slhs 513 : exam one

Nativism

Nature

Empiricism

Nurture

• learn from input / experiences

Universal grammar

We were born with it

Social interactions

Focused in the importance of social interactions

Constructivism

Focuses on how children build their knowledge

Connectionism or emergentism

Focuses on how knowledge emerges from simple innate mechanisms combined with input

Domain general

Brain is generally module where all parts work together

Domain specific

Certain modules process specific types of information

2 takes on if language is universal

1. All communities of the world have language

2. Same infrastructure to have language is applied everywhere

Continuity position

Children's grammar is similar to adults grammar

Discontinuity position

Children's grammar is built out of different elements from adults grammar

Person associated with generative theory

Noam Chomsky

Person associated with behaviorist theory

b.f. skinner

Person associated with social interactions theory

Lev vygotsky

Person associated with usage-based theory

Michael tomasello

Generative tenets ( 3 )

• Universal grammar

• Language acquisition device

• Children are born with linguistic competence

Behaviorist tenets ( 1 )

• Language is learned as adults positively reinforce children approximation to correct productions

e.g. child : want cookie , adult : here you go ( gives cookie )

Social interactionist tenets ( 3 )

• Children acquire language because they want to communicate with others

• Social / communicative interactions, not just language input, is critical for language accquisition

• ZPD

Zone of proximal development ( ZPD )

The difference between a child’s actual development level and their level of potential development

e.g. what is in the process of developing v.s. what does the child already do?

Usage-based tenets ( 3 )

• Children learn language because they have a reason and need to talk

• Knowledge of a language emerges from child’s pattern-learning abilities and use of language

• Relies of child’s recognition of the intentions and mental state of others

What is language

The system and convention use of spoken, signs, and symbols for the purpose of shared communication or self-expression

• emphasis on rules

Language is a system of symbols

Relationship between words and their referents

Language is shared

• Shared amongst community or culture

• Common language

The language system is conventional

Rule governed, nonrandom

Language is a representational tool

• Symbolic representation of linguistic concepts ( and vice versa )

• Stores information and carries out cognitive process

• Provides rules that organize concepts into representations

Speech

Neuromuscular process where humans turn language into a sound signal that is transmitted through the air to a receiver

Communication

The process of sharing information among individuals

You need ___ for ___.

Langauge, speech

Which is acquired first?

a. Language

b. Communication

c. Speech

Communication

Formulation

Process of pulling together thoughts or ideas for sharing with another person

Transmission

Process of conveying ideas to another person

Reception

Process of recieving information from another person

Comprehension

Process of making sense of the message

Three Domains of Language

1. Form

2. Content

3. Use

Form

How we formulate a sentence

• Organized by words, sentences, and sounds

Content

Meaning of language; the words we use and the meaning behind them

Use

Uses language accordingly for meeting personal and social needs

Phonology

The sound systems of language ( form )

Phonemes

Meaningful sounds

/fat/ vs /bat/

Allopohones

Subtle variations of phonemes

Phonotacctics

Rules governing how sounds are organized in words

Lexicon and Semantics

Vocabulary ( content + use )

Morphology

Shapes to what we need for that moment ( form )

Morpheme

the smallest unit of language that carries meaning

Free morpheme

can satan independently as a word

e.g. cat

Bound morpheme

Appears as apart of a word, must me with a word

e.g. -s on cats

Derivational morphology

Additions that change the words meaning

e.g. happy ( adj ) + -ness = happiness ( noun )

Grammatical/inflectional morphology

Adds grammatical information to words

e.g. walk + -ed = walked ( past tense )

Syntax

rules of language governing the internal organization of a sentenece ( form )

Pragmatics

Rules governing how language is used for social purposes ( form )

3 important aspects of social language

1. Communication Intentions

2. Conversations

3. Social Convention : knowing what to say and when to say it

Associated components of langauge

Pre-literacy and literacy

• The knowledge of how to read and write a language

• Relationship between development of other comopnent’s of language and (pre)literacy

Four basic processes

1. Formulation

2. Transmission

3. Reception

4. Comprehension