Normal Comm Final (EVERYTHING)

Language

symbolic, rule-based system for communication

Speech

neuromuscular act of producing sound.

Form, Content, Use

phonology, morphology, syntax / semantics / pragmatics

Phonolgy

Rules governing sound structure of a language.

Phonological Awareness

Ability to recognize and manipulate sounds (rhyming, blending, segmenting).

Morpheme

Smallest meaningful unit; free and bound forms.

MLU

Average number of morphemes in a child's utterances.

Syntax

Rules for combining words into sentences

Semantics

Word meaning; developing a lexicon and semantic network.

Factors Influencing Word Learning

Concept difficulty, phonological form, frequency, context, joint attention.

Pragmatics

Social rules of language use (turn-taking, topic maintenance).

Linguistic vs Communicative Competence

Linguistic = knowledge of language rules; Communicative = appropriate social use.

Three Phases of Brain Development (Utero)

Cell production (10–26 wks), migration (by 7 months), elaboration (synapses, pruning).

Nervous System Divisions

CNS = brain/spinal cord; PNS = cranial + spinal nerves.

Broca’s Area

Speech production, phonological processing, grammar planning.

Wernicke’s Area

Language comprehension; mapping sound to meaning.

Arcuate Fasciculus

Connects Wernicke’s → Broca’s area; essential for repetition.

Motor Cortex

Executes speech movements of articulators.

Major Approaches

Behaviorist, nativist, interactionist, cognitive, social.

Nativist Theory (Chomsky)

LAD; Universal Grammar; language is innate.

Learning Theory (Skinner)

Language learned through imitation, reinforcement, operant conditioning

Interactionist Theory (Vygotsky)

Social interaction drives language

Interactionist Theory (Bruner)

LASS; routines scaffold language.

Intentionality Model (Bloom)

Language reflects communicative intentions.

Prosodic Regularities

Infants use stress, intonation, rhythm, duration to segment speech.

5 Stages of Vocal Development

Reflexive → Control of phonation → Expansion → Canonical babbling → Advanced forms

Joint Attention Phase 1 (0–6mo)

Attend to social partners.

Joint Attention Phase 2 (6–12mo)

Coordinate attention between object and caregiver

Joint Attention Phase 3 (12+mo)

Use language within joint attention

Importance of Maintaining Joint Attention

Best situation for word learning; redirecting disrupts mapping words to meaning.

Infant-Directed Speech (IDS)

High pitch, exaggerated intonation, slower pace.

Caregiver Responsiveness

Promotes vocabulary, joint attention, intentional communication.

Imperative Gesters

request

Declarative Gestures

sharen attention/show

Phonological Processes (4)

Syllable structure, assimilation, place changes, manner changes.

Syllable Structure Example

Final consonant deletion, cluster reduction, weak syllable deletion.

Assimilation

Velar assimilation, nasal assimilation.

Place Changes Example

Fronting, backing

Manner Changes Example

stopping gliding

Semantic Milestones (12–36mo)

12mo = 1 word; 16mo = 3–20; 20mo = 50 words; 24mo = 200; 28mo = overgeneralization; 32–36mo = ~500 words.

Two Major Preschool Milestones

Decontextualized language & emergent literacy.

Contextualized

here/now

Decontextualized

beyond immediate context

4 Stages of Shallow Phonological Awareness

Word awareness, syllable awareness, rhyme awareness, onset/phoneme awareness.

Why Phonological Awareness Matters

Foundation for decoding/reading

Fast Mapping

quick initial mapping

Slow mapping

refining meaning

Word Learning Strategies

Direct instruction, contextual abstraction, morphological awareness

Types of Sentential Ambiguity

Lexical, syntactic, pragmatic.

Narrative Types

Recounts, event casts, accounts, fictionalized stories.

Difference vs Disorder

Difference = culturally expected variation; Disorder = underlying impairment.

Dialect vs Accent

Dialect = vocab + grammar + pronunciation; Accent = pronunciation only.

AAVE Phonological Features

Final consonant cluster reduction; th→f

AAVE Grammatical Features

Habitual be; copula deletion (she nice)

Code Switching

Using different dialects/languages based on context

Metalinguistic Awareness

Thinking about language; needed for code switching

Simultaneous Bilingualism

Two languages from birth

Primary Language Impairment

language impairment not caused by another disorder.

Secondary Language Impairment

Result of ASD, ID, hearing loss, etc.

Preschool Language Disorder Signs

Limited vocab, grammar errors, difficulty following directions.

Elementary Signs

Reading issues, difficulty learning new words, weak narratives.

Adolescent Signs

Trouble with figurative language, academic language, pragmatics.