U2 - Language acquisition

Phase 1 of communication development

0-6 months perlocutionary stage

• Child’s communication is not intentional 

• Caregiver follows child’s gaze + comments or moves child toward an object and names it 

Phase 2 of communication development

6-8 months perlocutionary stage

Infant shows interest in object, can reach grab

Caregiver comments, names or explains objects

Phase 3 of communication development

8-12 months the illocutionary stage

Child uses gaze, gestures and some vocalizations to communicate intentionally. 

Triadic gaze 

Phase 4 of communication development 

12+ months - Locutionary stage 

Child uses words to communicate with still some jargon

What is perlocutionary communication

0-8 months, non intentional parents interpret child’s actions

What is illocutionary communication

8-12 months, intentional but not words; uses gaze, gestures, vocalizations. 

What is locutionary communication 

12+ months, uses words to intentionally communicate 

What are the 3 main functions of the illocutionary stage. 

1. Behavioral regulation – request object, action, or protest

2. Joint attention – comment or share interest

3. Social interaction – greeting or showing off

How is intentional communication shown?

Directed to another person, often with eye contact.

Paralinguistic features

Slower speech, longer pauses, higher pitch, exaggerated intonation

Nonlinguistic features?

More facial expressions/gestures, less personal space

Semantic features?

Fewer words, more contextual support

Syntactic/morphologic features?

Shorter sentences, fewer run-ons

Pragmatic features?

Fewer utterances per topic, more repetition, longer wait time, frequent greetings

Solitary play?

Playing alone, 12–24 months

Parallel play?

Side-by-side, not together, 24+ months

Associative play?

Related activity with others, different goals, 36–48 months

Cooperative play?

Working together, 48+ months

Symbolic play?

One thing represents another (banana = phone)

Ritualized game vs routine?

Game: predictable playful interaction (peek-a-boo)
Routine: predictable daily activity (brushing teeth)

Categorical overextension?

Using one word for too many things in a category (“dog” for all 4-legged animals)

Analogical overextension?

Using a word for something similar in shape/function (“ball” for an orange)

Underextension

Using a word too narrowly (dog = only their dog)

CV syllable type

Consonant + vowel (ma, da, go)

Empty forms?

Made-up words with no meaning (wawa)

Reduplication

Repeating a syllable (mama, dada)

Successive single word utterances?

Two separate words together show one idea (mommy…shoe)

Two words learned as a single unit?

Phrase learned as one “chunk” (thankyou, gimme)

Attribute + entity

Describes feature/quality: big ball, red car

Possessor + possession

Shows ownership: mommy shoe, my toy

Recurrent + X

Wants more of something: more juice, again ball

Nonexistence/disappearance

Something missing: all gone milk, no ball

Rejection

Refusal: no bed, no eat

Denial

Corrects statement: not my toy

Demonstrative + entity

Points out something: this car, that ball

Agent + action

Shows who is doing something: daddy go, dog run

Action + object

What action is happening to what: kick ball, eat cookie

Agent + object

Who does what to what: mommy cookie, daddy car

Final consonant deletion

Drops last consonant: ca (cat), do (dog)

Cluster reduction

Simplifies consonant cluster: top (stop), pider (spider)

Stopping

Long smooth sound → short stop: tun (sun), pish (fish)

Gliding

Liquid → glide: wabbit (rabbit), wove (love)

Syllable deletion

Drops unstressed syllable: nana (banana), puter (computer)

Evocative utterances

Child says something to get adult reaction: “Doggy?” → “Yes!”

Hypothesis testing

Tests language rules: “I goes” → parent corrects → learns past tense

Interrogative utterances

Child asks question to learn: “What’s that?”

Selective imitation

Repeats part of adult speech: “Dog is running” → “Running!”

Pay attention to word endings

Many grammatical markers appear at the end (cats, walked)

Pay attention to order of words/morphemes

Word order gives meaning: “The dog chased the cat”

Avoid interrupting/rearranging

Don’t fix child’s grammar mid-sentence; let them finish

Mark semantic relations clearly

Show who does what: “Mommy feeds the baby”

Avoid exceptions early

Children learn rules first, don’t confuse with exceptions

Grammatical markers should make semantic sense

Teach endings in meaningful context (e.g., past tense)

Setting the stage

Create opportunities for child communication at their level

Time delays

Pause before giving or responding to child → child initiates

Milieu teaching episodes

Structured, natural teaching in daily routines

Matched turns

Take turns at child’s communication level

Focused stimulation

Model target word/structure repeatedly without forcing imitation