File 8 - Module 9, Weeks 13 & 14, Language Acquisition Flashcards Preview

English 211 - Introduction to Linguistics > File 8 - Module 9, Weeks 13 & 14, Language Acquisition > Flashcards

Flashcards in File 8 - Module 9, Weeks 13 & 14, Language Acquisition Deck (40)
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1
Q

active construction of a grammar theory

A

Theory of child language which says that children acquire a language by inventing rules of grammar based on the speech around them.

2
Q

articulatory gestures

A

A movement of a speech organ in the production of speech, for example, the movement of the velum for the production of a nasal consonant.

3
Q

attention getters

A

Word or phrase used to initiate an address to children.

4
Q

attention holders

A

A tactic used to maintain children’s attention for extended amounts of time.

5
Q

babble

A

A phase in child language acquisition during which the child produces meaningless sequences of consonants and vowels. generally begins around the age of six months

6
Q

bilingual

A

State of commanding two languages; having linguistic competence in two languages. In machine translation, a system that can translate between only one language pari.

7
Q

canonical babbling OR repeated babbling

A

the continuous repetition of sequences of vowels and consonants like [mamama] by infants; also called repeated babbling.

8
Q

child-directed speech

A

In many Western societies, speech to infants is slow and high-pitched and contains many repetitions, simplified syntax, exaggerated intonation, and a simple and concrete vocabulary.

9
Q

complexive concept

A

A term used in the study of child language acquisition. A group of items (abstract or concrete) that a child refers to with a single word for which is it not possible to single out any one unifying property.

10
Q

conditioned head-turn procedure

A

Experimental technique usually used with infants between five and eighteen months with two phases: conditioning and testing. During the conditioning phase, the infant learns to associate a change in sound with the activation of visual reinforcers, first presented at the same time and then in succession, such that the infant begins to anticipate the appearance of the visual reinforcers and look at them before they are activated. During the testing phase, when the infant looks to the visual reinforcers immediately after a change in sound, it suggests that the infant has perceived the change in sound, thereby demonstrating the ability to discriminate between the two sounds involved.

11
Q

connectionist theories

A

Theory of language acquisition which claims that children learn language through neural connections in the brain. A child develops such connections through exposure to language and by using language.

12
Q

conversational turns

A

The contribution to a conversation made by one speaker from the time that she takes the floor from another speaker to the time that she passes the floor on to another speaker.

13
Q

critical period

A

Age span, usually described as lasting from birth to the onset of puberty, during which children must have exposure to language and must build the critical brains structures necessary in order to gain native speaker competence in a language.

14
Q

fossilization

A

Process through which forms from a speaker’s non-native language usage become fixed (generally in a way that would be considered ungrammatical by a native speaker) and do not change, even after years of instruction.

15
Q

high amplitude sucking

A

Experimental techniques used to study sound discrimination in infants from birth to about six months. Infants are given a special pacifier that is connected to a sound-generating system. Each suck on the pacifier generates a noise, and infants’ sucking behavior is used to draw conclusions about discrimination abilities.

16
Q

holophrastic stage

A

Stage in first-language acquisition during which children can produce only one word at a time

17
Q

homesign (system)

A

A rudimentary visual-gestural communication system (not a language) that is developed and used by deaf children and their families when a signed language is not made available for their communication.

18
Q

imitation theory

A

Child language acquisition theory that claims that children acquire language by listening to the speech around them and reproducing what they hear.

19
Q

infant-directed speech

A

Speech used by parents or caregivers when communicating with young children or infants. In many Western societies, child-directed speech is slow and high-pitched and hs many repetitions, simplified syntax, exaggerated intonation, and a simple and concrete vocabulary.

20
Q

innate

A

Determined by factors present from birth.

21
Q

innateness hypothesis

A

A hypothesis that humans are generally predisposed to learn and use language

22
Q

language mixing OR code switching

A

Using words or structural elements fro more than one language within the same conversation (or even within a single sentence or phrase).

23
Q

linguistic universals

A

Property believed to be held in ommon by all natural languages.

24
Q

multilingual

A

The state of commanding three or more languages; haveing linguistic competence in three or more languages. In machine translation, a system that can translate between more than two languages.

25
Q

overextension

A

In the study of child language acquisition, a relationship between child and adult perception of word meaning: the child’s application of a given word has a wider range than the application of the same wrod in adult language.

26
Q

overgeneralization

A

In the study of child language acquisition, a relationship between child and adult application of rules relative to certain contexts: a process in which children extend the application of linguistic rules to contexts beyond those in the adult language.

27
Q

reinforcement theory

A

Asserts that children learn to speak like adults because they are praised, reward, or otherwise reinforced when they use the right forms and are corrected when they use wrong forms.

28
Q

relational term

A

Type of relationship between adjective and noun reference where the reference of the adjective is determined relative to the noun reference.

29
Q

rule

A

A formal statement of an observed generalization about patterns in language.

30
Q

second-language acquisition

A

Acquisition of a second language as a teenager or adult (after the critical period).

31
Q

sequential bilingualism

A

Bilingualism in which in which the second language is acquired as a young child.

32
Q

simultaneous bilingualism

A

Bilingualism in which both languages are acquired from infancy.

33
Q

social interaction theory

A

Theory of language acquisition that claims that children acquire language through social interaction – in particular with older children and adults – and prompt their caregivers to supply them with the appropriate language experience they need.

34
Q

social interaction theory

A

Theory of language acquisition that claims that children acquire language through social interaction – in particular with older children and adults – and prompt their caregivers to supply them with the appropriate language experience they need.

35
Q

telegraphic utterances

A

Utterances containing primarily content words (in the style of a telegram with many function words and function morphemes left out).

36
Q

telegraphic utterances

A

Utterances containing primarily content words (in the style of a telegram with many function words and function morphemes left out).

37
Q

underextension

A

Application of a word to a smaller set of objects than is appropriate for mature adult speech or the usual definition of the word.

38
Q

universal grammar

A

The theory that posits a set of grammatical characteristics shared by all natural languages. Also, the name of this set of shared characteristics.

39
Q

variegated babbling

A

Production of meaningless consonant-vowel sequences by infants.

40
Q

foreign accent

A

An accent that is marked by the phonology of another language or other languages that are more familiar to the speaker.