Intro to Human Language Week 10 Flashcards: First Language Acquisition

What are the characteristics of first language acquisition?

Typical, spontaneous, creative, and similar across languages and children.

What must children do to acquire language?

Divide up the speech stream, coordinate fine articulatory movements, and associate chunks with meaning.

What anatomical changes occur in infants that affect speech articulation?

Infants have a raised larynx, shorter vocal tract, lower palate, and no teeth, making articulation harder. The larynx begins to lower around 3 to 4 months.

What are overextension errors in language acquisition?

Errors that occur when children generalize words to broader categories than intended.

What is the timeline for the stages of language development?

Discomfort sounds: birth; cooing: 2 months; babbling: 2-6 months; 1-word stage: 8-12 months; 2-word utterances: 18 months; inflectional morphology: 2 years; questions/negatives: 2-2.5 years; complex constructions: 5 years; mature speech: 10 years; fancy linguistics jargon: 18 years.

What is canonical babbling?

The repetition of syllables that occurs between 6 to 10 months.

What is variegated babbling?

The variation in syllable combinations that occurs between 10 to 12 months.

What sounds are common in babbling?

Common sounds include b, m, g, a, and j.

How does lexical development progress in children?

Children typically learn 10 words by 13 months, 50 words by 17 months, 310 words by 2 years, and 1000 words by 4 years.

What are the two main theories regarding language acquisition?

Nature: children are born with universal grammar; Nurture: children learn language from experience using general cognitive abilities.

What is the significance of the nature vs. nurture debate in language acquisition?

It explores whether linguistic knowledge is innate (nature) or learned from experience (nurture).

What is the role of imitation in language acquisition?

Imitation is not likely the primary mechanism for language learning.

What is a key ability that children have in language acquisition?

Children are adept at finding patterns in language.