(week 5) Flashcards
what is taxonomic assumption?
the first assumption i will consider is the taxonomic assumption which states that terms refer to entitles of the same kind - an object term would refer to objects of the same kind, a colour term to colours of the same kind, and action term to actions of the same kind, and so on
what is a holophrastic?
bearing the force of a whole phrase, expressive of a sentence or an idea, denoting the stage in a child’s acquisition of syntax when most utterance are single words (of languages) tending to express in one word what would be expressed in several words in other languages; polysynthetic
what is telegraphic?
omitting inessential words
what is u-shaped learning?
the typical pattern by which select physical, artistic and cognitive skills are developed
what is overextension?
occurs when a categorical term is used in language to represent more categories than it actually does - this happens in particular with very young children, e.g., when a child refers to all animals as ‘doggie’ or refers to a lion as a ‘kitty’
what is under extension?
occurs when a categorical terms is used in language improperly by only using it for one object instead of all objects that belong in that category - this often occurs in children when they are initially acquiring and developing language
what is a LAD (language acquisition device)?
structure in the brain that infants are born with, allowing them to quickly learn and understand language as they mature - a language aquisition device (LAD) is a hypothetical tool in the human brain that lets children learn and understand language quickly
what is MLU (mean length of utterance)?
the length of a child’s sentence - check out our goals, exampes, and norms for children with short MLU
what is child directed speech?
a dialect adults use when speaking to very young children - can help build a young child’s vocabulary, create a social feedback loop, and improve language acquisition - informally, it’s known as motherese, parentese, or baby talk
what is fast mapping?
a quick process that occurs in the child’s brain, by which they will hear a word and connect it with an understand of the word or concept - this usually happens when talking to a child about their close environment and labelling everything in it - fast mapping initially introduced by Carey & Bartlett (1978)
what is a nativist?
a person who urges the promotion of the interests of inhabitants born in a country over those of immigrants - nativists advocate a hard line against immigrants, but loud and aggressive efforts have proven to be an electoral bust
