Ling20 Ch.14 First Language Acquisition

Longitudinal metholodology

Follows one/small number of children over a period of time (often observational)

Cross-sectional methodology

Compares large numbers of children at different stages of development (often experimental)

Observational research

Records what child is saying + doing; natural yet the recorded behaviors are limited to just what occurs

Experimental research

Linguistic/contextual features are intentionally manipulated; able to control but the elicited behaviors may not naturally occur/are relevant to every day life

Child-Directed Speech

Has characteristics that attracts attention and helps understand what’s being said

Phonological error pattern

Differences between adult and child pronunciations; includes substituting consonants to ones easier to pronounce, assimilating sounds, pronouncing single consonants instead of CV

Types of phonological errors

Cluster reduction/simplification, final consonant deletion, stopping of fricatives, consonant harmony, fronting of back consonants, gliding of liquids, voicing errors, reduplication

Consonant harmony

One consonant is produced with the same place/manner articulation as a nearby consonant

Voicing error patterns

Beginning of word is preferably voiced over voiceless; end of word is preferably voiceless over voiced

Lexical overextension

A word is used in a wider scope (or larger set of referents) than in adult speech

Mean length of utterance

Measure of linguistic productivity in children; total number of morphemes/total number of utterances

Functional continuity

The persistence of the same function over time; seen in preverbal gestures of directing attention to a referent

Formal, nativist theory

Children need innate linguistic knowledge to acquire grammar; focused on Chompsky’s idea of Universal Grammar where syntax structures are innate knowledge

Functional discourse-based theory

Children learn language from discourse (aka from the speech they hear in every day social interaction)

Sensitive period for acquisition

Biological basis of language acquisition; the time period in which a young child can successfully acquire first language

Stages of acquisition

1. Prelinguistic

2. Babbling

3. One word

4. Two word

5. Telegraphic