Psych 143 Midterm

Nativism/Generativism

• Many aspects of language are not learned

• Children are guided by innate, linguistic knowledge

• Domain-specific

• Language universals

• Minimal input from

  environment is needed

Constructivism

• Most aspects of language are learned from environment using innate, non-linguistic abilities

• Use of cognitive abilities like statistical comprehension & theory of mind

• Domain-general

• Language differences

• Input from environment will affect development

• Kids’ knowledge is initially imitative, limited to what they’ve heard

Behaviorism

• Ivan Pavlov & B.F. Skinner

• Only observable behavior can be used, not thoughts/ideas

• Humans are machines with certain programming & complexity of language is only because of the complexity of human bodies

• Conditioning & reinforcement

• Stimulus —> Response —> Conditioning —> Reinforcement

Domain-General

• Cognitive processes rely on broad/universal cognitive abilities like working memory, executive function, and general intelligence

• Skills learned in one area can transfer to others because the same abilities handle everything

Domain-Specific

• The mind has separate, dedicated structures designed for specific functions like language learning

• Knowledge/growth in one structure does not automatically improve performance in another

Poverty of the Stimulus

• An argument stating that children aren’t exposed to enough rich, detailed, or error-free language in their environment to learn all the complex rules of their native language on their own

• The spoken language children hear around them is usually fragmented, casual, repetitive, and full of incomplete sentences so there must also be an innate element to language learning

Universal Grammar

Mental blueprint of how all languages are structured that helps children learn their language (think of language universals like subject/object, verb, sentences, etc)

Language Universals

Patterns, traits, or structural rules that appear across most/all human languages (like sentences, subject/object, syntax, etc)

Competence vs Performance

Competence is knowing the rules of your native language vs performance which is actually what happens (someone could be tired so they mess up word order but their performance doesn’t mean they have no competence

Course of Language Aquisition

• 0-12 months: Turn Taking, Babbling, Joint Attention, Word Comprehension

• 12-24 months: Holophrases (“up”, “milk”, etc)

• 18-30 months: Telegraphic Speech

• 2-4 years: Over regularization, Complex Sentences

Turn Taking

When children first babble they “converse” with their parents and others by taking turns speaking (even though they’re not saying real words)

Babbling

Vowel and consonant-vowel clusters like ma, ba, or da

Telegraphic Speech

2-3 word phrases used to communicate things (words are always in right place but grammatical words are always omittted)

Overregularization

Learning a rule and applying it to everything (including irregular instances “goed” or “drived”)

Child-Directed Speech

Speaking directly to a child using language directed at them

Maturational Hypothesis

As our bodies mature, our minds follow which is why we can learn more complex language as we grow older

SES Word Gap

Language Processing Efficiency/Speed

Critical Period Hypothesis (w arguments for/against it)

• Immigrants who already know a language have a harder time learning English, especially more in adulthood. Also some birds and bees cannot replicate their communication dances correctly if taught them or introduced to a community later. (For)

• There is a smooth decline from young age in ability to learn languages but there’s no specific cutoff to that (Against)

Non-Human Animal Communication Systems

Attempts to Teach Human Language to Non-Human Animals

Properties that Define Human Language

• Reference (Arbitrary Symbols)

• Productivity (Infinite Sentence Creation)

• Intentionality (no ulterior motives)

• Displaced (talk about things in past, present, AND future.)

• Interchangeable (Everyone Understands it)

• Cultural Transmission (rules and words get passed down from parents)

Language Evolution Theories

Faculty of Language (Narrow)

Faculty of Language (Broad)

Language Environments in Different Cultures

Mayans do not speak to their children directly meaning in order to learn babies have to be attentive and observational

Language Acquisition for Blind Children

Home Sign

Sign language that children develop with their parents

Pidgins & Creoles

Nicaraguan Sign Language

Learnability Theory

Positive & Negative Evidence

Implicit Negative Evidence (Statistical Noisy Feedback)

Effects of Child-Directed Speech on Language Development

Socioeconomic Differences in Children’s Language Environments

Lower SES are exposed to less words, therefore having a more limited vocabulary but learn at the same speed as other children