FSHD 32310/26 – 10/31FSHD 323 EXAM 4 NOTES Language Development Key Terms- Phonology: o speech sounds of a language - Phoneme: o smallest distinct sound in a particular language that signals differences between words- Semantics: o word meanings and combinations - Morpheme: o smallest unit in a language that has meaning- Syntax: o grammatical rules of a language- Pragmatics: o rules that guide how we use language in social situations - Language acquisition: o learning native language - Nativism: o human brains are innately wired to learn language, and hearing spoken languages triggers activation of a universal grammar.- Universal grammaro innate rules for grammar that apply to all languages- Overregularization o mistaken application of a language rule to words that don’t follow that rule or pattern: applying rules where they shouldn’t be applied (example: “sticked”) - receptive language o ability to understand words or language - expressive languageo ability to use written or spoken language we use to convey our thoughts, emotions, or needs- Sensitive period/critical period for language development/acquisition: o infancy  pubertyo if you learn a second language in early childhood, process both language in the same area of the braino if you learn later in life than you process languages in different parts of brain - child-directed speech: o motherese; speech that is tailored to fit the sensory and cognitive capabilities of infants and children so that it holds their attention; simplified speech made up of short sentences with high-pitched, exaggerated intonation, sing song rhythm, distinct pauses, clear gestures, repetitive, endsin a rising tone. - joint attention: o child attends to the same object or event as the caregivero May be combined with pointing by either partnero Dynamic (consistent back and forth) with parent related to better language development - Whole object bias: o word describes entire object, not a small portionFSHD 32310/26 – 10/31Behaviorism & Social Cognitive Learning Theory- In general, language acquisition is guided by behaviorist principles (imitation, reinforcement, generalization) and is a product of environmental influences, especially modelingo Children imitate language of more experienced speakerso Parents selectively reinforce attempts at language use in a progression from babbling to word usageo Language acquisition: learning native language Limitations of the Behaviorism & Social Cognitive Learning Theory- Language is really complicated - Parents do very little direct teaching, and are more likely to respond to meaning than grammar- Universal aspects of language development- We create novel sentences all the time – it is hard to explain that novelty to people - Language is inherently creative Strengths of the Behaviorism & Social Cognitive Learning Theory- Useful approach to treating children with language disorders - Useful approach to school based learning instruction - Can apply to formal learning of a second language Nativism- Human brains are innately wired to learn language, and hearing spoken languages triggers activation of a universal grammar.o Children are biologically pre-wired to acquire language - Chomsky’s Language Acquisition Device (LAD) – mental structure in brain that incorporates an innate concept of languageo Once children have sufficient vocabulary, they can combine words into grammatically consistent,novel utterances and understand sentenceso Universal grammar – innate rules for grammar that apply to all languageso Not actual brain structure - Sensitive period/critical period for language development/acquisition: infancy  pubertyo if you learn a second language in early childhood, process both language in the same area of the braino if you learn later in life than you process languages in different parts of brain Strengths of Nativism - Universal features and principles of all languages (sub, verb, obj.) - Universal language features: until 5 to 6 months infants hear all language phonemes - language is an abstract set of rules that can’t be acquired by learning theory principles- Universal early language development phases- language is too complicated to be explained by reinforcement alone, especially given the pace of development in the early years- explains common mistakes: o over regularization – mistaken application of a language rule to words that don’t follow that rule or pattern: applying rules where they shouldn’t be applied (example: “sticked”)FSHD 32310/26 – 10/31Limitations of Nativism - fails to account for the diversity of languages around the world – can the “pre-wiring” be flexible and general enough? - lack of agreement on scope of universal rules- language acquisition is a more gradual process than this perspective implies – grammatical rules are applied inconsistently- fails to explain cultural diversity in the development of pragmatics (how language is used)Interactionism- Children’s biological readiness to learn language interacts with experiences with language in the environment to bring about language developmento bi-directional interplay of biological and environmental factors.o child is an active constructor of language o language learning takes place in natural settings through social interactions  children love faces-the triangle-the eyes and the mouth - Language Acquisition Support System (LASS) - collection of strategies and tactics that environmental influences (initially parents) provide the child1. Parents’ 2. Children are ready to take advantage of these environmental opportunities- Facilitating Language Development – adults adjust according to the child’s ability, but there are no universal characteristics of parental language interactions, as the consistency may be more important than the actual contento non-verbal gameso child-directed speech: motherese; speech that is tailored to fit the sensory and cognitive capabilities of infants and children so that it holds their attention; simplified speech made up of short sentences with high-pitched, exaggerated intonation, sing song rhythm, distinct pauses, clear gestures, repetitive, ends in a rising toneCognitive Processing Theory cognitive processing theory: language is a process of “data crunching,” in which the actual process of learning words and their meanings relies on the computational ability of the braino social interaction isn’t enough to explain language