Lecture 11 Flashcards
What are the 3 layers of language?
form:
- morphemes
- phonemes
- syntax
content:
- Semantics
Use:
- pragmatics
Is language only for humans?
in other species we have communication. Like bees do waggle dances but you can’t combine them into endless possibilities and there is a fairly limited set of things that can be communicated here.
kanzee learned over 400 words and learned syntax. He understand put the soap on the ball has a different meaning than put thball on the soap. kanzee learned over 400 words and learned syntax. He understand put the soap on the ball has a different meaning than put thball on the soap.
the bird doesn’t have an understanding of syntax.
is language nature or nurture?
- Nature?
- Innately human characteristic
(this girl named jeanie was raised strapped to a chair in the basement. She had very minimal language exposure but when she was discovered she had basically no language. So when she was found by social services, researchers took this as a case study of will she still be able to acquire language? She was able to learn words and semantics but really struggled with syntax. Because this is a case study there are a lot of questions about generalizability. )
- Nurture?
- Requires experience & exposure
- Importance of timing →
sensitive/critical period?
(we also look at children who are born in one language environment and adopted into another. If kids are adopted after age 7 they have a lot more difficulty at acquiring syntax. )
(methodologically its really difficult to have a super controlled study about critical periods)
at what ages do we acquire linguistic competence? What about communicative competence?
your ability to understand linguistically accurate things. A lot of this is underway by the time you get to childhood.
they are learning somewhere around 3 new words a day!
by the time you get to 3 kids are combining multiple words together.
there are a lot of individual differences in this.
Still a lot of development in communicative
competence. the young child has linguistic competence but is not necessarily using it to communicate. is language to yourself communication?
the ability to use language to communicate with other people is still really being developed.
What does piaget say about lagnuage?
- Piaget → Egocentric speech
- Reflection of children’s
egocentric thinking (piaget called this egocentric speech. He noticed they use language in a way that does not seem to be oriented towards other people. the idea that young children have diffivulty considering other people’s perspectives. )
egocentric speech isn’t a mechanisms for thought it is just evidence of how kids are thinking about the world. As kidsovercome the egocentricism. They shift from egocentirc to social speech.
- Monologues: running
discourse - Collective monologues: when
two+ individuals are speaking
together, but not for the
purpose of each other (“No desire to
influence his
hearer or to tell
him anything”). Piaget also talked about collective monologues. This is not for the purposes of each other. Piaget really thought this was talking just for the purposes of yourself.
Piaget thought egocentric speech became social speech.
What is the difference in perspective for language and communication between Piaget and Vygotsky?
- Piaget → Egocentric speech
- Reflection of children’s
egocentric thinking - Monologues: running
discourse - Collective monologues: when
two+ individuals are speaking
together, but not for the
purpose of each other
(egocentric speech goes to social speech)
▪ Vygotsky → Private speech
▪ Drives thinking
▪ Serves purpose of self-
regulation, planning
▪ Found to be used more in
difficult tasks
(speech from others, private speech, inner speech)
vygotsky thinks you eventually internalize that. research often supports more of vygotsky’s speech. vygotsky calls this private speech. He thinks its used to digest what they hear adults saying and to help with difficult tasks. This kind of outloud speech is really helpful for thinking.
what is the research on conversations?
- Turn taking
- Taking related turns
- Poor in early childhood, but steadily
improves - Repairing miscommunication
- Young children (1-3 years) initially tend to
repeat failed communication - Older children (3-5 years) are more likely to
repair failed communication - Throughout development, increase in
giving/responding to verbal and non-
verbal feedback
(turn taking comes up really early. taking related turns (poor in early childgood but steadily improves)
MIISSING SLIDE
repairing miscommunication
- younger children (1-3 years) initially rend to repeat failed communication.
older children (3-5 year) are more likely to repair failed communication
throughout development, increase in giving/responding to verbal and non-verbal feedback)
What is language adaptation?
- We adapt our language when speaking to different
individuals and when in different situations! - As young as 4, children will adjust their language to younger vs older children, to children vs adults
- Registers: styles of language associated with particular
settings/roles - Even young children seem to adapt their registers while playing!
(you can have formal registers of speech, informal register of speech. When kids are engaging in pretend play, you se that register of speech switch. )
(we often adapt our language depending on who we are speaking to and when we’re in a different situation. This shows up fairly early in development. )
What are dialects? What is black American English?
Dialects: forms of language that vary with regions or groups of people
- Example: Canadian English, Australian English,
British English, Southern English, Maritimer English - All equally good, and “accurate” forms of
language! - African American English (AAE)/Black English
- Characteristic form and rules, distinct vocabulary
- Young children show ability to code-switch, and
adjust dialect for the context - Use by Black children appears to decrease once
beginning formal schooling → correlated with
academic success
(all dialects are good and accurate forms of a language. They are just different dialects/ )
