Introduction to Language and Linguistic Development

What is language?

Communication via speech, writing, symbols, sounds, and grammar, which has structure and is reflexive and metalinguistic.

How many languages are there worldwide?

Over 7000 languages.

What percentage of Australian students speak EAL/D?

Approximately 25%.

What are valid dialects of English in Australia?

Australian Aboriginal English and Ethnocultural Australian English.

What are the key components of language?

Morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, prefixes/suffixes, and word types (nouns, verbs, adjectives).

What is morphology in language?

The structure of words and how meanings are formed.

What does syntax refer to?

How words form sentences.

What is semantics?

The meaning of words and phrases.

What is pragmatics in language?

The study of language in context.

What are the stages of language development?

Preschool, Early Primary, Later Primary/Secondary, and Adulthood.

What is the role of reading in literacy?

Reading builds language and literacy, mapping written to spoken language.

What does grammar include?

Syntax, morphology, and punctuation.

What is the difference between traditional grammar and systemic functional grammar?

Traditional grammar focuses on rules and structure, while systemic functional grammar focuses on purpose and use.

What are the types of nouns?

Proper, countable, uncountable, abstract, and concrete.

What are modal verbs?

Verbs that express necessity or possibility (e.g., can, should).

What is a clause?

A group of words that contains a verb; can be main (independent) or subordinate (dependent).

What are the types of sentences?

Simple, compound, and complex.

What is an infinitive?

A verb form that begins with 'to' (e.g., to run).

What are the basic punctuation rules?

Full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, commas, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, dashes, and quotation marks.

What is phonology?

The study of speech sounds and how they combine and function.

What are phonemes?

The smallest sound units that distinguish words.

How many vowel and consonant phonemes are in Standard Australian English?

Approximately 20 vowel phonemes and 24 consonant phonemes.

What is the difference between voiced and voiceless phonemes?

Voiced phonemes vibrate the vocal cords, while voiceless phonemes do not.

What is the approximate number of vowel phonemes in Standard Australian English?

~20 vowel phonemes.

What is the approximate number of consonant phonemes in Standard Australian English?

~24 consonant phonemes.

What is a schwa?

An unstressed vowel sound found in words like 'the', 'away', and 'ladder'.

What are the components of a syllable?

Onset (before the vowel), nucleus (the vowel), and coda (after the vowel).

What is the maximum number of consonants allowed in an onset?

Up to 3 consonants (e.g., 'spr').

What is the maximum number of consonants allowed in a coda?

Up to 4 consonants (e.g., 'nthsp'), including clusters.

What is an open syllable?

A syllable that ends in a vowel (e.g., 'me', 'tiger').

What is a closed syllable?

A syllable that ends in a consonant (e.g., 'up', 'men').

What is a key characteristic of multi-syllable words?

They always have at least one stressed syllable (e.g., 'today', 'label').

At what age are vowel sounds in monosyllabic words typically mastered?

Around age 3.

What is the expected speech intelligibility by school entry?

Speech should be mostly intelligible.

How does the letter 'E' at the end of a word affect the preceding vowel?

It lengthens the vowel sound (e.g., 'pine').

What are common signs of stuttering?

Repetition of words/sounds, speech getting stuck, and may include physical tics.

What is phonological awareness?

The ability to perceive and manipulate sounds in words.

What is phonemic awareness?

Understanding that words are sequences of phonemes, which is vital for reading development.

What are the four types of vocabulary?

Oral vocabulary, reading vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, and expressive vocabulary.

What does the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test assess?

It assesses the ability to match words to pictures.

What is the difference between breadth and depth in vocabulary knowledge?

Breadth refers to how many words are known, while depth refers to how well meanings are known.

What are homonyms?

Words that have the same spelling and sound but different meanings (e.g., 'band').

What is a morpheme?

The smallest meaningful unit in a language.

What is the difference between a free base and a bound base in morphemes?

A free base can stand alone, while a bound base must attach to another morpheme.

What are the four types of sentence structures?

Simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.

What are the four types of sentences?

Declarative (gives information), imperative (commands), interrogative (questions), and exclamatory (expresses emotion).

What is a grapheme?

A letter or group of letters that represent sounds, syllables, or words.

What are GPCs and PGCs in spelling?

GPCs are grapheme-phoneme correspondences (spelling-to-sound), while PGCs are phoneme-grapheme correspondences (sound-to-spelling).

What is the purpose of decodable readers in early reading?

Decodable readers align to scope and sequence, help apply grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) knowledge, and are not intended for teaching vocabulary or comprehension.

What is the general rule regarding syllables in words?

Every syllable has at least one vowel (ESHALOV).

What does the Behaviourist Theory of language development propose?

Children are born as 'blank slates' and learn language through imitation, association, and reinforcement.

What is a limitation of the Behaviourist Theory?

It cannot explain novel utterances that children produce which are not copied from adults.

What is the main idea of Nativist/Innatist Theories?

Children are biologically pre-wired to learn language through Universal Grammar, but the language input from adults is too limited to explain their learning.

What is a limitation of Nativist/Innatist Theories?

There is debate over what universal rules exist and limited evidence to support the theory.

How does the Social Constructivist/Interactionist theory view language learning?

Language learning is shaped through social interaction and environment, with no inborn Universal Grammar.

What is a limitation of the Social Constructivist/Interactionist theory?

It does not fully explain the similarities in language learning across different children.

According to Cognitive Theories, how does language develop?

Language arises from general cognitive abilities and active learning, with children processing patterns and developing language through stages.

What is a limitation of Cognitive Theories?

They underplay the role of social interaction in language learning.

What are the key components involved in language learning?

Language learning is complex and involves biological, cognitive, and social components.

What is the significance of early exposure to language?

Early exposure is crucial for advanced skills and easier additional language learning.

How do infants and adults differ in language learning?

Infants depend more on interaction and timing compared to adults.

What does multilingualism include?

Multilingualism includes heritage languages and code-switching.

What is language transfer?

Language transfer refers to how an existing language influences the learning of a new language.

At what age is 90% of grammar typically acquired?

By age 5.

What are the interconnected components of language development?

Syntax, vocabulary, and morphology are interconnected.

What is the difference between inflectional and derivational morphology?

Inflectional morphology is mostly learned by Year 1, while derivational morphology continues into adolescence.

What is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?

DLD is characterized by language difficulties despite adequate learning opportunities, often leading to reading and spelling struggles.

What are some language milestones for a 3-year-old?

A 3-year-old uses simple syntax and limited pronouns and can provide a basic narrative.

What are some language milestones for a 5-year-old?

A 5-year-old demonstrates more complex sentence structure, vocabulary, emerging story grammar, and clearer sequencing.

What are the components of language?

Phonology (sound system), syntax (sentence structure), morphology (word formation), semantics (meaning), and pragmatics (language use in social contexts).

What is the relationship between oral skills and literacy?

Strong oral skills lead to easier reading, more reading, vocabulary growth, and better comprehension.

What is the difference between automated and effortful handwriting?

Automated handwriting leads to more fluent writing, while effortful handwriting drains cognitive load and affects writing quality.

What is the difference between narrative and dialogue in language?

A narrative is a decontextualized, structured event retell, while dialogue is a tool for learning and scaffolding.

What are the four components of effective reading instruction?

Phonological awareness, word reading, fluency, decoding, and spelling.

What does LBOTE stand for?

Language Background Other Than English.

What is the difference between EAL/D and Aboriginal English?

EAL/D refers to English as an Additional Language or Dialect, while Aboriginal English (AbE) is a dialect of English with unique rules.

What are some examples of language supports in education?

Visual aids, vocabulary highlighting, oral storytelling, and elaborated response modeling.

What is the Mismatch Theory in dialect theories?

It suggests that differences in dialect may hinder literacy.

What does the Linguistic Flexibility Hypothesis propose?

It proposes that the ability to shift between dialects is a strength.

What is academic language characterized by?

It must be precise, structured, and formal, differing from social/informal everyday language.

What foundational skills are essential for literacy?

Oral language, alphabetic principle, print knowledge, and phonological awareness.

What does phonological awareness involve?

Awareness of word/sound structure.

What are the skills involved in phonological awareness?

Blending, segmenting, deletion, addition, and substitution.

What is the alphabetic principle?

It states that letters represent speech sounds and must be explicitly taught.

What does print knowledge encompass?

Understanding print forms, features, and functions, including print conventions and print units.

What is the significance of the home literacy environment?

It includes reading behaviors, materials, and interactions that support literacy development.

What are the phases in Ehri's Phase Theory of Reading Development?

1. Pre-Alphabetic Phase, 2. Partial Alphabetic Phase, 3. Full Alphabetic Phase.

What occurs in the Pre-Alphabetic Phase?

No knowledge of letter-sound correspondence; words are recognized by visual features.

What characterizes the Partial Alphabetic Phase?

Some grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence knowledge; can read/spell using known parts of words.

What is the Full Alphabetic Phase?

Knowledge of most common grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences; ability to decode and blend unfamiliar words.

What is meant by 'code-related input' in the home literacy environment?

It refers to the mechanics of reading.

What is 'meaning-related input' in the context of literacy?

It involves vocabulary and comprehension.

What is the role of oral language in literacy according to Adlof et al. (2022)?

Literacy is built on a foundation of oral language.

What is the Consolidated Alphabetic Phase characterized by?

Automatic recognition of many words and the ability to read longer, complex words easily.

What is essential for decoding unfamiliar words in children?

GPC (Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence) knowledge.

What are the two types of reading?

Sublexical (decoding via GPCs) and Lexical (direct word recognition).

What defines Precocious Readers?

They learn to read early without instruction, demonstrate accurate reading and comprehension, but reading ability does not equate to intelligence.

What is Hyperlexia?

The ability to read fluently without instruction, often associated with poor comprehension and sometimes linked to ASD.

What characterizes Poor Comprehenders?

They are accurate readers with poor understanding, often possessing strong phonological skills but weak semantics.

What is Dyslexia?

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties with reading fluency, accuracy, and spelling, diagnosed using standardized tests.