Child language- paper 1

Pre-verbal stages of language acquisition- not the most important

0-4 months- Vegetative, sounds of discomfort

4-7 months- Cooing, vocal play using open-mouthed vowel sounds

6-12 months- Babbling, repeated patterns of sounds

9-12 months- Proto-words, word like vocalisations

Verbal stages of language acquisition

12-18 months- Holophrastic, one word utterances

18-24 months- Two-word stage

24-36 months- Telegraphic, three and more words combined

36+ months- Post-telegraphic, more grammatically complex combinations.

Chomsky- Nativist theory- Nature

-Believed the capacity for language is innate, proposed a language acquisition device in the brain.

-Supported by Berko's wug test and the fact that children make virtuous errors like overgeneralisations.

-Criticised by Genie case study and Lenneburg who proposed a critical period during which the LAD operated.

Skinner- Behaviourist theory- Nurture

-Completely disagrees with Skinner

-Believed language is learned by imitation and reinforcement.

-Supported by babies use of accent & dialect copying.

-Criticised because he did experiments on animals which isn't applicable to children, and children make mistakes that adults wouldn't.

Bruner- Social interaction theory- Nurture

-Emphasised the role of parents and child directed speech, proposed a language acquisition support system.

-CDS features simple sentences, questions, singsong voice.

-Supported by Kuhl who found that babies turn towards singsong voices.

-Criticised because not all culture use CDS and Vandal argued that women use CDS more than men.

Piaget- Cognitive theory- Nature and nurture

-Proposed cognition as key to CLA, believed that children had to understand a concept before they understood the language.

-Supported by Brown, Nelson and Berko and Brown's studies.

-Criticised because children with cognitive disorders can still learn language.

Berko and Brown fis study

-In an interaction between a child and a caregiver, the child tries to correct the caregiver with the wrong pronunciation of the word 'fish'

-Shows that the child understands the correct pronunciation and error but cannot use the correct term.

Berko's wug test

-Shows children's internalisation of rules- they were shown a drawing of one then two wugs.

-Showed that they subconsciously knew what a noun was and that plurals are formed by adding s on the end.

Brown's meaning relations

-He identified 10 common constructions that children use in two-word utterances-e.g agent+action, entity+attribute.

-They suggest children are applying grammatical rules to their early utterances.

-These cannot have been learned through imitation as adults don't speak like that.

Nelson's 50 words study

-Identified words such as ball, dog, daddy, mummy, give as among the first 50 spoken by a child.

-She identifies categories for these words; 60% naming, 20% actions, 12% describing, 8% personal

-Supports cognitive theory because children are using nouns which they understand.

Halliday's functions of children's speech

-Children learn speech because it serves purposes or functions for them eg- Interactional to develop and maintain relationships, Imaginative to create an imaginary world.

Jean Aitchison 3 key steps

1- Labelling- words are linked to specific objects.

2- Packaging- a label's range is explored

3- Network building- connections are made

Phonological errors

Deletion- leaving out a consonant or unstressed syllable for convenience.

Assimilation- a sound is substituted with another in the word- doggie becomes goggie.

Addition- adding an extra vowel- horse becomes horsie.

Lexical errors

Underextension- The meanings of words are refined to a narrow definition- 'cat' is used for the family pet but no other cat.

Overextension- Words cover more things that have similar properties- 'dog' is used for every animal.

Predicate statements- When the child uses the wrong word

Overgeneralisations- Using a grammatical rule for the wrong words- 'I felled over', 'two sheeps'