five components of language
- Phonology.
- Morphology.
- Semantics.
- Syntax.
- Pragmatics
- Phonology
Phonology refers to the actual sound of language. In the English language
there are about 40 speech sounds or phonemes. Many more exist in other
languages.
Children must learn to produce and recognised the sounds of language,
separating them from environmental noises and other and other human created sounds like sneezing and coughing.
Also they need to learn when subtle differences between speech sounds
represent a change in meaning or not.
- Morphology
example?
Morphology refers to the structure of words.
ex. Consider the word “redesigned”. Can be broken down in three morphemes: re – indicating to do again; design – the verb root. ed – indicating an action in past.
- Semantics:
-Semantics refers to the association of meaning with a word.
-A child must learn that certain combinations of phonemes represent certain
physical objects or events and that words may refer to entire categories.
Eg., animals
- Syntax:
Example?
- Syntax refers how words are put together to form sentences.
- Children must be able to distinguish that the sentence,
“John has only three pieces of candy”
has a different meaning then
“Only John has three pieces of candy”
- Pragmatics:
example?
-Pragmatics refers to the dependence of language on context and pre exiting
knowledge.
-In other words, the manner in which we speak may differ depending on the
audience and our relationship to the audience
ex.Asking for a seat on the bus.
babbling
- An important pre cursor of language is babbling.
- Almost without exception, children, including deaf children, spontaneously begin to babble during their first year
Babbling comparsion between:
Hearing childern
vs
Deaf children
- Hearing children: Reaches its highest frequency 9-12 mths
- Deaf Children: Verbal babbling ceases soon after it begins.
Timeline of language acquisition
- 12-18 months add 1 word per month
- 18 months explosion of language (child learns dozens of words)
- 18-20 mths begin to combine words to form basic sentences.
(ex. From “apple” to “that apple”)
-By the age of 2 or 3 years children can speak in longer sentences.(period where the child internalises the complex rules of grammar)
(Theory)
- Observational and Operant Conditioning
These theories explain learning and meaning of words but they do not
explain complex grammar
(Theory)
- Nativism
- Nativism: An Innate predisposition towards language
- Critical period between 2-puberty. Later training largely ineffective.
- Chomsky’s theory of Language Acquisition Devise (LAD).(born with language basicaly)
- Support from animal studies
- No brain region in which LAD is located
- Interactionism
Nature and nurture
Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Development
- The role of social interaction in cognitive development
- The role of culture
- The role of language in learning
Theory of Mind
- Difficulty of children to understand that others might have knowledge different than their own or that others do not know what they thing
- In medical practice this should be taken into consideration when
dealing with young children
Children’s understanding of illness vary at age/stage of development
2-4 Phenomenism (particular objects appear to cause illness)
4-7 Contagion (illness is caused by proximity to ill people or objects)
7-9 Contamination (illness is caused by physical contact with ill people may be seen as a form of punishment)
9-11 Internalisation (illness is located within the body but may be caused by external factors (e.g., cold)
11-16 Physiological (illness is caused by mulfunction of organs or systems that may be due to infections)
16+ Psychophysiological (psychological factors such as stress and fatigue may affect physiological processes rather than only being an outcome)
