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Childhood Studies > Language and literacy glossary > Flashcards

Language and literacy glossary Flashcards

(70 cards)

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1
Q

Accent

A

Pronunciation - the sound qualities of the language as it is spoken by an individual or a group. Regional, social class and education varieties, eg Received Pronunciation (RP)

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2
Q

Alphabetic languages

A

Letters correspond to sounds, which are combined to signify words

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3
Q

Argot

A

Slang as a criminal language

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4
Q

Behaviourism

A

The belief that all behaviours are learnt, even such a complex and sophisticated behaviour as a language

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5
Q

Bilingual

A

Includes varying degrees of fluency and/or literacy in two languages.

  • Simultaneous bilingualism
  • Early sequential bilingualism – both learnt in childhood, but still in sequence
  • Late sequential bilingualism – second language (L2) learnt in adolescence or later
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6
Q

Cognitive

A

Emphasises the crucial role of general intellectual abilities in all learning and language acquisitions as a part of cognitive development

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7
Q

Dialect

A

A variety of a language, including distinct vocabulary and syntax, eg Standard English (SE). A dialect can be spoken with a range of accents

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8
Q

Decoding

A

Breaking words into their sound constituents. Used to describe the process of understanding the ‘code’ of alphabetic languages

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9
Q

Emergent literacy

A

‘The reading and writing behaviours that precede and develop into conventional literacy’ - Sulzby 1989

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10
Q

Grammar

A

The rules governing languages and the study of such rules

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11
Q

Grapheme

A

The smallest units in writing or text, eg ‘b’ ‘B’ ‘f’ ‘F’.
The letter or combination of letters that represent a phoneme.
‘ghost’ = ‘gh’ ‘o’ ‘s’ t’

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12
Q

Idiolect

A

An individual’s unique linguistic style

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13
Q

Idiom

A

Phrases and sayings whose meaning is not contained in the literal meaning, but in their common use or cultural meaning (eg ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’)

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14
Q

Lexicon

A

A ‘store’ of words (lexis = vocabulary)

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15
Q

Linguistics

A

A study of the science of language

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16
Q

Linguistic determinism

A

The claim that an individual’s thinking and world view is moulded by the language of their specific speech community

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17
Q

Literacy

A

The ability to read and write a language or languages

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18
Q

Logographic scripts

A

Written language that uses glyphs or pictures to represent words or meaningful parts of words (not phonemes, but morphemes or syllables)

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19
Q

Morpheme

A

The smallest unit of meaning in a language.
- ‘ed’ conveys past tense, ‘s’ plural
They may be pronounced in different ways, but their meaning remains the same.

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20
Q

Nativist

A

The belief that humans are programmed to learn language due to innate and universal features of the mind.

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21
Q

Nonwords

A

Made up words which have no meaning but obey the rules of pronunciation of a naturally occurring language (eg ‘wug’)

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22
Q

Onset

A

The initial sound in a word, eg ‘spr’ in ‘spray’. May be longer than the initial phoneme.

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23
Q

Orthography

A

The use of letters and rules of spelling in a language

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24
Q

Phonology

A

The study of the organising and patterning of sounds in languages

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25
Phonetics
The study of the production of sound by the vocal system
26
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound in a language | - eg 'ee' in 'bee', 'ea' in 'beat', 'e' in 'evil'
27
Phonics
A method for teaching reading that trains beginners to recognise the sound values of letters, focussing on phoneme - grapheme relationships
28
Pictographic script
Written language which uses glyphs or pictures to represent whole words
29
Pre-reading
Skills and knowledge about books and reading prior to any learning or teaching of reading itself, eg direction of print
30
Print awareness
Awareness of the role of print as symbols representing spoken language, and recognition of print where it occurs, eg road signs
31
Psycholinguistics
The study of the role of language in thinking and learning
32
Received Pronunciation (RP)
A prestigious British accent associated with power, university education (often Oxbridge), the BBC and private school education
33
Register
The many appropriate styles of language we use for different social settings and occasions
34
Representation
A major form of thinking that uses actions, pictures, words and so on to stand for ideas and experiences
35
Rhyme vs rime
Rhyme - where terminal sounds of words coincide | Rime - the end section of a word (spelling pattern) eg 'ay' in 'spray'. Words that rime will rhyme.
36
Schemas
Patterns of behaviour into which experiences are assimilated and co-ordinated - ways of thinking and learning.
37
Semantics
The study of meaning in language
38
Sight reading
Reading using the picture created by the whole world, rather than by decoding the written word
39
Slang
An extremely informal style of language using a distinctive range of vocabulary particular to the ‘in crowd’
40
Social interactionist
Emphasising the social purposes for language and the impetus it gives the child to learn language to get things done and participate in a social group
41
Sociolinguistics
The study of language as it is used and modified in different social contexts
42
Standard English (SE)
This is the ‘norm’ or standard dialect for communicating in English in public, educational, professional and commercial settings. Varieties of SE in Britain and other English-speaking societies.
43
Storying
The activity of creating narratives
44
Syntax
The organisation of words into meaningful combinations and the small changes made to words to indicate eg plurals and tenses (type of grammar)
45
Syllable
A unit of language that refers to part of the word, usually containing a vowel with at least one consonant before, after or both
46
Vernacular
The native language of a people or country As opposed to ‘lingua franca’, which is the language spoken by common consent to communicate where native languages differ. English is often the ‘lingua franca’.
47
Vocabulary
The set of all words known or understood by a person
48
Paralinguistics
The great variety of phonetic features available to a speaker, eg intonation, speed, tone, accents. Including noises ‘mm’, ‘uhu’ to aid conversation
49
Kinesics
Body language
50
Pidgin
No one’s native language. It has limited vocabulary, reduced rules of grammar, a narrow range of functions and is often temporary or short-lived.
51
Creole
Developed from a pidgin to become the mother tongue of a community. Expanded vocabulary, complex rules of grammar and satisfies an increasing range of functions
52
Language mixing
Combining of words and phrases from both languages, in children still learning to separate the two languages - eg adding an English suffix to a German root
53
Code switching
Normal among more fluent bilinguals, the deliberate word/sentence/phrase switch. Due to distraction, tiredness, lack of word/concept in original language, means of emphasis, deliberate exclusion of other or an association with activities to one language only. Tendency of bilinguals speaking to bilinguals to switch language, often for more appropriate words or phrases
54
Prosody
Properties of syllables and larger units of speech. Linguistic functions including intonation, tone, stress and rhythm. Can reflect emotional state, statement/question/command, emphasis, sarcasm etc - that which cannot be conveyed in grammar or vocabulary
55
Reduplicated babble
Repeating consonant vowel sounds | - eg gagagaga
56
Non-reduplicated / variegated babble
Strings of non-repeating syllables | - eg bambido
57
Allophones
Phonemes pronounced differently depending on context and position in word, variants /t/ in nitrate vs night rate
58
Bootstrapping
Using the information/words known to leverage the learning of other new words - lexical constraints, eg mutual exclusivity - social constraints, using information of environment - linguistic constraints - that's a zav/ that's Zav/ he's going to zav
59
Vowels
Airflow above the glottis not constricted
60
Consonants
Airflow above the glottis is constricted in different parts of the oral cavity - place and manner of articulation changes
61
Beginning, vowel, end of syllable
Syllable onset, syllable nucleus, syllable coda
62
Communication
Any system used to send and receive messages, including spoken word, written word, symbols, signs, non verbal communication (e.g. crying)
63
Social communication
Communication system used effectively in social situations and interactions, involving at least two people
64
Specific language impairment
Deficient language development in a child for no obvious reason, with normal development in all other areas. Diagnostic criteria: - Language significantly below the level expected for age and IQ - Normal nonverbal IQ and nonlinguistic aspects of development - Language difficulties not accounted for by hearing loss, physical abnormality of speech apparatus, brain damage or environmental deprivation
65
Holophrase
One word referring to an entire thought/activity | - eg 'gone' = peekaboo game
66
Proto-imperatives
Early demands (I want this)
67
Proto-declaratives
Early demonstrations, calling attention to (look at this)
68
Telegraphic speech
In early speech, the removal of small words that don't change meaning - eg 'mummy go work'
69
Pseudohomophones
Pronouncable nonwords that sound like real words when pronounced - eg 'brane' is a nonword, but sounds like 'brain' when spoken
70
Homographs
Words spelled the same but with different pronunciations and different meanings - eg bow, row, tear

Childhood Studies (6 decks)

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