Untitled Flashcards Set

1. The four main aspects are phonological (sound systems), semantic (word meaning), syntactic (sentence structure), and pragmatic (social use) development. Phonological development involves learning the sounds of a language, semantic development involves learning word meanings, syntactic development involves learning how to form meaningful sentences, and pragmatic development involves learning the social rules of language.

2. From day one, infants cry, transitioning from signaling distress to communicative signaling. Around 2-3 months, they begin cooing with vowel-like sounds. By 6-7 months, they babble with consonant-vowel combinations, often mirroring sounds common in their native language. By 12 months, they start combining sounds into words.

3. Universal Grammar is Chomsky's nativist theory that humans are born with an innate set of abstract grammatical rules shared by all languages. The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is a hypothetical component in the brain that enables children to rapidly acquire language.

4. Deaf children learning sign language demonstrate similar developmental milestones as children learning spoken language. They also spontaneously create sign systems, demonstrating an innate drive for language development, which supports the idea of an inborn capacity for language.

5. Scaffolding, in the sociocultural view, refers to the support and guidance that adults provide to children to help them achieve higher levels of thinking and language skills than they could on their own. This involves providing assistance and gradually withdrawing it as the child becomes more competent.

6. The DeLoache et al. (2010) study found that infants who learned from parents performed best on the study's measure of word learning. Infants in the video-learning conditions did not perform significantly better than the control group, suggesting that social interaction is crucial for language learning.

7. Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) is characterized by exaggerated intonations, a higher pitch, and a simplified vocabulary. It captures infants' attention and helps them distinguish phonemes, which aids in phonological development.

8. "Motionese" refers to the exaggerated physical movements that caregivers often use when interacting with infants. These exaggerated movements provide visual cues that can help infants understand and learn language.

9. Hart & Risley's research showed a significant correlation between socioeconomic status and the number of words spoken to a child by age three. Children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds were exposed to significantly more words, leading to faster language development.

10. Bilingual infants may be less sensitive to mispronunciation of words compared to monolinguals. They also develop unique strategies to differentiate between the sounds, words, and pragmatic rules of two languages, leading to a more flexible linguistic system.

III. Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast the nativist and sociocultural perspectives on language development. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each view, and how do they contribute to our understanding of how children acquire language?

2. Discuss the impact of socioeconomic status on language development, using evidence from the provided sources. What specific interventions can be implemented to mitigate the negative effects of low socioeconomic status on language acquisition?

3. Explore the concept of critical periods in language development. Using the case of Genie and research on second language acquisition, evaluate the evidence for a critical period and its implications for language learning.

4. Analyze the role of home environment in supporting language development during infancy. How do infant-directed speech, responsiveness, and literacy routines contribute to a child's language acquisition?

5. Discuss the challenges and advantages faced by children who are exposed to multiple languages from infancy. How does bilingualism impact cognitive development and language processing, and what strategies can be used to support bilingual language acquisition?

IV. Glossary of Key Terms

• Phonological Development: The acquisition of knowledge about the sound system of a language.

• Semantic Development: The process of learning the meaning of words and word combinations.

• Syntactic Development: The acquisition of the rules governing sentence structure and grammar in a language.

• Pragmatic Development: The process of learning the social and cultural conventions that govern language use in different contexts.

• Nativism: The theory that some knowledge or abilities are innate and do not need to be learned.

• Universal Grammar: Noam Chomsky's theory that humans possess an innate set of abstract grammatical rules shared by all languages.

• Language Acquisition Device (LAD): A hypothetical module in the brain proposed by Chomsky that enables children to rapidly acquire language.

• Critical Period: A specific time window during development when the brain is particularly sensitive to certain types of input, making it easier to acquire certain skills (e.g., language).

• Sociocultural Theory: A perspective that emphasizes the role of social interaction and cultural context in cognitive development, including language acquisition.

• Scaffolding: The process by which adults or more knowledgeable individuals provide support and guidance to children to help them learn new skills.

• Infant-Directed Speech (IDS): A style of speech characterized by exaggerated intonation, high pitch, and simplified vocabulary that adults often use when talking to infants.

• Motionese: Exaggerated physical movements that caregivers use when interacting with infants, providing visual cues to support language understanding.

• Simultaneous Bilingualism: Learning two or more languages from birth or early childhood.

• Contingent Responsiveness: Responding to an infant's cues and signals in a timely and appropriate manner.

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