QUIZ 1 - Foundations of Human Communication

phonemes

sound differences that have no meaning themselves but result in a difference in a word’s meaning

morphemes

smallest units of a word with meaning

lexicon

mental dictionary of words

syntax

study of grammatical rules in sentences; order of words in a sentence

semantics

study of literal meaning

pragmatics

study of communicative meaning

phonemes in the word “cat”

/k/, /a/, /t/

morphemes in the word “unbreakable”

[un] [break] [able]

morphemes in the word “happiness”

[happy] [ness]

pragmatics example

When someone asks “Can you pass the salt?” they’re not literally asking if you are capable of passing the salt, they’re requesting that you pass it to them.

pragmatics example

“Nice job!” could be both genuine and sarcastic, depending on the context.

semantics example

bank = a river shore or a financial institution

critical / sensitive period

period when a child’s brain has more plasticity and they are capable of learning more

plasticity

the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experiences and learning

Phonology ___ (does, does not) have a sensitive period

does

Lexicon ___ (does, does not) have a sensitive period

does not

Syntax ___ (does, does not) have a sensitive period

does

Pragmatics ___ (does, does not) have a sensitive period

does not

telegraphic speech

basic, non-grammatical speech communicating only the basic idea

When do children learn the rhythm/beat of language?

in utero

When do children learn phonology as universal listeners?

less than 1 month

When do children learn phonology as specific language listeners?

8-9 months

When do children learn (under- or over-extended) lexicon?

1 year

When do children learn concrete concepts (semantics)?

1 year

When do children gain interest in people/joint attention (pragmatics)?

1 year

When do children learn telegraphic speech (morphology/syntax)?

18 months

When do children gain more complete speech (morphology/syntax)?

4 years

When do children begin learning abstract concepts (semantics)?

4 years

When do children gain full theory of mind?

4 years

under-extension

an understood meaning that is not inclusive of all things in that classification

over-extension

an understood meaning that is overly inclusive of things that are not in that classification

Comprehension comes ___ (before, after) production

before

Language acquisition is mostly ___ (implicit, explicit)

implicit

Are children’s brains mimicking or transforming input?

transforming

Example of incorrectly transforming input

I goed to the store

When do children gain awareness of what others want?

9 months

When do children gain awareness of what others know?

12-15 months

When do children gain awareness of what they know together?

12-14 months

When do children learn to help others instrumentally?

12-14 months

When do children learn to engage in cooperative activities?

14 months