Lexical development

Question 1

Naom Chomsky

Answer 1

• Nativism
• we are predisposed to acquire language
• we have a Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
• this is the reason there is a global capacity of children to learn language at the same rate = Universal Grammar
• reason for virtuous errors (runned, sheeps): children make their own language through their own logic rather than what they have observed entirely through adults

Question 2

Stephen Pinker

Answer 2

• Nativism
• developed on Chomsky’s theory
• furthers the theory saying language acquisition is a human instinct and we have a natural urge to learn, rather than a biological switch in our brain
• lang develops in a child spontaneously without effort / instruction
• babbling = practicing
• suggests language is caused by dedicated circuitry that evolves In the human brain (mother board of connections)

Question 3

Criticisms of Nativism

Answer 3

• undermines role and influence of care givers
• critical period hypothesis: abused children often don’t fully develop syntax and grammar, children must be exposed to language by a certain age (Genie case)

Question 4

Tomasello

Answer 4

• cognitive-linguistic approach
• rejected Chomsky’s Universal Grammar
• we have a need to cooperate and communicate
• not a biological thing, just a desire to be social
• e.g. we learn to do things like run because we want to experience it
• acknowledges the importance of caregivers and ranges of contexts

Question 5

Jean Piaget: Constructivism

Answer 5

• Constructivism
• Early Tomasello
• comes from the desire to communicate

Question 6

Jean Piaget: Constructivism Stages

Answer 6

Sensorimotor stage:

• 0-2 years
• egocentric
• some awareness of object permanence

Pre-operational stage:

• 2-6/7 years
• most important to what might be on the transcript in exam!!
• become capable of representing the word symbolically
• child remains egocentric
• begin to question more

Concrete operational:

• 6/7-11/12 years
• stops being as egocentric
• can notice patterns more

Question 7

Lee Vygotsky

Answer 7

• social constructivism
• children are active in the creation of their own knowledge
• focused on role of caregiver
• zone of proximal development: the area between what a child can do and what is beyond their reach, where a caregiver offers support to facilitate learning

Question 8

Lee Vygotsky: constructivism Stages

Answer 8

Primitive speech stage:

• 0-2 years
• begins to learn to speak through imitation
• responds emotionally and socially (laughing and crying)

Naive psychological stage:

• 2-4 years
• realize words are symbols for objects: curious

Egocentric speech stage:

• 4-7 years
• talk aloud to themselves as they do tasks / solve problems (private speech)

In-growth speech stage:

• 8+ years
• private speech declines and becomes more internalised (inner speech)

Question 9

Jerome Bruner

Answer 9

• Interactionism
• rejected Chomsky’s LAD
• focused on the importance of caregivers
• suggested Language Acquisition Support System (LASS)
• caregivers provide opportunities for children to acquire
• focused on child-directed (CDS) speech and scaffolding (support provided by caregivers through modelling how speech ought to take place

Question 10

CDS: Expansion

Answer 10

where the caregiver elaborates on an utterance given by the child

Question 11

CDS: Recasts

Answer 11

where the caregiver repeats a child’s utterance but corrects it slightly

Question 12

CDS: mitigated response

Answer 12

• where a command is given but disguised in the form of a question

Question 13

CDS:diminutives

Answer 13

doggie, mummy, horsie

Question 14

other features of CDS:

Answer 14

• high / melodic pitch
• more frequent / longer pauses
• slower clearer speech
• repetition
• more questions
• using nouns rather than pronouns

Question 15

Catherine Snow, 1970

Answer 15

• Parentese

- describes the way parents adapt their speech when interacting with children

Question 16

Stage 1: pre-birth stage

Answer 16

• even before born the baby will recognize mother’s voice

Question 17

Stage 2: pre-verbal stage

Answer 17

• vegetative / crying: 0-4 months
• cooing: 2-6 months
• babbling: 6-12 months
• proto-words (word-like vocalisations): 9-12 months

Question 18

Reduplicated babbling

Answer 18

• simpler
• appears first
• child repeats sounds
• bababababa

Question 19

Variegated babbling

Answer 19

• slightly later
• involves variation in the consonant and vowel sounds
• e.g. daba, manamoo

Question 20

Stage 3: Holophrastic stage

Answer 20

• 12-18 months
• begin to utter first complete words
• use one word in substitution to an entire sentence
• usually concrete nouns
• rely on paralinguistic features (facial expressions, gestures, noises)
• gestalt expressions: allgone, wassat?

Question 21

Stage 4: Two-word stage

Answer 21

• 18 months
• two words together
• e.g. mummy sit
• non-verbal communication decreases
• begin understanding grammar
• Pivot schema (Braine 1963)

Question 22

Braine, 1963: Pivot Schema

Answer 22

• at two-word stage, they use patterns of two word utterances that revolve around pivot words
• pivot words (high frequency) combined with slots (low frequency) to create meaning
• ‘allgone’ = ‘allgone doggy’, ‘allgone dinner’, ‘allgone daddy’

Question 23

Stage 5: telegraphic stage

Answer 23

• around 2 years
• similar ot telegram
• longer than two words but includes only big key content words
• lack of articles or prepositions
• e.g. ‘me go park’

Question 24

Stage 6: post-telegraphic stage

Answer 24

• 3-4 years

- becomes similar to adult speech

Question 25

Lexical development

Answer 25

• learn 10 new words a day
• 18 months: 50 word vocab
• 24 months: 200 word vocab
• 36 months: 2,000 word vocab

Question 26

Katherine Nelson, 1973

Answer 26

• placed children’s early words into four catagories:
• naming
• action
• social
• modifying
• found largest catagory was naming words
• 60% of a childs first 50 words were nouns