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Early Childhood (ages 2-6)
Explosive growth in ability to comprehend and use language
Learn several new words per day
By the age of 6, a child’s vocabulary is between 8,000 and 14,000 words
Totally transforms theirmental and social lives
Overview of the Journey
Puzzle of Language Development
Language Subsystems
Explanations of Language Acquisition
Essential Ingredients for Acquisition
Relation of Language and Thought
Puzzle of Language Development
Language Subsystems
Explanations of Language Acquisition
Essential Ingredients for Acquisition
Relation of Language and Thought
The Puzzle of Language
Development
Prelinguistic Development
Problem of Reference
Problem of Grammar
Prelinguistic Developments Birth: Preference for
language over other kinds of sounds; can differentiate basic phonemes characteristic of world’s languages
Neonate: Can distinguish sounds of their native language from those of a foreign language
2½ months: Social smiling; cooing babbling ( jargoning words by 1 year old)
Prelinguistic Developments
3 months: Match behavior to that of another person (primary intersubjectivity)
9 months: Social referencing and pointing at an object (evidences of secondary intersubjectivity)
18 months: Will not point unless caregiver is present
Problem of Reference
“Smotri sinochik! Tam sidit ptitsa.”
“Smotri sinochik! Tam sidit ptitsa.”
“Look, son! There sits a ptitsa.”
“Look, son! There sits a ptitsa.”
How do children discover what
words mean?
How do children discover what
words mean?
Problem of Grammar
Grammar: Rules of a given language for the sequencing of words in a sentence and the ordering of parts of words
7 months: Sensitive to ordering of words in simple sentences and can abstract patterns of word usage from such sentences
Later: “My doggy runned away” – significant, because have not been taught to say this and have not learned it from imitation
How do children learn to arrange words and parts of words in a way that has meaning to others?How do children learn to arrange words and parts of words in a way that has meaning to others?
1: Sounds
Phonemes: Basic sounds in a language Newborn: Can perceive the differences between
the phonemes of language Shortly afterward, will cease to differentiate
sounds that are not a part of their native language (Japanese: /l/ and /y/; Spanish: /b/ and /v/)
Morphemes: Smallest units of meaning in the words of a language “Transplanted” [trans] [plant] [ed] By 8-9 years, can use morpheme knowledge to
figure out meanings of new words (e.g., “treelet”)
2: Words
Genuine words appear around first birthday Aided by adult interpretation of vocalizations
Words as mediators that allow a child to operate indirectly on an object via an adult Conversely,
allows the child to be influenced by others (e.g., a command)
2: Words
Growth of vocabulary… 14 months: 10 words 18 months: 50 words 24 months: 300 words
Receptive vocabulary (i.e., what they understand) is much larger 14 months: 100 words
Mostly nouns (closely linked to actions they accomplish, or that change and move) 24 months: By then, nouns account for less than half Verbs, relational words (e.g., “gone” “here” “no”), comments
on attainments (e.g., “There!” “Hooray!” “Uh-oh”)
2: Words
Problems of referential ambiguity Overextensions: Applying
a verbal label too broadly (e.g., “Daddy” to all men)
Underextensions: Applying the label too narrowly (e.g., “cat” only to the family’s cat)
Levels of abstractions: Children between ages of 2 and 4 seem to label all sets at the same intermediate level of generality…
Word Meanings
For a young child, word meanings are dominated by the contexts of action in which the words have played a role
As the child acquires formal conceptual categories of language, the structure of word meanings changes accordingly
Assessed by “What kind of thing is a _____?”
Holophrases
Simple-word utterances of babies that some believe stand for entire phrases or sentences “Up” “Bottle”
However, are almost always accompanied by nonverbal elements (e.g., gestures, distinctive facial expressions) Consequently, single word in
conjunction with gestures and facial expressions is equivalent of a whole sentence
3: Sentences
Utterances of 2+ words: Language milestone at end of infancy (age 2 years) “Want do” “More sing” “Water off” “Mail come”
Can vary order of words to create different meanings (early understanding of grammar) “Chase Daddy” vs. “Daddy chase”
Increasing complexity… Measured in number of morphemes (units of
meaning): MLU (mean length of utterance) “Boys aren’t playing” = 3 words, but 6 morphemes
(boy, s, are, not, play, ing)
3: Sentences
Grammatical morphemes: Units that create meaning by showing relations between other elements within sentence Present progressive
(-ing) first to appear Followed by location,
number, possession, past tense
3: Sentences
Complex constructions Words added to end of
a sentence to turn it into a question “You will come, won’t you?”
Acquire grammar rules that even most adults can’t explain evidence of high level of abstraction
4: Uses of Language
Conversational conventions (pragmatics) Cooperative principle: Make contributions to
conversation at required time and for accepted purpose of the talk exchange
Conversational acts Proto-imperatives:
Engage another person to achieve a desired objective (e.g., “More”)
Proto-declaratives: Initiate/maintain dialogue with another person (e.g., point and “Doggie”; giving)
4: Uses of Language Taking the listener into account
3½ years: Provide more information to someone who is blindfolded; use simpler language with younger child or a baby doll (but not a grown-up doll)
Use of metaphors (creative process) Beginning of metaphorical language
coincides with the onset of symbolic play (e.g., yellow bat becomes an ear of “corn”)
In middle childhood, still have difficulty with metaphors that link physical terms to people (e.g., “That kid is a bulldozer”)
Explanations of Language Acquisition
Learning-Theory Explanation
Nativist Explanation
Interactionist Explanation
Learning-Theory Explanation
Major causal factor Environment (nurture)
Mechanisms Conditioning: Classical
(sum of all experiences) & operant (parental enthusiasm over closer approximations to correct sound of the word)
Imitation: Abstract modeling (Bandura) for grammar
Major phenomenon explained Word meaning
Nativist Explanation
Major causal factor Heredity (nature): Innate ability
(Chomsky)
Mechanism Triggering: Via Language
Acquisition Device (LAD) programmed to recognize the deep structures that underlie any particular language that the child may hear
Major phenomenon explained Syntax
Interactionist Explanation Major causal factor
Cognitive hypothesis (derived from Piaget’s constructivism): Interaction of social and biological factors
Cultural-context approach (based on Bruner’s formats – peekaboo & routines): Cultural mediation of social-biological interaction
Mechanisms Cognitive hypothesis: Assimilation-
accommodation Cultural-context approach: Cultural
scripts – Language Acquisition Support System (LASS)
Major phenomenon explained Language-thought relationships
Vocabulary Size & Grammatical Complexity Linked
The fact that grammatical growth is more closely correlated with vocabulary growth than either of those are with age lends support to the constructivist framework.
Bates & Goodman, 1999
Essential Ingredients for Acquisition
Biological Prerequisites
Role of the Environment
Language Requirements
Biological Prerequisites Chimpanzees
After years of hard work, chimpanzees can learn several dozen signs, in combinations similar to a 2-year-old; but children with no special training learn thousands of words in a relatively short time span
Down syndrome Restricted vocabulary and simple grammar suggest that
normal language development requires normal cognitive function, at least in certain key areas
Williams syndrome Although mentally retarded, relatively normal vocabulary and
grammar use suggest that at least some aspects of language develop independently of general cognitive function
Role of the Environment Deaf children (whose parents won’t sign or who
“home sign”) and hearing children raised by deaf parents Develop basic rudiments of grammar (2- or 3-word phrases),
but not more complex ones Fast Mapping
Children hear an unfamiliar word in a familiar, structured, and meaningful social interaction (e.g., taking a bath routine)
Whole-object principle: Assume word (“cup”) applies to whole object
Categorizing principle: Assume that object labels (“dog”) extend to classes of similar objects
Mutual-Exclusivity principle: Assume that an object can have only one name (“zebra” refers to the animal that’s different in a group of cows – “cow” already known)
Language Requirements
1. Biologically programmed sensitivity to language present at birth, which develops as the child matures (Nativist view)
2. Ability to learn from and imitate the language of others (Environmental-learning view)
3. Acquisition of basic cognitive capacities – schemas for actions with objects, ability to represent the world mentally, presence of lexical principles (Interactionist view – Constructivist version)
4. Inclusion of children in familiar routines in which language is one of many forms of interaction (Interactionist view – Cultural-context version)
Progress of Language Development
Age Typical Behavior
Birth Phoneme perception; crying
3 months Cooing
6 months Babbling; lose discrim. non-native phonemes
9 months First words; holophrases
12 months Use of words to attract adults’ attention
18 months Vocabulary spurt; telegraphic speech (2-word)
24 months Response to indirect request (“Is door shut?”)
30 months Create indirect request; take listener account
Early child. Increase grammatical complex. (overgeneral.)
Middle child. Understand passive forms; acquire written
Adolescence Acquire specialized language functions