Slides Week 4 Flashcards
Language Defined
- A form of communication - spoken written or signed
- Based on a system of symbols
- Structured system of sound patterns
- Have socially standardised meanings and rules for varying and combining them
- Enables objects, events and processess in the environment to be catalogued
Language as a Tool
- Originally beleived to be a human attribute
- Central to promoting communication
- Develops social networks
- Has implications for attachment and social bonding
Central Debate of Language & Cognition
- Piaget - Cognition before language
- Problem solve before we learn language
- Vygotsky - Language before cognition
- Language facilitates learning
Three components of language
- Phonology
- Semantics
- Syntax
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
Phonemes
Units of sound that can differentiate minimally different words
eg: mat, cat, rat
Morphemes
- Smallest grammatical unit in a language
- Two types:
- Free - function as words eg: tree
- Bound - found as parts of words, always with a root. eg: ed (work-ed)
Symbolic Representation
- Capacity to use mental categories as substitutes for physical object and events
- Develops in early second year of life
Types of Symbolic Representation
- Graphic Symbols - Music
- Motoric - Recall how to tie a knot
- Gestural - Flipping the Bird
- Sensory or Iconic - Smells & Sounds associated with the past
Gestural Communication
- Two purposes to gestural symbols
- Representational
- Communicative
- Gestural symbols for communication begins at around 8-10 months
First Gestures
- Waving hands for hello & goodbye
- Shaking & Nodding
- Pointing to draw attention to object or person
- There are cultural differences in gestures
Pretend Play
- A form of symbolic representation
- Emerges before spoken language
- by 2 years children can differentiate between pretend and reality
- Deferred imitation emerges and the end of sensorimotor stage
- Children can imitate object without being present
Deferred Imitation
- The ability to reproduce a previously witnessed action or sequence of actions
- Can repeat the action when the original stimulus is no longer present
Acquisition of Language
- Child language and cognition is a system unique to children
- Not a miniature version of adult language
- Language is acquired during childhood through a Universal series of stages
- Each language stage has its own unique features
Phsyiological & Biological Basis for Language Acquisition
- Children in all cultural groups progress through the stages of language acquisition in the same sequence
Driving force to Language Acquisition
- To understand what the people who are important to you and are around you are saying,
- Best way to teach language is to immerse yourself
- Bonobo study demonstrates that culture forms the basis of language
Stages of Language Acquisition
- Prelinguistic Speech
- Crying
- Cooing
- Babbling
- Linguistic Speech
- Holophrastic Speech
- Two Word utterances
- Telegraphic Speech
Prelinguistic Speech
- Established sequence of sound
- Infants progress with these before first words
- Approx 12 months of age
- Vocal play evolved to excersise and refine complex muscle movements needed for speech
- Made up of crying, cooing and babbling
Dunston System
- Priscilla Dunston
- Analysed 5 particular noises that babies make when theyr are crying
- Neh Sound - When baby is hungry
- Owh Sound - baby makes and O shape; When baby is tired
- Heh Sound - burp sound; Baby has wind
- Eairh Sound - more urgent than burp sound means baby has wind pain
- Eh Sound - Baby uncomfortable may need nappy change or another need, can sound happy or like panting
- Not subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation
Crying
- Earliest means of communication
- Different sounds, pitches and intensities signal different meanings
- Dunston Baby Language