language

language

shared system of arbitrary symbols

phonemes

the smallest unit of sound

ex. ch, a

morphemes

the smallest unit of meaning

includes suffixes, prefixes, roots, etc.

semantics

the meaning of a sentence

grammar

the system of rules that govern how words are combined and organized to form sentences

syntax

how sentences are structured

pragmatics

the social context around language

ex. taking turns in conversations, use of gestures, speaking differently to different audiences, sarcasm, humor, intonation

nonverbal manual gestures

physical hand and arm movements used to communicate meaning without words

ex. pointing

formal language

cooing

first language development stage; around 2 months

infants produce soft, vowel-like sounds

babbling

second language development stage; around 6 months

infants produce repetitive consonant-vowel combinations

ex: ba-ba-ba

one word stage

third language development stage; before or around 1 year

children produce a single word to convey a whole thought (holophrase)

telegraphic speech

fourth language development stage; around 18 months

children produce short sentences with only key words, often leaving out words like “the” or “a”

overgeneralization

children apply grammatical rules too broadly

ex. “eat-ed”