Week 8 Lecture Flashcards
What is phonology?
The study of sounds in a language
What are phonemes?
The smallest unit of sound in a language
How many phonemes are spoken in English?
44
What is the language with the fewest phonemes and how many do they have?
Rotokas with 11
What is the language with the most spoken phonemes and how many do they have?
Ixuu with 112
Each phoneme’s pronunciation differs according to what? How much infants learn to perceive them as?
- The surrounding phonemes.
2. Perceive them as the same
What is morphology?
The study of work structure/meaning
What is a morpheme?
The smallest unit of meaning.
Morphology includes inflections. What kind of things are these?
things you stick on the end of word which changes the grammar (not the actual meaning of the word)
Morphology include deviations, what is this?
bits you put in the start of end which change the meaning of the word
What is semantics?
the literal meaning of words and utterannces
What is pragmatics?
Intended meaning of words and utterances, plus “rules” for what you say
What are two pragmatic factors
- varies with culture
- takes time to learn
What is grammar?
Rules for combining units of language
What are syntax?
rules for putting words in order
What is intonation?
prosodic contour of sentence, (emphasising certain words, identifies the types of utterance, can identify the ‘type’ of word)
Does language production gradually increase, or rapidly?
rapidly
What age do children usually start producing language?
about 12 months
language comprehension begins early, ___ the rate of production.
5X
Language allows infants to:
- express information
2. learn information
What is the evidence for whether there’s a critical period for acquiring language?
- Evidence for critical period with a first language: “wild children” (never been spoken to).
- Evidence with a second language: proficiency increases with earlier age of acquisition beginning
What is one reason reason as to why children might learn languages better than adults?
“less is more” (Newport). Children’s limited abilities make the task of language acquisition less daunting
What is one of the earliest theories of language acqusition?
behavioural learning - purely nurture with operant and classical conditioning
What is the learning language acquisition theory with Chomsky as its “father”?
nativist. commonly held today. Purely to do with nature. Universal grammar.
What is another learning acquisition theory, more Piagetian
cognitive development - language same as everything else
What is the most recent theory of language acquisition?
So many language patters, maybe we learn by seeing statistical patterns. use regularities in the language input of learn about language