Problem 6 Flashcards
(47 cards)
Symbols
Systems for
a) representing our thoughts/feelings/knowledge
b) communicating them to other people
–> this ability expands our cognitive + communicative power
What is required for language acquisition ?
a) comprehension
- -> understanding what other say
b) production
- ->speaking
c) human brain
- -> only the human brain acquires a communicative system of this complexity
d) experience with human language
Hierarchy of speech/language development
- Sounds –> words
- Words –> sentences
- Sentences –> stories / conversations
Generativity
Through the use of the finite set of words and morphemes in the vocabulary, one can put together an infinite number of sentences
Phonological development
Acquisition of knowledge about the sound system of a language
Phonemes
Units of sound in speech
- -> have no meaning
- -> a change in phoneme changes the meaning of the word
ex.: hip –> lip ( h+ l change the meaning )
Semantic development
Learning the system for expressing meaning in a language, including word learning
Morphemes
Smallest units of meaning in a language
–> composed of one ore more phonemes
ex.: dogs –> 2 morphemes (implies 2 or more dogs)
Syntactic development
Learning how words + morphemes are combined
Syntax
Rules in a language that specify how words from different categories can be combined
ex.: lila ate the lobster vs the lobster ate lila
Pragmatic development
Acquiring an understanding of how language is typically used to communicate
–> crucial aspect of becoming a good conversational partner
Metalinguistic Knowledge
Knowledge about language and its properties
Critical period
Time ( 5 y/o - puberty ) during which language develops readily + after which language acquisition is much more difficult
ex.: “Genie” was able to make progress, but never exceeded toddler level
Infant directed speech
IDS
Distinctive mode of speech that adults adopt when talking to babies
- -> draws the infants attention to the speech itself
- -> recognition and learning of words is better
Characteristics of IDS
- Emotional tone
- -> a lot of affection - Exaggeration
a) slower speech
b) higher voice
c) clearer vowels
d) facial expressions
Prosody
The characteristic rhythmic + intonation patterns with which language is spoken
–> explains why languages sound so different
Categorical perception
Process that allows us to distinguish sounds between categories ( phonemes )
6-8months: infants can discriminate between different languages
10-12months: can’t perceive the difference anymore
- -> retain their sensitivity to sounds in the native language
- -> become less sensitive to nonnative speech sounds
Word segmentation
The process of discovering where words begin + end in fluent speech
–> emerges after 7-8months
Distributional properties
Certain sounds are more likely to appear together than others
–> infants use recurrent sound patterns to fish words out of the passing stream of speech
ex.: own name
Babbling
Repetitive consonant - vowel sequences
(after 7 months)
–> key component of this development is the exposure to their native language
Reference
Associating words with a meaning
–> First step in acquiring the meaning of words
Productive vocabulary
Refers to the words a child can say
- children are limited by their ability to produce words clearly enough for recognition
–> this is why they adopt simplification strategies
ex. : brother –> “bubba”
2. first things they say is limited to their immediate environment
ex. : siblings, pets
!! Infants understand more words than they can produce !!
Holophrastic phase
Expressing a whole phrase with a single word
Overextension
Using a word in a broader context than is appropriate
ex.: dog –> every four legged animal
–> represents an effort to communicate, rather than lack of knowledge