Study Guide Language Development 1 List and explain the 5 functions of language 1 Communicate fear knowledge information desires needs opinions emotions 2 Influence others 3 Make decisions 4 Control our emotions and behavior 5 Escape from reality through fantasy entertainment ie child pretending to be an astronaut 2 For each of the 4 components of language also called 4 faces be able to a Name and define each one b Give examples of each one 1 Phonology Rules for which sounds sound combinations intonations are legitimate 1 Phoneme Legitimate sound tu gu hu du ah Versus trilled r throaty ch 2 Phoneme combinations bik kib bnmik 3 Intonation e g question vs statement 2 Semantics Meaning of words word combinations 3 Grammar Structure of language A Morphology i Rules for manipulating morphemes smallest unit of language with meaning ii Examples rules for making plurals changing tense turning noun to action word negation How words are ordered in a sentence Examples where to put negation ordering of subject and object Rules for changing language as a function of context Ex Talk differently when party versus in class Speak to adult versus baby Speak versus write paper Text message versus letter B Syntax 4 Pragmatics 3 Define and give example of a Phoneme Phoneme the basic unit of language s phonetic system phonemes are the smallest sound units that affect meaning o Changing a phoneme changes the meaning of a word o Example by changing the initial phoneme in the word bat we can make the very different word cat By changing the middle phoneme we can make yet another word bit Morpheme Morpheme a languages smallest unit of meaning such as a prefix a suffix or a root word o Rules for altering root words to produc3e such things as plurals past tenses and inflections are part of a languages morphological system b 4 What is the difference between syntax and morphology What do they have in common Morphology the study of morphemes languages smallest unit of meaning Syntax the part of grammar that describes how words may combine into phrases clauses and sentences 5 We discussed 3 different theories of language development 1 Traditional Learning Theory 2 Nativist Theory and 3 Social Interactionist Theory also called Social Discourse Theory For each of these 3 theories a b c d Explain the theory How is it similar to and different from the other 2 theories Explain whether it views children as active or passive learners of language What does it view as the role of biology in contributing to language development What does it view as the role of environment in contributing to language development 1 Traditional learning theory account for this process Traditional learning explanations of language development use the principle of reinforcement to For instance the learning theorist B F Skinner posited that parents or other caretakers selectively reinforce the child s babbling sounds that are most like adult speech By giving attention to particular sounds and showing approval when their baby utters them parents encourage the child to repeat them Thus according to Skinner by giving their greatest approval to the infants closest approximations to adult speech sounds parents shape their child s verbal behavior into what increasingly resembles adult speech Other learning theorists propose that the child learns primarily through imitation or observational learning According to this theory the child picks up words directly by imitating then through reinforcement and generalization or applying what she has learned to new situations Role of Biology Role of child PASSIVE Role of parent ACTIVE 2 The Nativist View Linguist Noam Chomsky the most influential advocate of the ntivist position proposed that children are born with an innate mental structure that guides their acquisition of language and in particular grammar Born with LAD language acquisition device programmed to pick up phonemes words and grammar that you re exposed to Chomsky proposed that the mental structure in the human nervous system incorporates an innate concept of language Nativists argue that the normal human child is biologically predisposed to acquire human language NOT born with knowledge of phonemes words or grammar of genetic language Ex If parents are french baby is NOT biologically predisposed to speak french Role of environment Need exposure for child to pick up language Do NOT need to reinforce correct language or provide corrections Role of child ACTIVE child figuring out rules looking for regularities and then they apply them Role of parent PASSIVE 3 Social Interactionist Most modern theorists of language development take the interactionist view recognizing that language is learned in the context of spoken language but assuming as well that humans are in some way biologically prepared for learning to speak Interactionists are concerned with the interplay between biological and environmental factors In this view normal language develops as a result of a delicate balance between parent and child understanding when parents speak to children in a way that recognizes how much the children already know and understand thy increase enormously their children s chance of comprehending a novel message Biologically predisposed to learn any language with LAD Environment provides a LASS language acquisition support system communication with adults about something meaningful to a child is crucial not just listening to adult Parent discourse behaviors that help often not intentional a Turn taking games w infant b Parentese gets baby s attention high pitch slow simple rise intonation at end c Provide more advanced speech when baby ready d Expansion recasting Baby Kitty eat Parent Yes the kitty is eating expansion Parent Yes what is she eating recasting Do NOT need to reinforce correct language or give corrections Role of child ACTIVE Role of parent PASSIVE 6 Scientific Evidence Related to Theories of Language Development a Know and be able to explain each of the 12 findings presented in class Most are also in text b For each finding be able to explain how it supports and or refutes a particular theory or theories 1 Parents don t hold off reinforcement until kids use good pronunciation or grammar Refutes Traditional learning theory the average parent doesn t care if child uses incorrect grammar 2 Language impaired kids benefit from modeling of correct sounds words grammar holding off reinforcement until child does it correctly Supports Traditional learning
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