Week 8

Question 1

Phonology

Answer 1

Sounds of language

Question 2

Morphology

Answer 2

Rules of meaning within the language

Question 3

Morpheme

Answer 3

smallest unit of meaning

Question 4

Semantics

Answer 4

meaning of words

Question 5

Syntax

Answer 5

rues of how to combine words to form sentences

Question 6

Pragmatics

Answer 6

communicative functions of language; rules that lead to effective communication
- turn taking
-eye roll
-air quotes

Question 7

Infant communication

Answer 7

• Crying ( present at birth)
• Cooing 1-2 months; gurgling sounds
• Babbling: about 6 months

Question 8

Study that infers that infants recognize words before they learn to speak or walk

Answer 8

• when 7.5 month olds repeatedly hear the word bike they listen longer to sentences that contain ‘bike’ than sentences without bike

Question 9

Sensitivity to statistical regularities in 8 month olds

Answer 9

• Exposed to endless stream of triplets for 3 minutes
• showed dishabituation to combinations that rarely occurred during familiarization phase

Question 10

Natural statistics

Answer 10

9 month olds can identify a novel word better that starts with d than t when preceded by s

Question 11

Joint attention

Answer 11

• Develops at 9 -12 months
• Parents encourage learning of words by pointing to an object and naming it
• not necessary; can infer based on context of frequent use

Question 12

Can babies use symbols to communicate

Answer 12

yes

Question 13

Language development

Answer 13

• Start with 1 word utterances (6 to 12 months)
• 2 word utterances
• 3 word utterances reveal grammar
• by 3-4 years are creating novel word combinations correctly

Question 14

Vocabulary Spurt

Answer 14

Stage in which infants learn new words much more rapidly than before
- 10 words per week
- around 18 months

Question 15

Fast mapping

Answer 15

connects new words to objects without considering all possible meanings

Question 16

Rules for learning words

Answer 16

• One-to-One mapping of words to objects
• Name refers to whole object
• If a second name is presented for an object already learned it must be a subcategory
• given many similar category members, a word applied consistently to only one of them is a proper noun

Question 17

Cross-cultural differences in language acquisition

Answer 17

Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Japanese learn verbs earlier than English infants

Question 18

Symbolic representation

Answer 18

• 9 month olds try to grab objects in photos
• scale models are useful only when children understand representation

Question 19

Sign language

Answer 19

a gesture can map on easily to intended meaning, but sign language is more symbolic

Question 20

Scale Errors

Answer 20

Emotions can override sense of scale due to fragile sense of scale

Question 21

Overextension

Answer 21

defining a word too broadly
-common around 1-3; disappears as children master language

Question 22

Underextension

Answer 22

defining a word too narrowly
- common around 1-3; disappears as children master language

Question 23

Wug experiment

Answer 23

Used made up word with grade 1 students
-revealed understanding of morphology
-children know rules well enough to apply to new instances

Question 24

Bilingualism

Answer 24

• Best if second language is acquired before puberty
• early acquisition means same brain areas for processing both languages
• children and adults learn languages differently

Question 25

Critical Period

Answer 25

Notion that specific experience is necessary during a developmental period for a behaviour to develop

Question 26

Sensitive periods

Answer 26

Flexible time window in which experience has optimal effect on behaviour -behaviour can still be modified outside this window

Question 27

Bilingual benefits

Answer 27

BETTER - attentional control - concept formation - analytic reasoning - inhibition - cognitive flexibility, complexity, monitoring

Question 28

ESL duration of time to become proficient

Answer 28

4- 7 years -use native language and English to increase success

Question 29

Behaviorist perspective of grammar acquistition

Answer 29

- Children imitate what they hear - Children are rewarded for using words correctly - Limitations: cannot explain novel combinations and uses of words and parents rarely correct grammar

Question 30

Nativist perspective

Answer 30

Noam Chomsky (1957) - Humans born with neural circuits that allow acquisition of grammar (Language acquisition device)

Question 31

Semantic Bootstrapping theory

Answer 31

A nativist perspective theory where individuals automatically know how to categorize words and infer rules for combining words using this innate knowledge

Question 32

Universal Grammer

Answer 32

- Similarities in grammatical structure across languages - Humans are born with a grammar that allows us to acquire language quickly with minimal guidance

Question 33

5 supports for universal grammar

Answer 33

1. Specific brain regions for processing language, including grammar 2. Only humans learn grammar readily 3. children develop linguistic communication with little/no formal input 4. Critical period for learning language 5. Development of grammar tied to development of vocabulary

Question 34

Aphasia: Speech disorder

Answer 34

Broca's Area -Production -damage leads to broken speech Wernicke's area -comprehension -damage leads to "fluent aphasia" -words flow but are incomprehensible

Question 35

Apes and sign language

Answer 35

- Bonobo observed human models using symbols while interacting with other apes - eventually learned hundreds of lexicons and English words - Chimps can use 2-word combinations (mostly action object)

Question 36

Is language unique to humans

Answer 36

Yes - non-human animals can learn associations between symbols and actual things/actions - No animal has shown mastery of syntax

Question 37

Soundless environment

Answer 37

Babies learn sign language from their deaf parents in the same way as hearing children who learn spoken language

Question 38

Acquisition of vocabulary and grammar

Answer 38

Children not only learn new words, but learn "position" of word simultaneously

Question 39

Cognitive perspective

Answer 39

- Cognitive skills allow children to learn regularities in their environment - Infants' statistical inference is a manifestation of powerful cognition - Infants memory improves as vocabulary improves

Question 40

Williams Syndrome

Answer 40

Low intelligence by high expressive verbal ability

Question 41

Social Perspective

Answer 41

Children master language in the context of social interactions