CHAPTER 9: Language Development

Question 1

what is language

Answer 1

Form of communication that uses symbols to represent concepts

• single greatest human achievement
• only humans can do it
• every culture has a language

Question 2

arbitrary definition

Answer 2

the meaning of linguistic signs is not predictable from its word form, nor is the word form dictated by its meaning/function
- symbolic

Question 3

language shows displacement:

Answer 3

displacement is the ability to refer objects, places and events that are “not here” and “not now”

• can refer to objects that are not physically present; past or future

Question 4

language is generative:

Answer 4

can create an endless series of new combinations, all built from the same fundamental units
- words are always evolving
- new words added to dictionary every year

Question 5

5 language rule systems

Answer 5

1. phonology
2. morphology
3. syntax
4. semantics
5. pragmatics

Question 6

1. Phonology

Answer 6

is the shortest segment of speech that, if changed, changes the meaning of a word

• most languages have 35-40
• refers to SOUNDS not letters
  ex. egg, erase (different e sounds)
• english has 47

Question 7

Janet Werkers (1989) research

Answer 7

After 6 mo’s, infants become better at discriminating phonemes within own language, but worse within other languages
- at 12 months, infants specialize in the language most exposed to

Question 8

perceptual scaffolding

Answer 8

Infants tend to learn the names of objects faster when they are first oriented with their own name

example: “Sophie, look at this elephant”

Question 9

when is word comprehension evident by

Answer 9

• in evidence by 6 months
• understand common expressions by 9 months

Question 10

language process

Answer 10

early vocalization (cooing)
“ooooooohhh” and “aaaaaaaahhh.”

7 months: babbling
“ya-ya-ya,” “ba-ba-ba”

Question 11

infants produce “minimal words”

Answer 11

Mispronunciations common as children try to simplify words
- When first learning to speak actual words, children are only capable of alternating consonant-vowel sounds (e.g., “bye-bye,” “mama,” “dada”)

E.g., “du”, “ju”, “dus” = juice

Question 12

morphology

Answer 12

refers to the units of meaning
- made up of phonemes, to create meaning

Morphemes can be whole simple words or parts of words that change meaning. For example, “love,” “loves,” “lover,” and “lovely” all have different meanings

Question 13

morphemes

Answer 13

Truck = 1 morpheme
Table = two syllables, but only one morpheme
Houseboat = 2 morphemes, two syllables

Question 14

holophrases

Answer 14

single word that can have multiple semantic meanings

example:
E.g., “Doggie!” = “There is a dog” or “I like the dog,” etc.

Question 15

vocabulary spurt

Answer 15

12-18 months, learn 1-2 words a day
toddlers arrive at the realization that everything has a name and they want to learn all the names they can

Question 16

fast mapping

Answer 16

the way in which children quickly connect new words with their meanings

• by 24 to 30 months, a child will fast-map even if they’ve merely overheard the word when a speaker is talking to someone else, or there are other objects competing for their attention

Question 17

over-extensions and under-extensions

Answer 17

overextensions (e.g., once learning the word “dog,” thinking that all furry, four-legged animals they see, including skunks and raccoons, are also called dogs)

underextensions (e.g., thinking the term “dog” applies exclusively to their family pet, but not to other people’s dogs).

Question 18

at what age to infants begin using two word phases

Answer 18

18-24 months
- telegraphic speech

example:
where doggie
my hat
daddy shirt

Question 19

referential vs expressive styles

Answer 19

referential: more common with first born children
- mostly people or objects

expressive
- later born
- more social phrases (ex. stop it, oh no)

Question 20

Zoe Liberman and colleagues (2017

Answer 20

suggests that compared to monolingual children, bilingual children (aged four through six) are better at taking the perspective of another person in tasks with similarities to Piaget’s three-mountain problem
- found it easier than their monolingual counterparts to override their own perspective and adopt the experimenter’s perspective in deciding which toy the experimenter was referring to

Question 21

monolingual myth

Answer 21

the mistaken assumption that children are better off learning just one language instead of two or more
- learning more than one language does not overload a child’s mind
-….. and confers added benefits (enhanced executive control skills, enhanced perspective-taking ability)-

Question 22

Syntax

Answer 22

The manner in which morphemes and words are combined to create grammatically correct phrases and sentences

Question 23

the “wug” test

Answer 23

• Asks Ps to perform a grammatical manipulation on a novel word.
• Young children (4-5) are able to perform this task
  -we learn general rules, and when we hear a new word, we use these rules to make plurals and other forms

Question 24

syntax development

Answer 24

• young children grasp rules of morphology
• learning how to grasp syntax (grammatical rules)

ex. adding -s to create plural forms, -ed to create past tense

• questions, negations, imperatives

Question 25

semantics

Answer 25

the meaning of words and sentences
- a sentence can be semantically correct but synactically wrong

Question 26

Pragmatics

Answer 26

the process of learning the social and cultural conventions that govern how language is used in particular contexts

Question 27

turnabout

Answer 27

speaker replies then adds something to get partner to respond again

Parent: How are you?
Child: I’m fine… how are you?

Question 28

Illocutionary intent

Answer 28

what a speaker means to say

e.g., “There are toys all over the floor”
= “Clean up this mess!”

Question 29

referential communication skills

Answer 29

producing clear verbal messages and recognizing when messages we receive are unclear

Question 30

progression of narratives

Answer 30

Progress from “leapfrog” narratives (age 3 / 4)…
To chronological narratives (age 5) …
To classic narratives (age 6)

Question 31

Sociolinguistic understanding

Answer 31

• adapting language style to social context
  involves learning how to be polite to others (e.g., saying “hello” and “goodbye,” saying “please” and “thank you” when making requests)

Question 32

behaviourist perspective on how children acquire knowledge

Answer 32

Babies start out as “blank slates”
Through experience they gain knowledge about language & the world
through imitation of others, and positive reinforcement

Question 33

nativist perspective on how children acquire knowledge

Answer 33

children are born equipped with the necessary brain structures that will help them to learn a language, whatever one they are exposed to

Chomsky: humans biologically programmed to learn basic systems of langua

Question 34

4 main points to the nativist perspective

Answer 34

1. Specialized brain structures and networks to support language
   - brocas area (language production), Wernickes area (language comprehension)
2. only humans learn grammer readily
3. theres a strong link bw growth of vocab and mastery of grammer
4. theres a critical period of learning language during development

Question 35

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Question 36

social interactionist perspective on how children acquire knowledge

Answer 36

Language arises from a combination of biological maturation and environmental experiences
- Conversations more important than exposure to talking

Question 37

first gestures infants learn

Answer 37

pragmatic in nature: waving hello or goodbye, pointing at an object they can’t reach, raising their arms in the air to indicate they want to be picked up

Question 38

using gestures to communicate

Answer 38

• more children who gestured at 14 months, greater their spoken vocabulary was
• often accompany speech when toddlers are learning to talk

Question 39

Sign Language

Answer 39

American Sign Language (ASL)
- considered to be a true language
- symbolic, arbitrary, generative
- can be used to show displacement (referring to past or future events)

Question 40

deaf children exposed to ASL

Answer 40

Progress through language milestones in much the same way as hearing children
- signs can be produced at an earlier age than spoken words
- fast mapping to expand vocab.