Lecture 4-Development of Language Flashcards
Language
- a structured system of sound patterns (words and sentences) that have socially standardised meanings.
- provides human beings with a set of symbols that enable objects, events and processes in the environment to be catalogued.
Language as tool
- promoting communication
- developing social networks-implications for attachment and social bonding
3 components of language
phonology: joining together of units of sound to form words
semantics: a system of meanings associated with words
syntax: rules for the connection of words to form phrases and sentences.
other components
phonemes: units of sound that can differentiate minimally different words
morphemes: smallest grammatical unit in a language
2 types of morphemes
free-function as words
bound-found as parts of words, always with a root.
examples of pre requisites of language
graphic symbols (music) motoric symbols (recall how to tie the knot) gestural symbols (flipping the bird) sensory or iconic symbols (smells and sounds associated with past experiences)
2 purposes to gestural symbols
- representational
- communicative
gestural symbols used for communicative purposes at around 8-10 months
first gestures
waving hand: goodbye
shaking head: no
pointing: drawing others attention to object, person or action.
pretend play
- is a form of symbolic representation
- emerges before spoken language
by 2 years, children can differentiate pretence from reality: Deferred imitation-emerges at end of sensorimotor stage/children can imitate object without object being present.
acquisition of language
- currently accepted that child language is a system unique to children, not miniature version of adult language.
- acquired during childhood through a universal series of stages, each with its own unique features.
- children in all cultural groups progress through the stages of language acquisition in the same sequence:physiological/biological basis for language acquisition.
stages in language acquisition
prelinguistic speech: crying, cooing, babbling
linguistic speech: holophrastic speech, two word utterances, telegraphic speech
prelinguistic speech
approx 12 months of age/established sequence of sounds through which infants progress before uttering first words
crying
earliest means of communication
different sounds, pitches and intensities, signal different meanings :hunger, fatigue, discomfort, anger pain
cooing
- infants make squealing, gurgling sounds that are repetition of vowel sounds
- sounds are sustained for approximately 15-20 seconds
- appears at 6 weeks to 3 months
babbling
- alternating sequence of vowel and consonant sounds which resemble one syllable utterances
- appears at 4 months-6 months of age
- all infants babble, even if profoundly deaf
- infants babble all possible sounds of all possible languages
suggestion: physiological/biological basis for language acquisition
Linguistic speech
Lenneberg (1969)-genuine comprehension of word meaning requires: consistent recognition and use of word in same context.
- ability to conduct phonetic analysis dissecting words into their component phonemes (sounds)
- semantic ability-children recognise that all objects could have names
- ability to analyse sentences or phrases to extract words
3 stages in the acquisition of linguistic speech
holophrastic speech
two word utterances
telegraphic speech
holophrastic speech
- single words that convey different meanings dependent upon the context in which the words are used. e.g.. ball- this is my ball… i want my ball
-Nelson (1973): most common of first 50 words spoken by children 12-24 months of age
names: general (woof woof -dog)/specific (black-one specific dog)
action words: bye bye=go, good bye
modifiers:hot, cold
words that express feelings:no
some grammatical words: for
2 features of holophrastic speech
overextension
underextension
overextension
clark (1973) comon nouns are extended to categories to which they do not apply in adult speech. ex. orange-orange + all fruits we can eat.
- illustrates child’s active involvement in use of language as communication tool
- interim measure-as vocabulary develops, overextended word usage declines.
underextension
anglin (1977) common nouns are applied to more narrowly defined categories than in adult speech. ex. dog-the family pet dog only , not other dogs
2 word sentences
- combination of two words to convey meaning
- unique linguistic system
- not imitation of adult speech
- grammatically correct (subject-verb-object
- 18 months to 22 months ex: more page, more wet
theorists of two word sentence
brown (1973): pivot grammar, all words fall into one of two classes
braine (1963): all children used distinctive two word grammar governed by small set of rules. Meaning of two word sentences is CONTEXT SPECIFIC
braine (1963) 10 broad ideas
identification/description/possession/plurality/recurrence/disappearance/negation/actor-action relations/location/requests
telegraphic speech
- sentences resembling adult telegrams
- sentences comprised primarily of: nouns/verbs
- 24 months
over-regularisation
- feature of telegraphic speech
- children apply general rule for forming a plural (add-s) or a past tense (add-ed) to irregular nouns or verbs. ex: mouses or mices / i goed i went
theorist of overregularization
berko (1958):developed set of nonsense words for which children had to supply plural, past tense and possessive inflections. ex: wug, heaf, quirk
- children extended standard grammatical rules to non sense words
- children were learning rules of grammar not imitating what is heard around them
- unique not imitative
- supports argument that children biologically predisposed to acquire language.
transformational grammar
- 2 to 4 years old
- rules that allow simple declarative statements to be modified to convey a range of more complex meanings: questions/negations/passives/conjunctive assertions (but)/embedded sentences
negation
Bloom (1970): children use negative words to indicate three types of negative meaning: non-existence/rejection/denial-implied or previously spoken statement not true.
questioning sequence
holophrastic: tone of voice (rising intonation)
two word and telegraphic speech: tone of voice (rising intonation)
question words: who, what, where + declarative sentence
question proper: inversion of sentence subject and auxiliary verb
complex sentences
- 2 to 4 years
feature: EMBEDDING (3 to 5 Years)-this syntax allows children to talk about cognitive states, false beliefs and false statements, necessary prerequisite for mastery of theory of mind
language acquisition : biological perspectives- 5 pieces of evidence
- universal sequence
- early responses to language
- physiological evidence
- critical period for language acquisition
- overregularization of grammatical rules
theories of language acquisition
foetuses and newborn infants respond to language in highly sophisticated ways.
decasper & fife (1980): new born babies prefer the voice of their mothers over those of other women (and even their fathers)
physiological evidence in human brain
brain larger left hemisphere
BROCA’S AREA:language production/ability to process grammar
WERNICKE’S AREA: speech comprehension/difficulty to recall names of objects/receptive aphasia-inability to comprehend speech
environmental perspectives: 3 pieces of evidence
imitation-children learn to speak the language heard around them
parentese-simplified language that adults use with young language learners
necessity of social interaction for language acquisition
features of parentese
- simple, short sentences
- repetition
- exaggerated intonation contours
- long pauses between sentences
- emphasis of most important words
- echoing (repeating)
- prompting (rephrasing if child not understood)
- expansion (restating)
- recasting (rephrasing in different way while maintaining the original meaning)
Parentese theories
Cross (1976): children primary caregivers used parentese, progressed significantly faster in acquisition of language than children whose mothers did not use parentese.
features: expansions/repetitions/recasts/shorter sentences
conclusions
- first 12 years, children develop linguistically in complex ways
- these developments are the result of the interplay of biological (maturational) factors and influences fromm the environment
- developments in cognition and language enable the infant and child to develop SOCIALLY in sophisticated ways.
- developments in cognition enable the child to understand that he has an IDENTITY SEPARATE from that of others in his social world.
- this recognition establishes the basis for the development of SELF-CONCEPT
- the development of a sophisticated set of symbols (language) enables the child to communicate his THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS to others in his social world.
- this ability establishes the basis for the DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONSHIPS and the social cognitions and perceptions.
