What 4 things does a proficient user of language have a knowledge of?
- phonology
- semantics
- syntax
- pragmatics
What is phonology?
System of contrastive relationships among the speech sounds that constitute the fundamental components of a language
What are phonemes?
Any of the distinct units of sound in a language that distinguish one word from another
e.g. p, b, t and d in the words pad, pat, bat and bad
At what age do children recognise phonemes?
around the age of 4 or 5
How does phonology differ between languages?
Each language has its own phonetic structure and its own phonemes
What are combination rules?
Combination rules allow for meaningful speech
e.g. st and sk can go together but sb and sg cannot
How do children begin to learn about phonology?
They learn to distinguish different sounds
They segment the speech stream they are exposed to into units, which eventually become meaningful units
What is semantics?
The branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning
What is lexical semantics?
The analysis of word meanings and relations between them
What are morphemes?
The smallest linguistic units that carry meaning
What are examples of morphemes?
prefix/suffixes and small words
e.g. un and ex
What is syntax?
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
What is involved in understanding syntax?
Selection of a word, the tense of the word, the arrangement of words and the selection of punctuation
How does syntax differ between languages?
Each language has its own syntax - a set of rules
e.g. John hit Jim has a different meaning to Jim hit John
John Jim hit doesn’t make sense
What is pragmatics?
This involves the rules about language in social contexts
What are examples of using pragmatics?
- being polite and saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’
2. taking turns in conversation
What does pragmatics describe?
What you should say and how you should say it
Language is used differently depending on who you are talking to and what you are saying
At what age is the pre-linguistic period?
0 - 12 months
What is the pre-linguistic period?
The time period before children begin to say their first meaningful words
How do children bring attention to objects during the pre-linguistic period?
They bring attention to objects non-verbally through pointing and touching
What are the 4 forms of communication during the pre-linguistic period?
- vegetative sounds
- cooing and laughter
- vocal play
- babbling
What are vegetative sounds and at what age do these occur?
The natural sounds that babies make, such as crying
Occurs during 0 - 2 months
What is cooing and laughter?
At what age is this observed?
Vocalisations the baby makes when they are happy or content
Made up of vowel or consonant sounds
Occurs at 2 - 5 months of age
What is vocal play?
At what age does this occur?
The baby begins to string together longer vowel or consonant sounds
Occurs at 4 - 8 months
What is babbling?
At what age does this occur?
Child begins to produce a series of consonant-vowel syllables
They may develop utterances (ma-ma and da-da)
Occurs around 6 - 13 months
What is echolalia?
Repetition of speech by a child learning to talk
Babbling can involve echolalia
How do parents interact with their child during the pre-linguistic period?
They tend to repeat sounds back to the child
This acts to encourage them to continue making sounds
How does intonation teach children a feature about conversation?
They learn about taking turns in speaking and knowing when it is their turn to answer
Intonation denotes that a question is being asked
What is intonation?
The rise and fall of the voice in speaking
Involves the rhythm of speech and how language is not monotone
What do children learn about words during the pre-linguistic period?
Children learn that words have meaning
What happens between 8 and 12 months in relation to object recognition?
Children begin to associate an object with its name
These are verbal labels and not representations
Between 8 - 12 months, what do children begin to understand?
They understand that a sound has a meaning of action
They do not necessarily know what the word means
What happens at 18 months in relation to object recognition?
Children associate words with objects
They can use the word for communication
What feature do children begin to develop at 18 months?
They begin to overextend
They use one word for a collection of objects
e.g. calling all animals ‘dogs’
What is telegraphic speech and when does it develop?
18 - 24 months
children start to put two simple words together
What is involved in telegraphic speech?
two-word sentences which make this speech laconic and efficient
e.g. “all gone”, “more walk”
When does complexity begin to be added to sentences?
At age 2 and beyond
Children begin to add verbs to their sentences
In the progression:
daddy hat -> daddy wear hat -> daddy is wearing a hat
at what ages do the different stages develop?
The word “wear” is added at around 3 1/2 years
The term “is wearing” is added around age 5 - 6 years
What is a compound sentence?
A sentence with more than one subject or predicate
e.g. words such as “and” and “so” are added to make more complex and longer sentences
What other features do children show as they begin to add complexity?
They begin to use the past tense e.g. adding -ed
They make many logical errors, especially in pleurals
Why is there an increased interest in rhymes and songs during years 3-5?
This follows the echolalia idea that language is ‘fun’
Rhyming is more pleasurable than producing technical language
How do children communicate during play at ages 3 - 5?
They produce commentaries during play
They use language according to their age to describe what is going on in their head
How do children communicate before sleep at ages 3 - 5?
They have pre-sleep monologues that act as an expression of their thoughts
What do all the features of language used by 3-5 year olds show?
The emergence of narrative
Children are establishing thought processes and linking their actions to what they are thinking
Why do children aged 3-5 like repeated stories?
They can predict what words are coming and how they will be spoken
What are the 2 different modes of thought?
propositional thought and imaginal thought
What is propositional thought?
Involves thinking through verbal language
What is imaginal thought?
Involves thinking through visual imagery
How do children use language within their thought processes?
They use concept and categorisations to establish hierarchies of concepts
How does a child develop hierarchies of concepts?
- prototype is the object/concept
- core properties are the properties of the object/concept
- hierarchies of concepts allows the child to distinguish this object from others
What is Skinner’s theory of language acquisition?
Language is learned
It is learned through imitation and progressive reinforcement
What is progressive reinforcement?
This involves parents correcting language errors
Encourages children to try their best and complete tasks to their best potential
Using Skinner’s theory, how is behaviour controlled?
Behaviour and actions are controlled by their consequences
Reinforcement can be positive or negative
e.g. rewarded with a sticker or threatened with a punishment
What is meant by learning language through joint involvement episodes?
If a parent talks to their child at a high frequency, their vocabulary will grow at a greater rate
According to Skinner, what are the 4 most important features of interactions with children?
- adopting helpful speech styles
- attention eliciting techniques
- timing of verbal input
- child-directed speech (motherese)
What is meant by ‘adopting helpful speech styles’?
Changing the manner or speech to short sentences and words
Language is shaped according to the age of the child
What is meant by ‘attention eliciting techniques’?
Involves asking questions and pointing to things
What does Chomsky’s theory state?
Humans are born with a language acquisition device
Human brains are prewired to understand and use syntax
What are the 3 pieces of evidence that support language being biologically programmed?
- spontaneity of language
- Lenneberg critical period hypothesis
- comparison to animal communication
What is meant by ‘spontaneity of language’?
Children will reinvent and produce a language
If it is not provided to them, children invent their own language
They need language to communicate and make sense of the world around them
What is the Lenneberg critical period?
It is a sensitive period that describes children before the age of 12
The first 6 years are the most critical
What does the Lenneberg critical period hypothesis state about bilingual children?
Bilingual children who are exposed to a 2nd language during this period will develop the accent
After this period they will speak a second language in their native accent
What does the Lenneberg critical period hypothesis state about recovery of language after a head injury?
If a child is born without or loses their left hemisphere, language functions migrate and develop in the remnants of the brain
In what ways have animals been seen to communicate?
primates that were taught american sign language passed this on to their offspring
lexigrams are tiles that can be pressed to create meaning and communicate with the handler
What is animal communication based on?
Stimulus-response learning
They have basic linguistic skills but do not have all the features of human language
What area of animal connection is particularly poor?
Poor syntax as communication has no clear rules
Especially poor when it comes to word order
How do deaf children with deaf parents tend to communicate?
The children have similar language milestones
They communicate through sign language
How do deaf children with hearing parents communicate?
Children use a spontaneous language - ‘home sign’
Language development is slowed down if the parents do not sign
What is ‘home sign’?
A language developed by the child when they are encouraged to lip read and not use sign language
They develop their own sign language
How does sign language increase deafness rates?
Deaf community bond, end up marrying and pass on the genetics for deafness to their children
What is aphasia?
An impairment of language that affects the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write
How is aphasia caused?
Injury to the brain
A stroke often leads to aphasia
What causes expressive aphasia?
Damage to Broca’s area
How does expressive aphasia affect speech?
Speech halts, becomes hesitant and sufferers have difficulty finding words
How does expressive aphasia affect comprehension?
It is largely unimpaired
What causes receptive aphasia?
Damage to Wernicke’s area
This is where meaning is determined and assessed
How does receptive aphasia affect speech?
Speech is fluent and grammatical, but has no substantial content and is nonsense
How does receptive aphasia affect comprehension?
Comprehension is seriously impaired
