linguistics terms & definitions 2

language acquisition and development (quiz 2), use with review sheet

childes commands (kwal, freq, mlu, combo)

• MLU (Mean Length of Utterance): valuable data measurement of the average length of an utterance either by word or morpheme

  • measure of linguistic development and increasing complex speech

• FREQ (Frequency): lists the words that are present in a corpus and the frequency of each, and also provides the type/ token ratio (TTR)

• KWAL (Key Word and Line): searches for instances of a specific word and the contexts in which they are spoken

• COMBO (Combination): searches for instances of two or more words

brown’s stages

sequence of grammatical structures that a child typically acquires in a predictable order; establishes a connection between language development and MLU

babbling drift hypothesis

infant babbling differs according to the language being acquired, it’s dependent on input

receptive vs productive vocabulary

• receptive: language that can be understood

• productive: language that can be produced

characteristics of children’s early words

babbled sounds that they can produce, noun bias, vocabulary (people, toys, animals- things in the nearby environment), phonologically simple

articulatory constraint hypothesis vs puggle-puddle

articulatory constraint: the idea that child pronunciation differs because of difficulty in producing certain sounds or combinations

counter- puggle-puddle: regression, and inconsistency in pronunciations

(puddle becomes puggle, puzzle becomes puddle?)

conceptual constraints (whole-object, taxonomic, basic-level, equal-detail assumption)

• whole-object: new word refers to the entire object that’s being referred to (g = rabbit)

• taxonomic assumption: refers to the category of the thing indicated (g = animal)

• basic level assumption: basic level with shared similarities (animal / cat / siamese)

• equal-detail assumption: each word is at the same level of detail as the others that it’s associated with (look at the cat playing with the dog)

categorization (prototype theory, semantic feature theory, ontological constraints)

prototype theory: children create a prototype for each new category of things that they learn about, some items are better representatives of a category than others (ex. bird- canary vs ostrich)

semantic feature theory: members in a class share a set of characteristics

ontological constraints: children have an innate knowledge of differences between certain categories

pragmatics (conventionality, contrast)

pragmatics: conversational context provides information as to the meaning of words

• conventionality: there is a conventional word for any particular meaning

• contrast: differences in word form indicates a different meaning (ex. cat/ cats)

bootstrapping

using known information to infer meaning from context

sapir-whorf hypothesis

language influences thought

strong hypothesis is that native language determines/ limits thought

examples: colors, perception of time, spatial directions (left/ right vs cardinal directions)

sequential vs simultaneous bilingual

simultaneous bilingual: exposure to both language in early childhood within a few years at most vs sequential: exposed to the language after early childhood

dominant language

• dominant language: used more and higher MLU, varies based on individual input level

  • children tend to follow the grammatical constraints of the dominant language and input vocabulary from the other

language mixing/ code switching

• language mixing: use of both language simultaneously (language, grammar)

• codeswitching: bilinguals alternating between 2+ languages or dialects within a conversation

heritage speakers/ heritage language

heritage speakers: individuals raised in homes where the language spoken is different from the language of the community, and exist on a continuum from balanced bilinguals to overhearers

heritage language: spoken by a heritage speaker, different from a fully monolingual speaker

theories: unitary language system, separate systems, interdependent development

unitary language system: a.) children start with one grammar with vocab/ rules from both languages, lacking translational equivalents, b.) separate vocab for each, but only one grammatical structure, drawn from dominant language, c.) separate grammatical systems

☆ separate systems: children form separate grammatical systems for each language being learned

interdependent development: some deeper conceptual proficiencies that can apply to both L1 & L2 (iceberg theory), explains some transfer effects and influence from the other language

late errors, overregularization, u-shaped learning

late errors: children start to say the word correctly, but then regress (occurs often with irregular forms, since the use the memorized form at first but then learn general rules and apply them to everything)

overregularization: applying regular rule to base form of an irregular word (ex. wented)

u-shaped learning: went - goed - wented - went

acquisition of grammar/ word classes: semantic bootstrapping, distributional information, structural information

semantic bootstrapping: based on conceptual categories that children are sensitive to/ information they already have (ex. properties, activities, objects)

distributional information: affixes on words (ex. diminuitives “-y” indicate nouns in English, also gender/ agreement)

structural information: knowing some syntax can provide context for a word class based on where the word is in the sentence

first vs SLA

• first language is often largely unconscious, learned from general and unspecialized input in whatever dialect parents speak

• SLA: learning a new language after native language, intentionally, consciously, and from tailored input (ex. textbooks, classrooms) on the “standard” language

contrastive analysis SLA

contrastive analysis: systematically comparing L1 and L2, and differences between them, which should be more difficult to learn and be the focus for teaching; transfer can be both positive/ facilitating and negative/ interfering

• closely linked to behaviorist approach and surface level details rather than underlying linguistic grammar

• specific to a particular pairing of L1 and L2

• not all differences lead to errors

error analysis SLA

error analysis: focuses on the mistakes that people are making in L2, to provide insight into the language learner’s mind and their internal SLA acquisition

• interlingual/ interference - negative transfer of L1 into L2

• intralingual/ developmental - due to incomplete learning of L2

• focuses on mistakes rather than accomplishments, not always clear where an error comes from, people may use strategies to avoid making mistakes

interlanguage theory SLA

interlanguage theory: intermediate state of learner’s grammar is it develops to L2 (subject to transfer effects from L1, UG, and L2)- separate transitional linguistic system, subconscious

• governed by rules, changing, not a full copy of L2 grammar

• do learners retain full, partial, indirect (L1 as a mechanism for learning L2), or no access to UG?

functional approaches to SLA: systemic linguistics, functional typology

systemic functional linguistics (SFL) analyzes systems available in language to create meaning, closely tied to personal and social needs for communication (ex. regulatory, interactional, personal, imagination)

functional typology is the study of structural features across languages and their similarities and differences

marked features & markedness differential hypothesis

marked features are rare, and can be harder for people to learn as an L2 (syllabic structure- consonant vowel pattern, word order)

unmarked features are common cross-linguistically and easier to learn

markedness differential hypothesis: degree of markedness predicts the ease of learning/ transfer when comparing L1 and L2