LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

How language develops

• First words → around 1 year

• Telegraphic speech → short phrases

• By 5 years old:

  • Full grammar

  • Can make new sentences

Phonemes

smallest units of sound

• change one sound = different meaning

Synax

rules for word order ( sentence structure )

Generativiy

can make infinite sentences from limited words

Pragmatics

• Rules of communication

• Example: taking turns

how we use language socially

semantics

meaning of words/sentences

Metalinguistic Awareness

Understanding how language works

INFANT-DIRECTED SPEECH

What it sounds like:

• Higher pitch

• Slower

• Exaggerated

• Emotional

Vocabulary Growth

• Big variation between kids

• Range increases as they grow

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Associative Learning (basic idea)

heard word + see objects — connect them

joint attention

child + adult focus on same thing

uses

• pointing ( 12 months )

• eye gaze ( 18 months)

Constraints problem

• too many things to focus on

Syntactic Bootstrapping

• Kids use sentence structure to figure out meaning