Chapter 8: Language Development

Flashcards of key terms and concepts from Chapter 8 on Language Development

What is language?

A form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols.

What is infinite generativity?

The ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules.

What is phonology?

The sound system of a language.

What is a phoneme?

The smallest unit of sound in a language.

What is morphology?

Word formation based on meaning.

What is a morpheme?

The smallest unit of sound that carries meaning in a language.

What is syntax?

The way words are combined for acceptable phrases and sentences.

What is semantics?

The meaning of words and sentences.

What is pragmatics?

The use of appropriate conversation and knowledge underlying the use of language in context.

What is the universal pattern of early vocalizations in infants?

Crying, cooing (1-2 months), and babbling (around the middle of the first year).

When do infants start using gestures like showing and pointing?

Around 8 to 12 months of age.

Why is pointing important in language development?

An important index of the social aspects of language.

What does the absence of pointing indicate?

Problems in the infant’s communication system.

When are infants considered "citizens of the world" in terms of language sounds and what does this mean?

From birth to about 6 months of age; recognizing when sounds change most of the time, no matter what language the syllables come from.

When do infants begin to detect word boundaries?

By 8 months of age.

When does an infant usually say their first spoken word?

Between 10 to 15 months of age.

What do first words usually include?

Names of important people, familiar animals, vehicles, toys, body parts, clothes, familiar items, and greetings.

What is receptive vocabulary?

Refers to the words an individual understands, precedes and exceeds spoken vocabulary (words that the child uses).

What is the vocabulary spurt?

The rapid increase in vocabulary that begins at approximately 18 months.

What is overextension?

The tendency to apply a word to objects that are not appropriate for the word’s meaning.

What is underextension?

The tendency to apply a word too narrowly for the meanings of words.

When do two-word utterances begin to occur?

By 18 to 24 months of age.

What is telegraphic speech?

The use of short and precise words to communicate and is characteristic of young children’s two- or three-word utterances.

When do children begin to transition from simple to complex sentences?

Between 2 and 3 years of age.

What language problems can some children develop?

Speech and hearing problems.

How rapidly does vocabulary develop in early childhood?

Estimated that between 18 months and 6 years of age, young children learn about one new word every waking hour.

What is the speaking vocabulary of a child entering first grade?

Approximately 14,000 words.

What are the six key principles in young children’s vocabulary development?

Children learn the words they hear most often; words for things and events that interest them; best in responsive and interactive contexts rather than passive contexts; best in contexts that are meaningful; when they access clear information about word meaning; and when grammar and vocabulary are considered.

How do young children advance in pragmatics?

Beginning to engage in extended discourse.

When do children develop a sensitivity to the needs of others in conversation?

At about 4 years of age.

When do children learn to change their speech style to suit the situation?

At around 4 to 5 years of age.

What are the early precursors of literacy and academic success?

Language skills, phonological and syntactic knowledge, letter identification, and conceptual knowledge about print and its conventions and functions.

What new skills do children gain as they enter middle and late childhood in language development?

Increasingly using language to talk about things that are not physically present, learning what a word is, and learning how to recognize and talk about sounds.

What is the alphabetic principle?

The letters of the alphabet represent sounds of the language.

How much does vocabulary increase by 11 years of age?

Vocabulary increases to about 40,000 words.

What is metalinguistic awareness?

Knowledge of language.

What is the whole-language approach?

Stresses that reading instruction should parallel children’s natural language learning; reading materials should be whole and meaningful.

What is the phonics approach?

Emphasizes that reading instruction should focus on phonetics and its basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds; early reading instructions should involve simplified materials.

What metacognitive strategies are fundamental to becoming a good reader?

Learning to monitor one’s reading progress, getting the gist of what is being read, and summarizing.

What interventions are most effective in improving fourth- through twelfth-grade students’ writing quality?

Strategy instruction, summarization, peer assistance, and setting goals.

What is bilingualism?

The ability to speak two languages, is overall linked to more positive outcomes for children’s language and cognitive development.

What are the two main ways that ELLs have been taught?

(1) instruction in English only, or (2) a dual-language (formerly called bilingual) approach that involves instruction in their home language and English.

What is a metaphor?

An implied comparison between two ideas that is conveyed by the abstract meaning contained in the words used to make the comparison.

What is satire?

A literary work in which irony, derision, or wit are used to expose folly or wickedness.

What is a dialect?

Language distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation

What is Broca's area?

An area in the left frontal lobe of the brain involved in producing words.

What is Wernicke's area?

An area of the left hemisphere involved in language comprehension. Individuals with damage to this area often babble words in a meaningless way.

What is aphasia?

A loss or impairment of language processing.

What is Chomsky’s Language Acquisition Device (LAD)?

A theoretical construct that proposes that a biological endowment enables children to detect certain language categories, such as phonology, syntax, and semantics.

What is child-directed speech?

Language spoken in a higher pitch than normal with simple words and sentences.

What is recasting?

Rephrasing something the child has said, perhaps turning it into a question or restating the child’s immature utterance in the form of a fully grammatical sentence.

What is expanding?

Restating, in a linguistically sophisticated form, what a child has said.

What is labeling?

Identifying the names of objects.

What is an interactionist view of language?

Emphasizes the contributions of both biology and experience in language development.

What is Williams syndrome?

A genetic birth disorder that was first described in 1961, affects about 1 in 7,500 births. The most noticeable features of the syndrome include a unique combination of expressive verbal skills with an extremely low IQ and limited visuospatial skills and motor control.