Module 9 Vocabulary & Terms

Question 1

Innateness Hypothesis

Answer 1

an expression coined by Hilary Putnam to refer to a linguistic theory of language acquisition which holds that at least some knowledge about language exists in humans at birth.

Question 2

Foreign Accent

Answer 2

when a person speaks one language using some of the rules or sounds of another one

Question 3

Prelinguistic

Answer 3

Prelinguistic

Question 4

Babbling

Answer 4

a stage in child development and a state in language acquisition during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering articulate sounds, but does not yet produce any recognizable words.

Question 5

Variegated babbling

Answer 5

process of combining different syllables.

Question 6

Innate

Answer 6

inborn; natural.

Question 7

One-Word Stage

Answer 7

the stage in which children speak mainly in single words.

Question 8

Two-Word Stage

Answer 8

occurs from 18-24 months, consisting of utterances generally two nouns or a noun and a verb.

Question 9

Rules

Answer 9

a regulation or direction for doing some particular activity.

Question 10

Critical Period

Answer 10

a critical period is a maturational stage in the lifespan of an organism during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli.

Question 11

Condition Head-Turn Procedure

Answer 11

a very useful procedure for assessing infant perceptual capabilities.

Question 12

Imitation Theory

Answer 12

imitation of a reality that can be perceived through the senses.

Question 13

Home-sign System

Answer 13

the gestural communication system developed by a deaf child who lacks input from a language model in the family.

Question 14

Language Acquisition Device

Answer 14

a theoretical component of the individual’s thought.

Question 15

Linguistic Inferiority Principle

Answer 15

the tendency of speakers of the socially dominant group in a society to interpret speech of a subordinate group as linguistically inferior to that of their own.

Question 16

Universal Grammar

Answer 16

the theory of the genetic component of the language faculty, usually credited to Noam Chomsky.

Question 17

Complexive concept

Answer 17

A group of items (abstract or concrete) that a child refers to with a single word for which it is not possible to single out any one unifying property.

Question 18

Child-directed Speech

Answer 18

Any of various speech patterns used by parents or caregivers when communicating with young children, particularly infants, usually involving simplified vocabulary, melodic pitch, repetitive questioning, and a slow or deliberate tempo.

Question 19

Telegraphic

Answer 19

omitting inessential words; concise.

Question 20

Reinforcement Theory

Answer 20

a limited effects media model applicable within the realm of communication.

Question 21

Nicaraguan Sign Language

Answer 21

a sign language that was largely spontaneously developed by deaf children in a number of schools in western Nicaragua in the 1970s and 1980s.

Question 22

Overextension

Answer 22

the action of extending something too far.

Question 23

Under-extension

Answer 23

when a child learns a word for something, without extending it to other things in the same category.

Question 24

Producing Sounds

Answer 24

produced by bringing air from the lungs to the larynx (respiration), where the vocal folds may be held open to allow the air to pass through or may vibrate to make a sound (phonation).

Question 25

Multilingual

Answer 25

in or using several languages.

Question 26

Articulatory Gestures

Answer 26

the actions necessary to enunciate language.

Question 27

Social Interaction Theory

Answer 27

an explanation of language development emphasizing the role of social interaction between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults.

Question 28

Imitation

Answer 28

the act of copying, or a fake or copy of something.

Question 29

Reinforcement

Answer 29

a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism’s future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus.

Question 30

Connectionists Theory

Answer 30

based on the principle of active learning and is the result of the work of the American psychologist Edward Thorndike

Question 31

Repeated

Answer 31

done or occurring again several times in the same way.

Question 32

Feral Children

Answer 32

a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and so has had little or no experience of human care, behavior or human language.

Question 33

Active Construction of Grammar Theory

Answer 33

states that children learn a language by imitating their parents.

Question 34

Bilingual

Answer 34

(of a person) speaking two languages fluently.

Question 35

Universal Grammar

Answer 35

the theory of the genetic component of the language faculty, usually credited to Noam Chomsky.

Question 36

Language Mixing

Answer 36

a ubiquitous phenomenon characterizing bilingual speakers.

Question 37

Second-language Acquisition

Answer 37

the process by which people learn a second language.

Question 38

Linguistic Universal

Answer 38

a pattern that occurs systematically across natural languages, potentially true for all of them.

Question 39

Attention getters

Answer 39

also known as an “attention grabber,” “hook,” or “hook sentence,” refers to the first 1-4 sentences of an essay and is always found in the introductory paragraph

Question 40

Code Switching

Answer 40

the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.