Child Language Acquisition key words

Addition

a type of virtuous error where a child adds extra letters or repeats sounds

e.g. doggie instead of dog

Auxiliary Verb

a helping verb that might indicate tense or mood

e.g. I am playing OR She has finished

babbling

when a child makes consonant-vowel or vowel-consonant sounds that may be mistaken for real words

e.g. ma or da

cooing

when children produce single syllable vowel-like sounds (12 weeks)

e.g. ahh or ooh

deletion

where a child drops consonants from words usually at the end

e.g. saying do instead of dog

holophrase

a single word that expresses a complex idea

e.g saying “go” to mean “ I want to leave now”

hypernyms

a word with broad meaning or application

e.g. “dog” being used to talk about all breeds of dog

hyponyms

a word with more specific meaning under a hypernym

e.g. spoon is a hyponym under the hypernym cutlery

inflection

modulating intonation or pitch in the voice to communicate feelings and meanings

language acquisition device (Chomsky)

a built in system in our brains that mean children acquire language. Language is innate

modal auxiliaries

verbs used along with the main verb to express possibility, ability, permission or necessity

e.g. you must leave

monosyllables

words containing one syllable

e.g. buy

negatives

words that negate the meaning of other words, sentences and clauses

e.g. not and never

negative reinforcement

correction, negative feedback or lack of feedback that prevents a child from making the same mistakes again

overextension

when a child uses a single word to refer to multiple objects or concepts based on similarities

e.g. referring to all 4 legged animals as dogs

overgeneralisation

applying regular grammar rules to an irregular word

e.g. I runned instead of I ran

operant conditioning

process in which positive and negative reinforcement influences a child’s behaviour

receptive vocab

words you can understand the meaning of if you hear for read it but can’t produce yourself

positive reinforcement

idea that positive response encourages a child to continue a correct use of language

phonemic contraction

when a child narrows their range of language learned to their native language (9-10 months)

phonemic expansion

during babbling phase children increase the number of different phonemes they produce

post-telegraphic stage

children are able to use more complex and grammatically correct utterances

productive vocabulary

words that you are able to reproduce when speaking or writing in a way that matches what you mean

substitution

when a child substitutes more complex or difficult to say words with simpler ones

telegraphic stage

(2-2 ½ years ) multiple words strung together but with auxiliary verbs missing- using the minimum amount of words needed to communicate meaning

two word stage

(18-24 months) child speaks in 2 word phrases mainly nouns

underextension

applying words to limited meaning

e.g. only calling their pet dog “dog” and not other dogs

utterance

a continuous piece of speech, a verbal unit of language

universal grammar (Chomskys nativism)

we are born with specific grammar rules within our brains

vegetative stage

pre-verbal stage where babies experiment with cooing, babbling and crying (0-7 months)

Virtuous error

common errors made by children in relation to grammar, inflection and syntax because they overgeneralise rules that they’ve previously seen in language

e.g. incorrect formation of the past tense