W4

Question 1

When does canonical babbling change to variegated babbling?

Answer 1

There is no fixed cut-off, but a first quality change in babbling can be observed between 9 and 11 months. Variegated babbling can persist and overlap well into the one- and two-word stage.

Question 2

Does variegated babbling resemble the sound patterns of the infant’s input language?

Answer 2

Yes, variegated babbling starts to resemble the caregivers’ language(s) in sound pattern.

Examples would include consonant-vowel structures that do not repeat but pose new sound combinations with each utterance (e.g., krill lan pum dim etc).

Question 3

How can the development of communicative intent in the infant be described?

Answer 3

It includes ‘joint attention between communication partners’ and ‘intentionality’ (motivation for wanting to communicate). Joint attention is particularly important for language development.

Question 4

What stages does the ‘development of intentionality’ entail?

Answer 4

1. Per-locutionary (0-8 months): Attentional interactions attend to stimuli and respond to stimuli with undifferentiated behaviours (e.g., crying).
2. Il-locutionary (8-12 months): Differentiated interactions - Emergence of intentional communication using gestures and vocalisations.
3. Locutionary (12 months plus): First meaningful words and meaningful gestures.

Question 5

What are the main components of the Baddeley model?

Answer 5

The model holds four types of information in working memory: phonological loop (for verbal information), visual spatial sketch pad (visual information), central executive (which directs attention and manipulates information), and episodic buffer (which integrates information from different sources).