Child Language Development: Theories, Components, and Cross-Cultural Insights

What practical concerns led to the establishment of the field of child development?

Reducing infant mortality, restrictions on child labor, purposes of formal education, and assessment of descriptive norms.

What is the primary focus of the field of language development?

It grew out of the cognitive revolution and focuses on internal mental processes rather than just behavior.

What are the two main approaches to understanding behavior in child development?

Behaviorism, which focuses on S-R patterns, and Cognitivism, which emphasizes the mind's role in mediating behavior.

What are the applications of basic research in language development?

Helping children who are slow to learn language, assisting those struggling in school, and designing school systems.

What is the significance of language in human development?

Language introduces children to a conceptual world and supports various forms of communication and knowledge transmission.

What are the different approaches to defining language?

As a skill, a system of sound-meaning mappings, a biological program, and a social process.

What mindset is recommended for studying language science?

Approach with a 'how do you know?' or 'what's the evidence?' mindset rather than seeking to determine which theory is correct.

What are the components of language?

Phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, and communication/pragmatics.

What does the social interactionist account propose about language acquisition?

Language is a social activity acquired through communication efforts, not just linguistic input.

Who are the main proponents of the generativist theory of language?

Noam Chomsky, Lila Gleitman, Steve Pinker, and Cindy Fisher.

What do connectionist accounts suggest about language learning?

They propose domain-general systems that detect patterns in input and abstract generative rules.

What is the difference between competence and performance in language?

Competence is what the child knows, while performance is what the child can do or express.

What is the distinction between continuous and discontinuous changes in language development?

Continuous changes are variations in degree (e.g., vocabulary size), while discontinuous changes are variations in kind (e.g., perception of speech sounds).

What is the debate between domain-specific and domain-general mechanisms in language learning?

Domain-specific mechanisms apply to language, while domain-general mechanisms apply to various cognitive processes.

What is meant by sensitive periods in language development?

Times when a child is particularly open to learning language, which may close as they grow older.

How is the term 'innate' defined in the context of language development?

'Innate' refers to behaviors that are developmentally resilient, not strictly tied to genetic mechanisms.

What are some factors contributing to external variation in language input?

Variability in talk heard within and across cultures, as well as individual differences like hearing loss or disabilities.

What is the impact of within-culture variability on language development?

Great variability in the amount of talk a child hears can lead to different developmental outcomes.

What is the role of hearing loss in language development?

Hearing loss can significantly affect a child's exposure to language and subsequent language acquisition.

What is the importance of the lexicon in language?

The lexicon encompasses vocabulary knowledge, including words and parts of words.

What are the implications of the current state of debate in language acquisition?

There are differing views on whether language is a specialized faculty or governed by general cognitive mechanisms.

What is the significance of the 'continuity vs. discontinuity' debate?

It addresses whether language development is a gradual process or involves distinct stages.

What is the role of the environment in language development?

The environment provides structure and input that can influence language learning and development.

What is the relationship between language and collective action?

Language enables the transmission of knowledge and supports collective actions in various fields.

How does language support scientific and cultural advancement?

It facilitates communication of complex ideas and the sharing of knowledge across generations.

What is the minimum amount of time recommended for language learning per week?

5-10 hours a week

What does the case of Genie illustrate about language resilience?

There are limits on the resilience of language.

How do cultural beliefs affect language learning in children?

Cultures hold different beliefs about the role of parents in the language-learning process.

What is the impact of middle-ear infections on children's language development?

50% of children with one episode experience mild hearing loss, and 5-10% experience moderate hearing loss, but spoken language development generally proceeds normally.

How do blind children develop language compared to sighted children?

Blind children's spontaneous speech is similar to sighted controls, except for auxiliary verbs.

What is the typical language development trajectory for children with Down syndrome?

Language development is slower, with later onset of first words and shorter utterances.

What characterizes Specific Language Impairment (SLI)?

Healthy children who fail to develop language on schedule, often with intact comprehension but difficulties in articulation.

What evidence suggests that the brain is specialized for language?

Brain injuries can disrupt language while leaving other cognitive functions intact.

What is Williams syndrome and its effect on children?

A genetic condition associated with a mutation on chromosome 7, characterized by a mean IQ of 50-70 and distinct physical features.

When do synapses begin forming in human brain development?

As early as 5 weeks gestation.

What challenges do infants face in finding words in speech?

Identifying word boundaries and assigning meanings to words in fluent speech.

What did Saffran, Aslin, and Newport's study reveal about infants' language learning?

Infants can remember which syllables reliably co-occur after only two minutes of exposure.

How do infants use familiar words in language learning?

They use familiar words as anchors to identify subsequent word forms.

What role do perceptual biases play in language acquisition?

They direct children's attention to salient elements in speech, such as stressed syllables.

What is the significance of child-directed speech in language learning?

It embeds new information in social interactions, aiding language acquisition.

What is the main problem in word learning during language acquisition?

Figuring out which concepts a given word maps onto.

What are the three main sources of information for word learning?

Cues to speaker meaning, biases or constraints, and syntactic cues.

What is joint attention and its relevance in language learning?

It occurs when parents label objects during episodes of joint attention, aiding word acquisition.

How do children monitor referential cues during language learning?

They check the speaker's gaze, pointing, and voice direction to learn effectively.

What happens when adults and children are not focused on the same object?

Older babies map labels to the object of the adult's attention, while younger babies avoid mapping errors by not learning.

What is the Whole Object Assumption (WOA)?

It leads children to assume that new words name whole objects rather than parts, properties, or actions.

What is the Taxonomic Assumption in word learning?

It leads children to extend new labels to items of the same kind rather than to thematic associates.

What does the Mutual Exclusivity Assumption imply?

Children assume that objects will have only one name.

How should word-learning assumptions be viewed?

They should be seen as violable default assumptions and good first guesses about a new word's meaning.

What evidence supports the Whole Object Assumption?

Children interpret non-object labels as object labels and learn object labels more readily than non-object labels.

What is the Natural Partitions Hypothesis?

It suggests we naturally perceive the world as containing objects, making noun meanings easier to encode.

What is the Contingent-Acquisition Hypothesis?

It posits that words easiest to learn through observation will be acquired first.

What is the lexical constraint version of Mutual Exclusivity?

Children prefer not to have two labels for the same object.

What is the pragmatic version of Mutual Exclusivity?

Children reason that if a speaker did not use a known label, they must mean something else.

How do syntactic cues aid in word learning?

As children's grammar and vocabulary knowledge grows, they can use more information to map meanings.

What did Roger Brown's 1957 study reveal about verb learning?

Children looked longer at scenes that matched the verb they heard, indicating they use grammar to infer meaning.

What is the significance of the study on infants' gaze tracking?

Infants use eye gaze systematically, and gains in this ability relate to vocabulary size at later ages.

What is the difference between primary and secondary intersubjectivity?

Primary intersubjectivity involves sharing oneself with others, while secondary intersubjectivity involves sharing experiences.

What are the cross-cultural variations in early communication?

Variations include differences in pretend play rates and the understanding of graphic symbols among children from different cultures.

What is the role of perspective-taking in language?

It allows communication of new information and highlights differences in knowledge between speaker and listener.

How do infants respond to false statements?

Infants look longer at speakers who incorrectly label objects and show surprise or distress.

What did O'Neill's 1996 study find about children's communication with parents?

Children tailored their communication based on the parent's knowledge state, using more gestures when the parent was ignorant.

What is communicative competence?

It is the ability to convey meaning distinct from linguistic competence, which focuses on syntax and semantics.

What is the relationship between the amount of mother's speech and vocabulary growth?

The amount of speech from mothers predicts vocabulary growth in children.

What is the significance of fast mapping in word learning?

Fast mapping allows children to quickly associate new words with their referents.

What are the three ordered components of the word learning process?

Word segmentation, fast mapping new words onto referents, and a longer process of completing the lexical entry.

What is the impact of bilingual vocabularies on language development?

Bilingual vocabularies relate to the relative amount of input in each language.

At what age do infants start to appreciate the intentionality of speech?

Infants begin to appreciate intentionality between 6 and 12 months.

What is the role of joint attention in early communication?

Joint attention is crucial for infants to share experiences and direct attention to objects.

What is the significance of declarative pointing in language development?

Declarative pointing is linked to gains in language development, indicating an understanding of shared attention.

What are the implications of infants distinguishing true from false statements?

By 16 months, infants expect truthfulness from human speakers and can monitor informants for accuracy.

What is the role of gestures in communication for 2.5-year-olds?

Gestures are often used to convey information when the listener is unaware of the context.