Grammatical Development - Lecture 4

Question 1

Define syntactic development

Answer 1

development of a child’s ability to create grammatical constructions by arranging words in an appropriate order.

Question 2

What happens at the one-word stage at aged 12-18 months? (4)

Answer 2

1. child speaks in single word utterances.
   (‘milk’ ‘mummy’)
2. Groups of words may be used as a single unit.
   ‘allgone’
3. In many situations, the words simply serve a naming function.
4. Holophrases

Question 3

Define holophrases

Answer 3

single words which convey more complex messages

Question 4

Describe a child’s understanding of syntax

Answer 4

Although the child’s utterances are limited, their understanding of syntax is (predictably) more advanced.

Question 5

Name some evidence that proves a child’s understanding of syntax is more advanced

Answer 5

children at the one-word stage can respond to two-word instructions: ‘kiss mummy’.

Question 6

Describe the two word stage (4)

Answer 6

1. 18 months: two-word utterances begin to appear.
2. Usually: grammatically correct sequence.
3. Common constructions:
   S+V ‘Daddy sleep’
   V+O ‘Draw birdie’
   S+O ‘Suzy juice’
4. When repeating an adult, children at this stage commonly omit elements, but retain the correct order:
   - Look, Ben’s playing in the garden.
   - Play garden.
5. Utterances focus on key words.
6. Grammatical function words: commonly omitted (as they carry less information).

Question 7

Give an example if how there can be a complex range of meanings of two-word utterances

Answer 7

1. Possession: ‘Mummy car’
   Action: ‘Paul eat’
   Location: ‘Teddy bed’
2. Bloom (1973) ‘Mummy sock’

Question 8

Why does the scope for ambiguity arise amongst the two-word stage?

Answer 8

the omission of inflectional affixes.

Question 9

Describe the telegraphic stage (6)

Answer 9

1. Age 2: 3 and 4-word utterances begin to be produced.
2. S+V+O
   ‘Lucy likes tea’
3. S+V+C
   ‘Teddy is tired’
4. S+V+A
   ‘Mummy sleeps upstairs’
5. Other utterances will have grammatical elements missing:
   ‘Daddy home now’
   ‘Where Josh going?’
6. Like a telegram, they include key words, but omit elements such as:
   - Determiners
   - Auxiliary verbs
   - Prepositions

Question 10

During the telegraphic stage name the wide range of structures used?

Answer 10

1. Questions (interrogatives)
2. Commands (imperatives)
3. Simple statements

Question 11

Describe the stage of rapid progress

Answer 11

1. 3 years: items such as determiners begin to be used regularly.
2. More than one clause appears
3. Coordinating conjunctions
4. Inflectional affixes (see next lecture)
5. 5 years: many of most basic grammatical rules have been learned, though some (e.g. the passive) have yet to be mastered.