Chapter 8- LanguageFour Levels of organization in languagesSentencePhrasesWords/morphemesPhonemesAuditory perceptionDiffers among people who speak different languagesSome languages contain sounds that don’t occur in other languagesLanguage developmentBabbling stage3-4 monthsInfants spontaneously utter random soundsNot initially an imitation of adult speech until 10 monthsOne-word Stage1-2 yearsSpeech mostly in single wordsComprehended is higher than produced speechTwo-word stageApproaching age 2Mostly two word statementsTelegraphic speech- “go car”Critical PeriodCurrent findings inconclusive for critical periodThere is a “sensitive period” for language acquisitionWith younger children learning is easierBilingualismProsAbility to interact with and understand more peopleA greater metalinguistic insight- awareness of how language is structured and usedPerform higher on language tasksConsUse different brain areas, suggesting that the brain may segregate different, later-learned languages into different regionsLess proficient and require more brain involvement to master their second language if required later in ageLanguage AcquisitionThe imitation account- Babies mimic parents in languageNativist account- children come into the world with some basic knowledge on how language worksSocial Pragmatics account- Suggests that children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactionsGeneral cognitive processing account (statistical learning)- Proposes that children’s ability to learn language results from general skills that children apply across a variety of activities. Children’s ability to perceive, learn, and recognize patterns.Factors affecting language comprehensionNegativesFew people strongly deny that the earth is not flatPassivesThe book was dropped by TomNested structuresThe horse raced past the barn fellAmbiguityChildren make nutritious snacksChapter 8- LanguageFour Levels of organization in languagesSentencePhrasesWords/morphemesPhonemesAuditory perceptionDiffers among people who speak different languagesSome languages contain sounds that don’t occur in other languagesLanguage developmentBabbling stage3-4 monthsInfants spontaneously utter random soundsNot initially an imitation of adult speech until 10 monthsOne-word Stage1-2 yearsSpeech mostly in single wordsComprehended is higher than produced speechTwo-word stageApproaching age 2Mostly two word statementsTelegraphic speech- “go car”Critical PeriodCurrent findings inconclusive for critical periodThere is a “sensitive period” for language acquisitionWith younger children learning is easierBilingualismProsAbility to interact with and understand more peopleA greater metalinguistic insight- awareness of how language is structured and usedPerform higher on language tasksConsUse different brain areas, suggesting that the brain may segregate different, later-learned languages into different regionsLess proficient and require more brain involvement to master their second language if required later in ageLanguage AcquisitionThe imitation account- Babies mimic parents in languageNativist account- children come into the world with some basic knowledge on how language worksSocial Pragmatics account- Suggests that children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactionsGeneral cognitive processing account (statistical learning)- Proposes that children’s ability to learn language results from general skills that children applyacross a variety of activities. Children’s ability to perceive, learn, and recognize patterns.Factors affecting language comprehensionNegativesFew people strongly deny that the earth is not flatPassivesThe book was dropped by TomNested structuresThe horse raced past the barn fellAmbiguityChildren make nutritious
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