between 12 and 15 months og age
- consists of using a single word to express an entire thought, with the meanin gof the word depending on the context & the child’s tone of voice
(e.g., when a child says “juice,” she may mean “I want juice,” “I finished my juice,” or “I spilled the juice.”)
Language Milestones
characteristics of Telegraphic Speech
associated age range(s), features related to language, & examples
- begins between 18 and 24 months of age
- consists of 2 content words (nouns, verbs, & adjectives) and amits articles, conjunctions, and other function words
(e.g., “want juice,” “doggie gone,” and “good boy”)
Language Milestones
a later phase of the telegraphic speech stage is characterized by a child using ____ words and then complete sentences
3 or more words
Critical Period for Language Acquisition
a critical period for language acquisition has been obtained from studies of children who…
- were raised in social isolation & deprived of exposure to spoken language
- learned 2nd languages at different ages
- were deaf or hard-of-hearing & learned ASL at different ages
Critical Period for Language Acquisition
research on the critical period (aka sensitive period) for language acquisition confirmed that there is a strong negative relationship between age and what?
exposure to spoken or signed language and language proficiency
Critical Period for Language Acquisition
some research suggests that the critical period for first-language acquisition may extend into…
late childhood or early adolescence
Critical Period for Language Acquisition
full proficiency with grammar, syntax, and phonetics requires ____ to language. For example, Friedmann & Rusou (2015) found that the critical period for the acquisition of syntax in a first language is ____.
early exposure; the first year of life
Critical Period for Language Acquisition
____ and ____ size are less affected by age of exposure
semantics & vocabulary
Language Development: Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children
experts agree that exposure to language from birth is essential for language development which, in turn, supports what 2 other areas of development
cognitive & socioemotional
Language Development: Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children
research findings suggest that cochlear implants and hearing aids vary in terms of their benefits for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children and can cause what?
language deprivation
Language Development: Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children
cochlear implants are ordinarily not implants until children are how old?
12 months of age or older
Language Development: Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children
there is evidence that what benefits the acquisition of spoken language?
sign language
Language Errors
language errors occur at aroun ____ of age and include what 3 types
- 2 to 3 years old
- overextension, underextension, & overregularization
Language Errors
match the language error description with the correct type of error: overextension, underextension, or overregularization. Give examples of each.
a) occurs when a child uses a word too narrowly
b) occurs when a child misapplies rules for plurals & past tense
c) occurs when a child uses a word too broadly
a) underextension (e.g., using the word “doggie” to refer to only the family pet)
b) overregularization(e.g., saying “foots” instead of “feet” and “telled” instead of “told”)
c) overextension (e.g., using the word “doggie” not only to refer to dogs but also to all furry, four-legged animals)
Language Development
paralanguage is often used to modify the meaning of what is said or to express emotion and refers to ____ something is said
how something is said
Language Development
list the types of paralanguage
- prosody
- nonwords
- nonlinguistic sounds
- some authors describe gestures, facial expressions, & other types of body language as being part of paralanguage while others use the term kinesics to refer to the types of body language used for communication
Language Development
prosody refers to what?
the stress, rhythm, tone, & intonation of speech
Language Development
tone refers to… and is usually used to express…
- a change in pitch for syllables or entire words
- emotion
Language Development
intonation refers to… and is used to…
- changes in pitch over entire phrases or sentences
- express emotion, mark the beginning or end of a phrase or sentence, & indicate whether a sentence is a statement or question
Language Development
define language brokering according to Morales et al. (2012)
the act of translating and interpreting within immigrant families by children and adolescents for their parents, other family members, & older adults
Language Development
list the positive and negative effects of language brokering
positive
* the development of strong interpersonal skills
* high levels of self-confidence
* high levels of academic self-efficacy
negative
* elevated levels of anxiety, frustration, & embarrassment
* role reversals
Language Development
what are the negative effects on children of role reversals as a result of high-frequency language-brokering families
- forces parents to become overly dependent on the child
- greater child-parent conflict
Language Development
define code-switching in the context of language development & give 4 examples
- bi- and multilingual speakers’ use of more than one language or language variety within a single interaction or conversational turn
- examples:
- using code-switching to compensate for a language deficiency in one language
- foster rapport & solidarity
- express an emotion or attitude
- strengthen or soften a request
