W5 - pt 2 - language development Flashcards
What was Berko-Gleason’s ‘Wug Test’ (1958) designed to assess?
If children could apply learned plural rules to unfamiliar words
What did the ‘Wug Test’ reveal about language acquisition in children?
Children could apply morphological rules to nonsense words
What is the Holophrastic Stage in language development?
Stage where children use memorized forms, not rule-based forms
What characterizes the Rule-Based Stage in morphological development?
Children overgeneralize rules, e.g., ‘foots’ instead of ‘feet’
What is the final stage in morphological development?
Mastery of rules and exceptions, e.g., using both ‘feet’ and ‘went’
What does ‘U-shaped learning’ describe in language development?
Correct use, then overgeneralization, then accurate use
What is the Critical Period Hypothesis?
Certain behaviors must develop within a critical period for typical function
How does the Critical Period Hypothesis apply to language?
Language acquisition is easiest before puberty
Who proposed the Critical Period Hypothesis, and when?
Eric Lenneberg in 1967
What animal behavior provides evidence for the Critical Period Hypothesis?
Songbirds need early exposure to song dialects
What is Chomsky’s concept of Universal Grammar (UG)?
A set of grammatical principles believed to be universal across human languages
What is the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) according to Chomsky?
An innate mechanism that enables children to learn language using Universal Grammar
How does ‘input’ trigger the Language Acquisition Device (LAD)?
Exposure to language activates LAD
What is an example of a parameter in Universal Grammar?
Pro-drop, e.g., sentences without subjects
How do Creole languages support the concept of Universal Grammar?
Creoles evolve from Pidgin languages, adding grammatical structure
Who opposes Chomsky’s LAD theory?
Jeffrey Elman
What is the Simple View of Reading?
Reading comprehension = word recognition x language comprehension
What is Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)?
A measure of a child’s syntactic development
How is MLU calculated?
By counting morphemes per utterance
Why is MLU more accurate than age for syntax development?
It accounts for individual language differences
How do languages like Finnish affect MLU scoring?
Rich morphology inflates MLU scores
When do children typically begin forming multi-word phrases?
Around age two
What did Trueswell et al. (1999) reveal about children’s sentence processing?
Children often misinterpret ambiguous sentences
What are ‘garden-path sentences’?
Sentences with misleading starts that require re-interpretation
What is an example of a garden-path sentence used in language studies?
‘The horse raced past the barn fell’
How do adults handle garden-path sentences differently than children?
Adults use context; children tend to misinterpret
What example demonstrates Universal Grammar’s applicability?
All languages have nouns and verbs
What effect does the ‘word gap’ have on language development?
Low SES children have smaller vocabularies by age 5
What is the Mutual Exclusivity Assumption?
Children assume each object has a unique label
What is the ‘Whole Object Assumption’?
Children assume a word labels an entire object
What is Steven Pinker’s view on language acquisition?
Language involves innate structures activated by exposure
How does early exposure to reading benefit children?
Linked to stronger language and reading skills
What are the five key components of reading instruction?
Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension
What is phonemic awareness?
Recognizing sound structures within words
Why is fluency important in reading?
Allows children to read quickly and accurately
What does MLU measure, and what does a higher MLU indicate?
Sentence complexity; higher MLU means more advanced syntax
Give an example of an MLU calculation.
‘He jumps’ = 3 morphemes
What did Hart & Risley’s (1995) study show?
SES impacts vocabulary and reading skills by age 5
How does the ‘Shape Bias’ support vocabulary growth?
Children focus on shape to categorize and learn words
Why is Child-Directed Speech (CDS) important?
Engages infants, aiding word recognition
