Language Development Language Development
Jan 29, 2016
Language DevelopmentLanguage Development
Four Components of LanguageFour Components of Language
Phonology sounds
Semantics meanings of words
Grammararrangements of words into sentences
Pragmaticssocial uses of speech
Phonology
Phonemes: the smallest units of sound that can change the meaning of a word
– /d/ “dog”
– /l/ “log”
• Children’s mastery of the different sounds of their language is not a mechanical skill.
• The mastery of different sounds, or phonemes, develops along with the child’s growing understanding of the meanings of words.
Phonology
–/v/ vote
–/b/ boat
–/ee/ sheep
–/i/ ship
PhonologySemantics
the study of the meanings of words
PhonologySemanticsGrammar
Morphology: use of grammatical markers
Syntax : arrangement of words into sentences
MorphemesMorphemes
Smallest units of meaning
MorphemesMorphemes
–child
–speak
–unspeakable
–childless
SyntaxSyntax
• Susan loves Joe
• Joe loves Susan
• Susan Joe loves
SyntaxSyntax
English: I love you
Spanish: I you love
English: the green tree
Spanish: the tree green
PhonologySemanticsGrammar
Pragmatics
The communicative and social uses of speech
Is the door shut?
Is the milk in the fridge?
Is your room clean?
Language DevelopmentLanguage Development
Prelinguistic period
– Newborns distinguish the sound of human voice
– 6 - 8 weeks: cooing
– 4 - 6 months: babbling
• The progression of cooing and babbling follows a universal pattern.
• Babies, until around 6 months old, can produce sounds/phonemes that their parents cannot produce or distinguish
• Nature/Biology plays an important role in the emergence of cooing & babbling.
• The form of the child’s vocalization is also affected by the linguistic environment.
Semantic Development
• 12 months first words
• age 2 years 200 words
• age 6 years 15,000 words
HolophraseHolophrase
Single word that seems to represent
an entire sentence
First Words
• Important people
• Objects that move
• Objects that can be acted upon
• Familiar actions
• Nouns before verbs
Word ExtensionWord Extension
The appropriate limits of
the meaning of words
ExtensionExtension
Underextension– applying a word too narrowly
Overextension– applying a word too broadly
Errors of segmentation
Where does one word end and another begin?
Fast-mapping
using the context to guess
the meaning of a word
Other Strategies for Determining the Other Strategies for Determining the Meaning of a WordMeaning of a Word
Object-scope constraint– words refer to whole objects rather than to parts of
objects
Taxonomic constraint– words refer to categories of similar objects
Mutual exclusivity constraint– each object has one label & different words refer
to separate, non-overlapping categories of objects
Morphological DevelopmentMorphological Development
• Single morphemes
• -s to form plural nouns
• -ed to form past tense
• -s to form 3rd person singular
• Contraction of verb “to be”
OverregularizationOverregularization
feet foots
mice mouses
went goed
broke breaked
Syntactical DevelopmentSyntactical Development
• Telegraphic speech:– leave out the smaller and less important words, like articles
and prepositions
– Boy street
– Billy chair
– Mommy come
– More cookie
Is this really grammar?
Language ExplosionLanguage Explosion
• The language explosion is not just the result of simple semantic development; the child is not just adding more words to his/her vocabulary.
• Child is mastering basic syntactic and morphological rules.
THE CAT BITES THE DOGTHE CAT BITES THE DOG
• the cat bit the dog
• the cat didn’t bite the dog
• did the cat bite the dog?
• wasn’t the dog bitten by the cat?
The gorpy wug wasn’t miggled by The gorpy wug wasn’t miggled by the mimsy zibberthe mimsy zibber
• The wug is gorpy
• The zibber did not miggle the wug
• The zibber is mimsy
Wug zibber mimsy by gorpy the Wug zibber mimsy by gorpy the miggled the wasn’tmiggled the wasn’t
QuestionsQuestions
yes/no questions– Is this a doggie?
Wh- questions– Why...?– When...?– Where...?
Yes/No QuestionsYes/No Questions
• Mommy go?• I play?
• Did mommy go?• Can I play?
• Mommy did go, didn’t she?
Wh- QuestionsWh- Questions
• What daddy eating?• What mommy doing?
• What daddy is eating?• What I did yesterday?
• What is daddy eating?
• What?
• Where?
• Who?
• Why?
• When?
• How?
Negative SentencesNegative Sentences
• no milk
• no I go
• I not drink milk
• that not milk
• I don’t drink milk
Process of Language AcquisitionProcess of Language Acquisition
• ENVIRONMENTALIST (e.g., Skinner)
Language is acquired through a combination of the following mechanisms:
• classical conditioning
• operant conditioning
• imitation
Problems with ImitationProblems with Imitation
Parents do not usually provide feedback for grammatically incorrect sentences.
They do provide feedback for the truth value of sentences.
Child: I no like spinachMom: Yes, I know
Child: Doggie runned awayMom: Yes, the doggie ran away
Child: I’m sleepingMom: No, you’re not, you’re awake
Problems with ImitationProblems with Imitation
Even when parents provide feedback, it doesn’t work!
child nobody don’t like me
mom no, say “nobody doesn’t like me”
child nobody don’t like me
mom listen carefully, “nobody doesn’t like me”
child oh, nobody don’t likes me!
Problems with ImitationProblems with Imitation
Children can only imitate phrases that they can already produce
Problems with ImitationProblems with Imitation
Children can produce a vast array of sentences they have never heard before.
Problems with ImitationProblems with Imitation
Children’s mistakes are systematic
I goedDoggie runned away
These systematic mistakes reflect rule-following behavior
NATIVIST (ChomskyNATIVIST (Chomsky)
• Humans are biologically predisposed to acquire language.
• The capacity to comprehend and produce language is innate.
Language Acquisition Device Language Acquisition Device ((LADLAD))
• Biologically based system, programmed to recognize the universal rules that underlie any language the child might hear.
• It contains a universal grammar
NATIVISMNATIVISM
• The capacity to recognize the rules that underlie language is innate.
• However, the linguistic environment dictates which particular language a child will speak.
• The specific language is NOT genetically transmitted.
Support for Nativist TheorySupport for Nativist Theory
• Language is acquired rapidly • Language is acquired with little explicit teaching• Children around the world reach language milestones at
around same age• Sensitive period for language acquisition
Eric LennebergEric Lenneberg
Sensitive period for language acquisition: between the ages of 2 and puberty
brains are not fully specialized for language until around puberty
implications on bilingualism