Lecture 5

These flashcards cover key concepts related to language development as discussed in the lecture, highlighting the interplay between nature and nurture, the stages of language acquisition, and the components of language.

Arbitrary Language

Language is arbitrary as symbols represent things that do not necessarily resemble the objects they describe.

Productive Language

Language is productive allowing for the creation of completely new statements and ideas.

Displacement in Language

The ability to talk about things that are not present or events that occurred in different times.

Phonemes

The basic units of sound in a language that distinguish one word from another.

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language, which can be free or bound.

Grammar

The set of rules that dictate how phrases and sentences are constructed in a language.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Vocal Intonation

The variation in pitch while speaking that helps convey meaning, such as questions or emphasis.

Meta-Communication

An awareness of how effective one's communication is and how it is perceived by others.

Language Acquisition Device

An innate mechanism, proposed by Chomsky, that enables humans to acquire language.

Learning Theory

The theory suggesting that language is learned through reinforcement and imitation.

Social Interactionist Perspective

The view that language development is a highly interactive process influenced by social context.

Critical Period

The specific time frame in early childhood during which language acquisition occurs most easily.

Nicaraguan Sign Language

A language created by deaf children in Nicaragua, illustrating natural language development among peers.

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

The ongoing discussion regarding the relative importance of genetic predispositions and environmental factors in language development.

Semantic Gradient

A range of meanings where children categorize and differentiate words based on their significance.

Collective Monologues

Conversations where children speak but do not engage with the interlocutor's perspective, showing a developmentally limited understanding of communication.

Babbling

The stage in early language development where infants experiment with sounds before forming actual words.

Semanticity

The property of language that refers to the fact that signals in a communication system have meaning.

Duality of Patterning

The organizational property of language where a small number of meaningless units (phonemes) are combined to form a large number of meaningful units (morphemes and words), which are then combined to form infinite sentences.

Phonological Development

The process by which children learn to perceive, produce, and understand the sounds of their native language.

Atypical Language Development

Variations in language acquisition that fall outside the typical developmental milestones and patterns, potentially indicating a language disorder or difference.

Morphological Development

The process by which children acquire the rules for combining morphemes to form words and understand their meanings.

Syntactic Development

The process by which children learn the rules for combining words into grammatically correct and meaningful sentences.

Passive Sentences (Syntactic Development)

Sentences in which the subject receives the action rather than performs it, typically mastered later in syntactic development (e.g., 'The ball was hit by the boy').

Holophrastic Period

A stage in early language acquisition (around 10-18 months) where children use single words to express complex ideas or complete thoughts (e.g., 'milk' meaning 'I want milk').

Communicative Competence

A speaker's pragmatic knowledge of how to use language appropriately and effectively in various social contexts, beyond just grammatical correctness.

Nativist Theory of Language

A theory proposing that humans are born with an innate capacity for language, pre-programmed with a universal grammar, as advocated by Noam Chomsky.

Gender Differences in Language Use

Observed variations in how males and females tend to use language, often attributed to social and cultural factors rather than inherent biological differences.

Some theoretical perspectives on language include:

Learning Theory, Chomsky/nativist, Social-interactionist