CHAPTER Language Development

WHAT IS LANGUAGE? The Characteristics of Language Human language is different from animal communication in that it has semanticist is productive has quality of displacement Language: an arbitrary system of symbols that is rule-governed and allows communication about things that are distant in time and space Comprehension often outpaces production Instinctive drive exists to acquire language

Language’s Rule Systems What is Language? Language’s Rule Systems Phonology Morphology Syntax Sound system of language; how the sounds are used and combined – phoneme is smallest unit of sound morphemes are units of meaning involved in word formation Ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences Semantics Meanings of words and sentences Pragmatics Appropriate use of language in context; can be very complex

WHAT IS LANGUAGE? The Structure of Language Language consists of five different rule systems: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics Phonology refers to important speech sounds and rules for combining basic sounds into larger units - phoneme is individual unit of speech sound - English has about 45 phonemes - majority of phonemes mastered by age 2

WHAT IS LANGUAGE? The Structure of Language Morphology refers to rules for combining smallest units of meaning into words - smallest unit of meaning is morpheme - dogs has 2; dog and s - can be single syllable or consist of more than one syllable - knowledge of morphology allows for formation of different grammatical expressions

WHAT IS LANGUAGE? The Structure of Language Syntax refers to knowledge of how to combine words to form phrases and sentences - consists of rules of grammar “home ran cowboy the” - allows production of almost infinite number of novel sentences - basic rules learned fairly early in childhood - more complex rules learned later

WHAT IS LANGUAGE? The Structure of Language Semantics refers to knowledge of meanings associated with words - complicated task that takes years - word use by child may involve different understanding than adult Pragmatics refers to use of language to express thoughts and feelings, accomplish things, and communicate with others

THEORIES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Three basic theories that attempt to explain language development: 1. Learning theory 2. Nativist theory 3. Interactionist perspectives

LEARNING THEORY: Language as a Learned Skill Learning theory based on behaviorist theories of learning - operant conditioning, modeling and imitating Language viewed as behavior learned like other skills Shaping explains how humans come to produce speech as parents reinforce attempts Parents also provide models of advanced language that child then imitates

LEARNING THEORY: Language As A Learned Skill Criticisms of theory: - shaping by parents is inconsistent parents do not explicitly teach rule systems - language heard is often not good model - novel words and uses difficult to explain through learning principles - does not explain pace of language development - ignores evidence that humans biologically predisposed to detect language stimuli

NATIVIST THEORY: Born to Talk Noam Chomsky first to propose theory that language is innate human capability Chomsky proposed that humans born with language acquisition device (LAD) – brain mechanism specialized for detecting and learning rules of language Also proposed that LAD contains innate (inborn) knowledge of universal grammar

NATIVISTS THEORY: Born to Talk Recent nativist accounts propose that LAD contains operating principles rather than innate knowledge of grammar systems Children pay attention to certain parts of the language All nativist theorists see role of environment as initiating maturation of a physiologically based LAD; environment does not shape/train

NATIVIST THEORY: Born to Talk If language acquisition is biologically programmed, it should show developmental patterns similar to other systems - all physically intact humans develop language quickly and easily - other species require more time and effort, show less success in learning language

NATIVIST THEORY: Born to Talk Specific physical structures in humans specialized for producing/processing language No single organ is LAD; Best thought of as several brain areas that are specialized to process linguistic input and their connections Left side of temporal lobe Wernicke’s area, Broca’s area, arcuate fasciculus, angular gyrus

Biological Influences Biological and Environmental Influences Biological Influences Evolution and the brain’s role in language Broca’s area — area of brain’s left frontal lobe involved in speech production Wernicke’s area — area of brain’s left hemisphere involved in language comprehension If damaged — fluent incomprehensible speech produced

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Interactionist Theories Both Skinner and Chomsky appear right about some aspects of language development Some see both as too extreme in views Interactions perspective seeks to describe how multiple factors interact in language Some emphasize cognitive factors and others underscore role of social interactions

INTERACTIONIST THEORIES: Cognitive Approaches Those emphasizing cognition feel that only when children develop cognitively to the point where they need symbols will they have need to develop language Cognitive skills interact with environmental demands and language experience to produce increasingly mature language skills Recent cognitive approaches based on connectionist models from information processing

INTERACTIONIST THEORIES: Social Interactionist Theory Sees language development as result of interplay between biological predisposition and social interactions - we seek social interaction and communicate - parents use - recasts - expansions - role of special interactions called formats - importance of child-directed speech

How Language Starts: Perceptual Skills During first year of life, perceptual skills that enable infant to perceive and discriminate speech sounds improve Use habituation techniques to verify this Ability to make discriminations not required by native language gradually lost

How Language Starts: Social Interactions Children begin to understand sounds that communicate needs, control others’ behavior through social interactions Requires joint focus of attention: both people focus attention on same object or event at the same time Essential for development of important pragmatic language skills Taking turns in conversation

How Language develops Speech milestones

Infancy Babbling, gestures, and other vocalizations How Language Develops Infancy Babbling, gestures, and other vocalizations Crying - from birth Cooing - 1 to 2 months Babbling - around 6 months Gestures - 8 to 12 months

How Language Starts: Speech Production in Infancy First sounds are reflexive, nonintentional Sounds become increasingly differentiated and intentional Cooing: 2 months, notes pleasure and comfort True babbling begins at about 6 months Repeated consonant-vowel syllables Mamama; gagaga Comes to resemble sounds of native language

How Language Starts: Speech Production in Infancy Echolalia (8 and 12 months) Immediate imitation of others’ sounds or words Variegated babbling (9-18 months) Syllables differ from one another Badagapa Jargon babbling (9-18 months) Has the rhythm and intonation of adult speech Protowords evident by 9 to 10 months Consistent patterns of sound for specific objects or people

Language in Early Childhood: Semantics Single words appear around one year of age Gestures, babbling, and protowords used along with real words for several months Average child produces 50 words by 18 months of age 200 words by 24 months 10,000 words by age six; comprehend more than they can produce ; sequence of types of words

Language in Early Childhood: Semantics Children learn word meanings through parents’ modeling and labeling of events Children also use fast mapping Get partial meaning with one hearing Overextensions Every animal that flies with wings is a parrot Underextensions Only the family pet is a parrot

Language in Early Childhood Semantics Learning of word meanings aided by Syntactical bootstrapping: placement in sentence gives clue to meaning Constraints: assumptions that children automatically make about possible meaning of a word Holophrases: single words used to express an entire idea or sentence

Language in Early Childhood: Grammar Between 18 and 24 months, children put 2 and 3 word sentences together Telegraphic speech: using only essential words Not universal Rules of transformational grammar acquired gradually over early childhood Overregularization errors quite common “I saw 2 mouses in the garage.” Semantic bootstrapping useful in learning grammar

Language in Early Childhood: Grammar Important aspects of pragmatics acquired Social rules of discourse: guidelines that people follow when they are having a conversation Turn taking; learned early Answer-obviousness; learned later Referential communication: saying something that the hearer will understand Changing your wording or tone to fit the hearer

Language in Middle Childhood Vocabulary continues to increase; receptive vocabulary is about 40,000 words by age 10 Phonemes mastered and aspects of intonation better understood Examples Increases in mastery of grammar and syntax Improvement in pragmatic skills

Language in Middle Childhood Development of metalinguistic awareness A single word can have many meanings Self-monitor and correct the speech they produce and receive Correlation between a higher metalinguistic awareness early and higher reading ability Increasing sophistication in language play Developing use of language in humor and jokes

Language in Adolescence 80,000 words in high school Children begin to use language as tool for identifying peer groups and for excluding those outside their peer group Adolescent register includes slang terms Registers change quickly; terms may fade away or become part of larger culture Genderlects: different ways that males and females talk Personal narratives: stories people tell about what happens to them

ISSUES IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Bilingualism – Learning Two Languages Children become bilingual simultaneously or sequentially If second language learned by about age 3, fluency will match that of first language Code switching: using words from both languages in the same sentence Rate of language acquisition slightly slower, but learning two languages may provide some cognitive advantages

ISSUES IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Social Dialects A dialect is a consistent and systematic variety of a single language that is shared by a certain subgroup of speakers Evolve from the unique cultural and historical background of those who speak it Common dialects include African American English, Hispanic English, and Asian English No one dialect inherently better or worse