Lecture Notes: Language Development (Pages 1–2)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to early language development concepts from Pages 1–2 of the notes.

Canonical babbling

A stage of infant vocal development producing well-formed syllables (e.g., 'ba-ba') often in reduplicated and then variegated forms.

Categorical perception

Perceiving speech sounds as distinct categories (like /b/ vs /p/) despite gradual acoustic differences.

Cooing

Early vowel-like vocalizations produced by infants, typically around the first months, often during social interaction.

Familiar social routines

Predictable, ritualized exchanges in caregiver–infant interactions that scaffold communication.

Nonreduplicated babbling

Babbling with varied syllables (e.g., 'ba-da-go') rather than repeating the same syllable.

Parents

Primary caregivers who provide language input and social interaction that support development.

Primary auditory cortex

Brain region in the temporal lobe that processes auditory information from speech and sounds.

Reduplicated babbling

Repetition of the same syllable in babbling (e.g., 'ba-ba', 'ma-ma').

Reflexive vocalizations (vegetative sounds)

Involuntary sounds such as crying, coughing, burping—not deliberate speech.

Speech input

Language sounds and words the child hears from the environment.

Variegated babbling (jargon)

Diverse consonant–vowel combinations in babbling that resemble speech but lack real words.

Vocal play

Experimentation with vocal sound, pitch, and rate as a precursor to speech.

Bombardment

High volume or intensity of language exposure provided to a child.

Communication strategies

Adult techniques to support language learning (e.g., labeling, expansions, parallel talk).

Endpoints

Target outcomes or final stages in a developmental sequence.

Expansions

Adult responses that add new syntactic detail while preserving the child's intended meaning.

Expressive vocabulary

The set of words a child can produce and use.

Facilitative talk

Communication strategies designed to support and scaffold language development.

Favorite sounds and word recipes

Common preferred sound patterns and invented word forms used by children during early language play.

Gestalt learning (mature jargon)

Learning by chunks or whole phrases (holistic units) rather than analyzing components.

Independent analysis

Examining language data or behavior without reliance on others; analyzing patterns independently.

Lexical selection (selectivity)

The process of choosing specific words to learn or use, showing selective preference.

Midpoints

Transitional stages between major developmental milestones.

Modeling

Using theoretical or behavioral models to explain language development or demonstration through imitation.

Parallel talk

A caregiver describes a child's actions in real time to model language.

Phonetic inventories

A catalog of sounds a child can produce or perceive at a given time.

Relational analysis

A method of examining relationships among linguistic elements (e.g., words, grammar, referents).

Requests for confirmation

Utterances seeking acknowledgment or verification from the listener.

Strategic errors

Deliberate/structured mistakes that reveal learners' strategies in language learning.

Word-based learning

Learning language by focusing on whole-word mappings and lexical items rather than grammar alone.