Language Acquisition

Question 1

Imitation

Answer 1

a process by which new syntactic structures can be first introduced into the productive mode.

Question 2

Innateness

Answer 2

a linguistic theory of language acquisition which holds that at least some knowledge about language exists in humans at birth

Question 3

Motherese

Answer 3

a term used in the study of child language acquisition for the way mothers often talk to their young children

Question 4

Phonetics

Answer 4

sounds of a language

Question 5

phonology

Answer 5

sound patterns of a language

Question 6

morphology

Answer 6

rules of word-formation

Question 7

semantics

Answer 7

how to derive meaning from a sentence

Question 8

pragmatics

Answer 8

how to properly use language in context

Question 9

Universal Grammar

Answer 9

set of structural characteristics shared by all languages

Question 10

Reinforcement

Answer 10

the effect that it has on behavior - it increases or strengthens the behavior.

Question 11

Active Construction of a Grammar Theory

Answer 11

children use the different speech that they hear around them to construct of their language and they do this by listening for and discovering patterns, and hypothesizing about the rules that tend to create those patterns and then they test the rule in their own way of usage, they are considered “little linguists” in a way

Question 12

Connectionist Theories

Answer 12

cognitive theory based on simultaneously occurring, distributed signal activity via connections that can be represented numerically, where learning occurs by modifying connection strengths based on experience.

Question 13

Critical Period Hypothesis

Answer 13

the first few years of life is the crucial time in which an individual can acquire a first language if presented with adequate stimuli, and that first-language acquisition relies on neuroplasticity.

Question 14

Preliguistic Stage of Development

Answer 14

when a child is learning to control the sounds it can produce and string these sounds together in vocal play. In this stage, the child is not yet able to manipulate these sounds into proper words.

Question 15

Babbling Stage of Development

Answer 15

a stage in child development and a state in language acquisition during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering articulate sounds, but does not yet produce any recognizable words.

Question 16

One-Word Stage of Development

Answer 16

the stage in which children speak mainly in single words.

Question 17

Holophrastic

Answer 17

one-word sentences

Question 18

Two-Word Stage of Development

Answer 18

children start using two-word sentences more than just using single words for everything.

Question 19

Telegraphic

Answer 19

sentences consist of two words

Question 20

Beyond 2-word stage

Answer 20

Sentences with 3+ words

Question 21

Structure Dependency

Answer 21

grammatical processes function primarily on structures in sentences, not on single words or sequences of words is termed structure-dependency. Many linguists view structure-dependency as a principle of universal grammar.

Question 22

Parameters

Answer 22

a framework within generative linguistics in which the syntax of a natural language is described in accordance with general principles (i.e. abstract rules or grammars) and specific parameters (i.e. markers, switches) that for particular languages are either turned on or off.

Question 23

Head Parameter

Answer 23

head directionality is a proposed parameter that classifies languages according to whether they are head-initial (the head of a phrase precedes its complements) or head-final (the head follows its complements)

Question 24

Surface Structure

Answer 24

physical properties of language

Question 25

Deep Structure

Answer 25

a theoretical construct that seeks to unify several related structures

Question 26

Minimalism

Answer 26

refers to a family of approaches exploring a conjecture, first formulated by Noam Chomsky in the early 1990s, concerning the nature of the human language faculty.

Question 27

Economy of Derivation

Answer 27

Principle stating that movements only occur in order to match interpretable features with noninterpretable features

Question 28

Economy of Representation

Answer 28

principle that grammatical structures must exist for a purpose

Question 29

Transformations

Answer 29

a rule that takes an input, typically called the deep structure (in the Standard Theory) or D-structure (in the extended standard theory or government and binding theory), and changes it in some restricted way to result in a surface structure

Question 30

Cognitive Theory

Answer 30

study of language, mind, and sociocultural experience that first emerged in the 1970s. Cognitive linguistics is characterized by a commitment to the inseparability of meaning and form in the study of language.

Question 31

Input Theory

Answer 31

learners progress in their knowledge of the language when they comprehend language input that is slightly more advanced than their current level. Krashen called this level of input "i+1", where "i" is the learner's interlanguage and "+1" is the next stage of language acquisition.

Question 32

syntax

Answer 32

how words combine into phrases/sentences

Question 33

lexical items

Answer 33

words, morphemes, idioms, etc.

Question 34

Sign Language Innateness

Answer 34

acquired without explicit instruction, and acquired in similar stages of spoken languages

Question 35

Language Acquisition

Answer 35

the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language

Question 36

Cognition

Answer 36

the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses

Question 37

Behaviorist Theory

Answer 37

infants learn oral language from other human role models through a process involving imitation, rewards, and practice. ... When a child attempts oral language or imitates the sounds or speech patterns they are usually praised and given affection for their efforts.

Question 38

Language Acquisition Device

Answer 38

controversial claim from language acquisition research proposed by Noam Chomsky in the 1960s. The LAD concept is a purported instinctive mental capacity which enables an infant to acquire and produce language. It is a component of the nativist theory of language.

Question 39

Syntactic Structures

Answer 39

The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.

Question 40

Semantic relations

Answer 40

Any relationship between two or more words based on the meaning of the words.