Download Chapter 10-Language Only

Chapter 10-Language Only
Mastering Language
Language-a communication system in which a limited number of signals – sounds, letters, gestures –
can be combined according to agreed-upon rules to produce an infinite number of messages
Mastering Language – What Must Be Mastered?
Words (symbols) and rules must be mastered:
Phonemes – basic units of sound that can change the meaning of a word
Example: substitute the phoneme /c/ for /m/ in the word “man” changes the meaning of the word
Morphemes – the basic units of meaning that exist in a word
“View” is one morpheme. Add the morpheme “re” to get a two-morpheme word with a different
meaning – “review” Add “pre” to get another two-morpheme word with another different meaning –
“preview”
Syntax – the systematic rules for forming sentences
Fang Fred bit. or Fang bit Fred. or Fred bit Fang. Which violates the syntax of English?
Semantics – understanding the different meanings of language
“Sherry was green with jealousy” does not mean that Sherry was green, literally
Pragmatics of language – rules for using language in different contexts
We might say “Chill!” to a peer, but not to a respected family member
Prosody – how the sounds are produced
The “melody” of speech, including pitch, intonation, accentuation of syllables in a word or words in a
sentence, and the duration or timing of speech
We might say, “Oh, yeah” in response to a friend who asks if we are ready to go, but “Oh, yeah?” to
express doubtfulness or disbelief
When Does Language Develop? Before the First Words
Newborns are attuned to human speech, show a preference for speech over nonspeech sounds and for
their native language
Can distinguish between phonemes such as b and p or d and t
By 7½ months, infants demonstrate word segmentation ability when they detect a target word in a
stream of speech
They understand that “The cat scratched the dog’s nose” is a string of six words, not one word
Prelinguistic sounds and the feedback infants receive pave the way for meaningful speech
Cooing – around 6 to 8 weeks of age
Repeated vowel sounds such as “ooooh” and “aaaah” when babies are content
Babbling – around 4 to 6 months
Repeated consonant-vowel combinations such as “baba” or “dadada” for the pleasure of making an
interesting noise
By 8 months of age, infants’ babbling begins to include the intonation patterns (accent) of the
language that they hear and is restricted to the phonemes of the language. These utterances sound a
great deal like speech
Comprehension (reception) occurs before production or expression of language
10-month-olds, on average, can comprehend about 50 words but do not produce any of them
Around 1 year, infants seem to understand familiar words
Use cues to connect words with their referents (objects, people, or ideas represented by a name)
Important social cue is joint attention – social eye gaze – two people looking at the same thing
Infants see parents pointing, labeling, directing their gaze and make the connection
between words and their referents
When Does Language Develop? –The First Words
An infant’s first meaningful word – spoken around 1 year – is a special event
Holophrases – first words that convey an entire sentence of meaning
“Shoe” means “There is Mommy’s shoe” or
“Shoe” means “I want to put my shoes on my feet”
1-year-olds can use holophrases for naming, questioning, requesting, and demanding
At the same time, they begin to use nonverbal symbols, gestures such as pointing or raising their arms
Vocabulary acquisition proceeds one word at a time
At 18 months, when the child has about 30 to 50 words, the vocabulary spurt occurs and the pace of
word learning quickens dramatically
Pinker (1995) estimates that a new word is acquired every two hours during this time
Children seem to realize that everything has a name and by learning the names of things, they can
share what they are thinking with others, and vice versa
Rapid vocabulary acquisition may involve some mistakes
Overextension – the use of a word to refer to a too-broad range of objects or events
All furry, four-legged animals are “dogs”
Underextension – the use of a word in too-narrow fashion
“Kitty” is used only for the family pet and not in reference to other cats
Semantic errors such as overextension may occur because children want to communicate but don’t
have the vocabulary they need
Telegraphic Speech
The next step in language development is telegraphic speech about 18-24 months of age
Two-word sentences to express basic ideas
Like telegrams, the utterances contain critical components and omit articles, prepositions, and
auxiliary verbs
A form of functional grammar that emphasizes the semantic relationships among words, the
meanings being expressed, and the functions served by sentences (naming, questioning, or
commanding)
Overregularization represents continued language development
“Foots” or “goed” or “mouses”
The child has inferred the morphological rules of adding –s to pluralize nouns or –ed to signal past
Tense
In overregularization, the child overapplies the rules to cases in which the proper form is irregular
When Does Language Develop? –Later Language Development
The average first-grader starts school with a vocabulary of about 10,000 words and adds somewhere
between 5 and 13 new words a day throughout the elementary-school years
Middle childhood and adolescence bring metalinguistic awareness – knowledge of language as a
System
Adolescents are better able to understand and define abstract terms and are better able to infer
meanings that are not explicit
Adults retain their knowledge of phonology and syntax
Adults often expand their knowledge of semantics (word meanings) and refine their pragmatic use of
language (adjusting language to social and professional contexts)
Hearing impairments, cognitive deficits, or memory problems/retrieval problems can affect
adult’s language skills
How Does Language Develop? – Nurture – Environment and Learning
Children’s language development is influenced by their environment
Learn the words they hear spoken by others
More likely to use new words if they are reinforced for doing so
Children who have encouraging, interactive caregivers are more advanced in early language
development
However, imitation and reinforcement are not the best explanations for children’s acquisition of
syntax (grammatical rules)
How Does Language Develop? – Nature – Contributions of Biology
Chomsky (2000) proposed that humans have a unique genetic capacity to learn language
Equipped with universal grammar, system of common rules and properties for learning any language
in the world
75% of the world’s languages have the basic order of subject-verb-object or subject-object-verb
Exposure to language activates the language acquisition device (LAD) which sifts through language,
applies the universal rules, and tailors the system to the specifics of the language spoken in the
child’s environment
Evidence for the nativist perspective on language development
The “learnability factor” – children acquire an incredibly complex communication system rapidly and
without formal instruction
All children progress through the same sequence of language development at similar ages and make
the same kinds of errors
Suggests that language development is guided by a species-wide maturational plan
The universal aspects of language development occur despite cultural differences in adults’ styles of
speech with children
Researchers believe there is a period for optimal language development – a sensitive period – when
language processing areas of the brain are shaped by early experience with language
How Does Language Develop? – Nature and Nurture Working Together
Interactionists believe that both learning theorists (nurture) and nativists (nature) are correct
Children’s biologically based competencies and their language environment interact to shape the
course of language development
Language acquisition is interrelated to other developments (perceptual, cognitive, motor, social,
emotional) that are taking place concurrently with language acquisition
Interactionists emphasize the ways that social interactions with adults contribute to children’s
language development
Child-directed speech describes the speech adults use with young children
Short, simple sentences spoken slowly in a high-pitched voice with repetition and exaggerated
emphasis on key words
Adults may use expansion – a more grammatically correct or complete response to a child’s
verbalization
“Kitty goed” elicits “Yes, the cat ran away”