PSY210

what do all languages share

we can create and understand sentences that we have never head before

abstract and unconscious rules

3 basic feature - phonology, morphology and syntax

Phonology

basic sounds
languages choose different subsets
there is no boundaries between words, children have to learn to segment speech as part of language learning (where one word begins and ends)

morphology

smallest meaning full unit (has to have a meaning)

• single and multiple morphemes

syntax

infinite use of finite media
a combinatorial system
infinity mechanism - recursion
Music and DNA could also use this, not only for languages

Recursion

let us create a infinite number of sentences

ex. Noun + Verb + Noun

birth to 4 months

preference for melody of own language (heard in the womb)

sensitive to all phonemes (are able to distinguish the difference in phonemes for all languages)

about 7 months

babbling
twins babbling - almost like it has meanings (adult like convos)

manual babbling

babies exposed to sign languages babble with their hands
-repetitive hand patterns
-reduplication

about 12 months

first words
some sensitivity to word order (typically say one word a time so you do not really notice the order)

about 18 months

word spurt: vocabulary takes off naming explosion
telegraphic speech: 2-word sentences
function morphemes gradually appear (in, of, a, the)

past puberty

outside of the critical period
language learning is more difficult

commonsense view - imitation (nurture)

you hear people than repeat but babies/children are not just simply repeating
babies can in fact produce new sentences

Noam Chomsky

original nativist
new sentences - understand and produce
poverty of the stimulus - there are not enough stimulus
constraints on the word learning
children impose syntactic structure on linguistic input

how do kids learn language

native languages - prenatal learning, perceptual narrowing in speech
-if you have more exposure to your own language, then you don't pay attention to other language (just like distinguish monkey faces)
need input

critical period

biologically defined time window when experience is most effective
younger brain is more adaptable

second language learning

they compared younger kids and older adults (immigration)
sharp drop-off after age 7

first language learning

acquisition of sign language

language deprivation - Genie

language outcomes - good vocabulary growth, good nonverbal communication, never fully mastered grammar

words and sentences - what did you say

speech perception
segmentation of words
syntax(grammar)
semantics(meaning)

segmentation of words

breaking into segments, pause between, you are able to do this in English cuz you speak English

transitional probabilities

the chances that one sound will follow another sound
sensitivity to transitional probabilities could be useful
babies build the system while listening to it

speech steam segementation

stressed syllables, stress is 90% on first syllable of word
infant-directed speech - accentuates the boundaries, higher-pitched, BUT no evidence that this helps them learn faster or better

syntactic errors

overregularization - use of regular form for irregular verbs
ex. we wented swimming yesterday
this shows knowledge of rule
correction doesn't even work, and parents don't correct grammar, they correct turth-value
syntax is still very hard, different syntactic rules to interpret the same string of words

Words learning - fast mapping
map novel word to novel object

Carey&Bartlett - fast mapping (2 year olds) - label new color once with a novel word, babies still remembered a week later
- Showed that babies are able to learn with one exposure

the GAVAGAI problem

-innate biases of objects
-problem with association of words with the right context
each word has infinite possible meanings
how do kids find the right meaning

constraints on meaning problem the fish example
-whole object bias
-mutual exclusivity
-shape bias
-grammatical cues

also need to label parts of the object
- you also need to know other words
additional constraint - mutual exclusivity
- each object has only one label
- different labels to define one object

mutual exclusivity

use prior knowledge to learn another new word
problem - what if they are not listening, or they are choosing what to listen or not

what about bilinguals?
- Byers-Heinlein&Werker (2009)
studies use of multiple exclusivity in babies learning multiple languages
results:
Monolinguals - ME 17-18 months olds
Bilinguals - marginal ME use
trilinguals - no ME use

generalizing
how do kids know what else is a fish

overextension - word too broad, doggie=4 legged creatures
underextension - word too specific, doggie=Milo

shape bias - using shape to generalize
results
-2 and 3 year olds extrended to different size and texture but did not extend to different shape
Shape bias increased with age

Grammatical cues
-3 year olds heard the word sib, tested on how they interpreted it
Problems with verb - hear verb without action, many verbs fit any action
Syntactic bootstapping - use syntax to determine verb meaning, 联系上下文去看动词意思
-kids can use this syntactic info by at least 2 years old

individual differences
how does this vary
how quickly can they match name and object

compared infants that heard more or less children-directed speech

What leads to individual differences in word learning?
SES: Hart&Risley - tested with economic association
-welfare
-working class
-professional family
affects speed of word recognition

joint attention

two observers are talking at the same time or interpreting one another, the direction isn't clear, babies can not learn the new word

written language

children as young as 2 years old produce different kinds of scribbles when writing vs drawing, it is true even with the languages that use characters such as Chinese that is more like drawings
by age 4, children understand that written words correspond to specific spoken words while drawing can mean very different words

drawing

initially just making marks, there is no representation
3-4 years olds, children say their drawings are of something, thou they may not look very different
exposure to art/drawing is correlated with children producing representational pieces at earlier ages
most common object is people, typically begin in tadpole form
火柴人
children understand that intention matters, the intention of the artist determine what a picture represents and what it should be called

drawing research

tested with 3 year olds, 5 year olds and adults
intentional condition - in school, make the painting for class
accidental condition - in basement, spilled the paint
more understanding of intentions while growing up