exam 2

Language Development Overview

Introduction to Language Development

  • Focus is on the importance of language development within cognitive development.

  • Language allows communication of specific ideas and concepts.

  • Language enhances understanding of experiences without relying purely on trial and error.

Communication vs. Language

  • Crying as a form of communication:

    • Not considered language, but a precursor to it.

    • Lacks specificity in message delivery compared to true language.

  • Language utilizes specific symbols (gestural or verbal) for precise communication.

Key Terminology

Receptive vs. Expressive Vocabulary

  • Receptive Vocabulary:

    • Ability to understand language being spoken around us.

    • Develops rapidly due to caregiver interactions, repetition, and simplicity of communication.

  • Expressive Vocabulary:

    • Words that an individual can actively use and communicate.

    • Generally develops more slowly than receptive vocabulary.

  • Real-life Example:

    • Receptive vocabulary grows more quickly than expressive, as seen with infants who can point and react before they can verbally express their desires.

Disparity Between Vocabulary Types

  • Reasons for the gap between receptive and expressive vocabulary:

    • Complex mechanics of speech production involving the larynx and tongue.

    • Tongue control requires time and practice.

  • Hypothesis on signing as an alternative:

    • Baby Sign Language: Allows infants to use hand gestures to express needs before achieving verbal articulations.

Types of Gestures

  • Gestures and Symbols:

    • Gestures can signify particular meanings and help infants communicate.

  • Deictic Gestures:

    • Include pointing and reaching to indicate objects of interest.

  • Symbolic Gestures:

    • Gestures that carry specific meanings, like saying 'more' with a specific hand sign.

  • Pantomime:

    • Non-verbal actions that represent specific actions (e.g., miming eating or sleeping).

Phonemes and Morphemes

Phonemes

  • Definition:

    • The basic sounds in a language; vary significantly across different languages.

  • Example:

    • Languages have unique phonemes, like tonal distinctions found in Mandarin.

Morphemes

  • Definition:

    • The smallest meaningful units in speech, which can be whole words or parts of words (prefixes, suffixes).

  • Example:

    • "Cow" is a single morpheme, while "cows" combines two morphemes (cow + s) to indicate plural.

Brain Areas Involved in Language

  • Wernicke's Area:

    • Located in the left hemisphere, responsible for comprehension and understanding of speech.

  • Broca's Area:

    • Also in the left hemisphere, linked to speech production and the motor control of speech.

  • Impact of Damage:

    • Damage to Wernicke's area may lead to nonsensical speech; damage to Broca's area affects the ability to produce speech.

Stages of Language Acquisition

Prelinguistic Stages

  1. Cooing:

    • Babies experiment with sounds, leading to the production of various mouth sounds.

  2. Babbling:

    • Begins around 4-6 months, with repetitive consonant-vowel combinations (e.g., "ba, ga, da").

    • At approximately 8-11 months, babbling starts resembling speech patterns.

  3. Echolalia:

    • More sophisticated babbling and mimicking of speech patterns and tones emerge.

First Words and Language Formation

  • Initial words are learned through interaction with caregivers.

  • Telegraphic Speech:

    • Simple combinations of nouns and verbs conveying meaning (e.g., "want cookie").

  • Holophrases:

    • Single words used to express complex ideas (e.g., saying "ball" can mean various requests).

  • Overextension:

    • Application of known words to new subjects (calling a cow a dog).

Advancing Language Complexity

Two-Word Stage

  • Combining words to express basic relationships (e.g., "my ball," "more cookies").

  • Increase in complexity with the age of two years as children begin to create more sophisticated sentences.

Language Acquisition Principles

Nature vs. Nurture in Language Acquisition

  • Language Acquisition Device (LAD):

    • Inherent capacity to learn language influenced by genetic and neurological factors.

  • Language Acquisition Support System (LASS):

    • Environmental influences including caregiver interaction that enhance language learning.

Fast Mapping

  • The rapid learning of new words through brief exposure, potentially acquiring 9-10 new words per day during early childhood.

Language Learning Rules

  • Whole Object Assumption:

    • Children associate new words with entire objects rather than aspect parts initially.

  • Contrast Assumption:

    • If presented with multiple known objects, any unknown word refers to the unknown object.

Syntax and Semantics

  • Syntax:

    • The rules governing word order within sentences for meaning.

  • Semantics:

    • The rules dictating the meaning of words and phrases, leading to complex communication systems.

Over-Regularization of Language Rules

  • Children often apply grammatical rules where exceptions exist (e.g., saying "goed" instead of "went").

  • Learning exceptions becomes part of language mastery throughout early childhood.

Conclusion

  • Language development is a complex interplay between biological predispositions and environmental interaction that extends from infancy through early childhood, culminating in sophisticated communication abilities by the age of six.

Upcoming Topics

  • The next focus will be on social and emotional development following these milestones in language learning.