Untitled Flashcard Set
Lund article-
📘 Key Points: A Framework for Assessment (in simple terms)
1. Importance of Cultural Awareness
If the child’s family is from a different culture or language background than the clinician, it’s important to learn about that culture.
One way: do an ethnographic interview (ask someone who knows the culture).
2. Preassessment Information
Before seeing the child, gather info about:
The child’s communication strengths and problems.
Whether family/teachers understand the child’s messages.
Perceptions of the child as a communicator.
This helps the clinician know what to look for during assessment.
3. Observing in Natural Contexts
Children should be observed in natural events and activities, not just formal tests.
Why? Formal tests are limited and don’t show how children talk when they:
Start an activity, ask questions, or choose topics.
Clinicians should:
Observe the child with familiar people (to see comfort and typical communication).
Also observe with unfamiliar people (to see differences in language use).
4. Creating a Comfortable Atmosphere
Children can’t be forced to talk — they must want to talk.
Clinician should:
Create a setting where talking feels natural and safe.
Show genuine interest in what the child says.
Principle: children (like adults) don’t talk unless they see a reason to.
5. Strategies for Encouraging a Reluctant Talker
Use non-threatening activities (drawing, games) that don’t demand speech.
Don’t talk too much; allow for silence/pauses.
Choose materials that interest the child (toys for younger, unique objects for older).
Familiar toys often encourage more talking than new ones.
Use curiosity and surprise (mystery boxes, hidden objects) to spark talk.
If the child starts talking, let them lead; just comment/ask naturally.
If the child doesn’t start, make comments or ask open-ended questions.
If no response, model what you expect (play with toys, describe your actions).
For story tasks, use sequence pictures (easier than single pictures).
Include another person (parent, peer, aide) to make talking feel easier.
6. Language Sample Length
Why collect samples? To see child’s real strengths/difficulties in syntax, morphology, phonology, vocabulary, discourse, pragmatics.
Recommendations:
At least 30 minutes of sampling is good.
Preferably, collect 2 samples from different events.
For syntactic analysis → 50–100 utterances minimum.
For phonology → ~50 utterances can be enough.
For semantics and pragmatics → need multiple observations.
7. Structural Analysis
Not just about “right vs wrong.”
Focus = understanding the patterns of how a child uses language.
Helps identify specific problem areas (syntax, semantics, pragmatics) rather than generalizing.
Important reminder: Not all children need in-depth analysis — focus on those with unclear or unusual communication patterns.
📑 Main Takeaways
Always start with cultural knowledge + preassessment.
Observe kids in natural, meaningful activities.
Create a safe space so they want to talk.
Use smart strategies (games, toys, curiosity, peers) to encourage reluctant talkers.
Collect enough language samples (different contexts, at least 50 utterances).
Structural analysis = a mindset, not just a test → look at patterns, not just errors.
Born to talk article-
📘 The 16 Properties of Human Language
Vocal-Auditory Channel – Language is usually spoken and heard (through mouth and ears).
Broadcast Transmission & Directional Reception – When we speak, sound spreads in all directions, but listeners can figure out where it’s coming from.
Rapid Fading (Transitoriness) – Spoken words don’t last; once they’re said, they fade quickly.
Interchangeability – People can both send and receive messages; we can be speakers and listeners.
Total Feedback – We can hear ourselves talk and correct mistakes while speaking.
Specialization – Our speech system is specialized for communication (not just breathing or eating).
Semanticity – Words and sounds represent specific meanings.
Arbitrariness – There’s no natural link between a word and its meaning (e.g., “dog” could have been called something else).
Discreteness – Speech is made up of small separate sounds (phonemes) that can be combined in different ways.
Displacement – We can talk about things not here and now (past, future, imaginary).
Productivity (Creativity) – We can create and understand unlimited new sentences and ideas.
Duality of Patterning – Small meaningless sounds combine into meaningful words, and words combine into larger structures like sentences.
Traditional Transmission – Language is passed down socially through culture, not inherited genetically.
Prevarication – We can lie, make false statements, or create meaningless utterances.
Reflectiveness (Metalinguistics) – We can think about and talk about language itself.
Learnability – Humans can learn any language if given exposure.
⭐ The Four Properties of Greatest Importance
These four are often considered the core features that make human language unique:
Semanticity (words have meaning)
Displacement (talk about past/future/imaginary)
Productivity (create endless new expressions)
Traditional Transmission (passed through culture, not genes)
OWENS CHAPT 1 TERMENOLOGY-
Antonym – A word that has the opposite meaning of another word (e.g., hot vs. cold).
Phoneme – The smallest unit of sound in a language that changes meaning (e.g., /p/ vs. /b/ in pat vs. bat).
Bilingual – A person who can understand and use two languages.
Phonology – The study of the sound system of a language and how sounds are organized and used.
Bound Morpheme – A word part that cannot stand alone and must attach to another word (e.g., -s in cats, un- in undo).
Pragmatics – The rules for how language is used in different contexts (e.g., knowing when to say “Could you please…” vs. “Give me that”).
Code Switch – Changing between languages or language varieties depending on the setting (e.g., speaking Spanish at home, English at school).
Register – The style of language used depending on situation or audience (formal, informal, academic, casual).
Communicative Competence – Knowing how to use language effectively and appropriately in social situations.
Selection Restrictions – Rules that limit which words can go together because of meaning (e.g., the stone ate doesn’t make sense).
Deficit Approach – The idea (now outdated/criticized) that one dialect is “better” or “more correct” than others, and differences are “deficits.”
Semantic Features – The small pieces of meaning that make up a word (e.g., woman = [+human], [+female], [+adult]).
Dialects – Variations of a language used by a group of speakers, often based on region, culture, or social group.
Semantics – The study of meaning in words and sentences.
Discourse – How language is used in longer stretches, like conversations, stories, essays, or lectures.
Sociolinguistic Approach – Focuses on how social and cultural factors (like class, gender, or ethnicity) influence how language is used.
Free Morpheme – A word or word part that can stand alone (e.g., book, dog, happy).
Speech – The physical act of producing sounds with the mouth, voice, and breath.
Language – A system of symbols and rules (spoken, signed, or written) used for communication.
Style Shifting – Changing your way of speaking based on the situation (e.g., more formal at work, casual with friends).
Linguistic Competence – A person’s knowledge of the rules of their language (what they know).
Suprasegmental Devices – Features like intonation, stress, and rhythm that affect how speech sounds and meaning are understood.
Linguistic Performance – How a person actually uses language in real life (may include mistakes, hesitations, etc.).
Synonym – A word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another (e.g., big and large).
Metalinguistics – Thinking and talking about language itself (e.g., recognizing a sentence is ungrammatical).
Syntax – The rules for how words are arranged into sentences (sentence structure).
Morpheme – The smallest unit of meaning in a language (e.g., dog = 1 morpheme, dogs = 2 morphemes).
Vernacular – Everyday, casual language spoken by a group (non-formal, often tied to identity).
Morphology – The study of how words are built from morphemes (word parts).
Word Knowledge – A person’s mental dictionary of words and their meanings.
Nonlinguistic Cues – Communication without words (gestures, facial expressions, posture, eye contact).
World Knowledge – What a person knows about the world based on experience (helps interpret meaning in context).
Paralinguistic Codes – The extra features of speech (tone, pitch, speed, pauses) that change meaning or emphasis
Apendix c-
Five principles of development
General Child Development & Stages
Five Principles of Development
Development is predictable
Example: motor development proceeds head → down (cephalocaudal).
Developmental milestones are reached at about the same age
Example: walking and talking usually both occur within the same year.
Development requires opportunity
Example: babies who sleep on their backs need tummy time for motor development.
Without opportunities, skills like walking may be delayed.
Children go through developmental phases
Example: two phases of puberty (physical, cognitive, socioemotional).
Growth patterns (e.g., physical at 2–6 years, cognitive at different times).
Individuals differ greatly
Wide range of growth is normal.
Example: a baby might only say 5 words at 18 months and still be within the normal range.
Areas of Development
Physical / Motor Growth
Gross Motor: large movements (rolling, walking, jumping).
Fine Motor: smaller movements (finger control, holding crayons).
Cognitive (Thinking/Processing)
Ability to perceive, store, and process information.
Socioemotional (Socialization)
Learning to interact, becoming less egocentric, adopting culture.
Communicative Growth
Combines all three above → results in language use.
Developmental Stages
Neonate (0–1 month)
Motor: No voluntary control; reflexes (gag, cough, sneeze, rooting, phasic bite).
Reasons for change: rapid brain growth + myelination (protective covering of nerves).
Cognitive: Sees about 7–8 inches away; short-term memory = ~2 seconds.
Social: Comforted by mother’s voice; reflexive smile (physical reaction).
Communication: Reflexive crying, burping, and vowel-like quasi-resonant nuclei (QRN).
Examiner (1–6 months)
Motor: Gains voluntary control (reaching, grasping, rolling).
Cognitive: Memory expands (about 3 hours).
Social: True social smile in response to people (not reflex).
Communication:
Recognizes mother’s voice vs. stranger’s.
Vocalizes in response to others.
Babbling begins: single consonant-vowel units (CV, like “ba”).
Fully resonant nuclei (FRN): stronger vowel-like sounds.
Experimenter (7–12 months)
Motor: Sitting, creeping, standing, walking begins.
Cognitive: Looks for missing objects (object permanence).
Social: Plays peekaboo, patty-cake.
Communication:
Reduplicated babbling (repeated syllables: “bababa”).
Echolalia: imitating sounds of others.
Variegated babbling (different syllables: “bada”).
Jargon: babbling with adult-like intonation.
Phonetically consistent forms (protowords): consistent sound-meaning relationships (e.g., “gaga” for blanket).
Explorer (12–24 months)
Motor: Walks, jumps, stands on one foot; fine motor = holds crayons.
Cognitive: Uses objects for intended purpose (“brush hair with brush”).
Social: Solitary play, begins parallel play (next to others but not with them).
Communication:
Two-word utterances (“Mommy go,” “Want cookie”).
Vocabulary = 150–800 words.
Exhibitor (3–5 years)
3 years old:
Motor: Dresses self (not tying shoes yet).
Cognitive: Symbolic/imaginative play (toy car “flies”).
Social: Plays in groups, takes turns.
Communication: Vocabulary ~1,000 words; uses past tense (“I ate”).
4 years old:
Motor: Climbs stairs alternating feet.
Cognitive: Can tell short stories reliably.
Social: Cooperative play, role-playing.
Communication: Asks many questions.
5 years old:
Motor: Colors within lines; copies short words.
Cognitive: Understands simple rules, time (before/after).
Social: Stronger self-identity, social awareness.
Communication: Sense of humor, emotional expression, large vocabulary.
Expert (6–12 years)
Motor: Nearly adult-like coordination by age 12.
Can bike, throw/catch, multitask.
Fine motor skills for hobbies, crafts.
Cognitive:
Major growth; brain size = adult-like by 8 years.
Develops concrete problem-solving (1st grade), later abstract thinking.
Social:
Same-sex peer groups important.
Identity begins to separate from parents.
Communication:
Vocabulary explodes (50,000+ words).
More complex sentences (embedding, passive voice).
Understands figurative language (idioms, metaphors, sarcasm).
Chapter 4- 100-101section
- 📘 Early Language & Speech Development (Simplified Exam Notes)
1. Native Language Preference
Soon after birth – infants prefer their own language over others.
They do this by detecting prosody (intonation/rhythm).
Even 2-month-olds remember sounds better when spoken with normal intonation.
They also notice stressed syllables more than unstressed ones.
2. Sentence Pattern Discrimination
By 5–6 months, infants can distinguish different sentence types (statement vs. question) based on intonation.
3. Phonotactic Organization
Phonotactics = rules about sound sequences in a language.
Example: /pt/ works at the end (stepped), not at the beginning.
Example: /fh/ doesn’t occur inside words, but across word boundaries (calf hide).
Helps infants detect word boundaries (where one word ends, another begins).
4. Word Segmentation & Probabilities
Words aren’t separated by pauses → infants use statistical learning.
Phonotactic probability = how likely certain sounds are in a language.
High-probability = likely part of real words.
Low-probability = more likely at boundaries (e.g., /tk/).
By 9 months – infants prefer high-probability sound patterns.
5. Frequent Patterns
Infants are sensitive to frequent sound sequences (e.g., “mama,” “cookie”).
Moms help by repeating words → strengthens recognition.
In multisyllable words, infants remember beginning and end syllables best.
6. Statistical Learning
Infants act like “little statisticians”:
Track which sounds usually go together.
Notice when sequences are unusual → signals a boundary.
This helps them figure out where words begin and end.
7. Bilingual vs. Monolingual Development
Monolingual infants (11 mo.) → tuned only to native language.
Bilingual infants → stay sensitive to both languages longer.
They shift slower from prosody → phonetic detail.
Their brains show extra activation in frontal areas → linked to better executive function skills.
8. Motor Development for Speech
Speech requires coordination of:
Respiration – airflow from lungs.
Phonation – vocal fold vibration in larynx.
Resonation – shaping sound in mouth, nose, throat.
Articulation – using tongue, lips, teeth, jaw to form sounds.
9. Newborn Vocalizations
Reflexive sounds – crying, fussing (long vowel-like, exhalation).
Vegetative sounds – burping, swallowing (short, consonant + vowel-like, inhale + exhale).
Crying helps infants practice airflow + vocal folds → prepares for speech.
10. Quasi-Resonant Nuclei (QRN)
Early vowel-like sounds with limited control.
Caused by accidental vocal fold movements.
Nasalized due to infant vocal tract structure.
Not true vowels/consonants yet → partial sound quality.
11. Cooing/Gooing
By 2 months – infants begin cooing/gooing.
QRNs combine with back consonants (/g/, /k/).
First intentional step toward speech-like sounds.
📑 Big Picture Summary
Prosody & phonotactics help infants detect their own language and word boundaries.
Infants use statistical learning (tracking frequent vs. rare sound patterns).
Bilinguals stay open to more sounds → gain cognitive advantages.
Motor development (breathing, vocal folds, articulation) is key for speech.
Early sounds = reflexive crying → QRNs → cooing/gooing.
Theories of Language Acquisition
Backdrop: Nature vs. Nurture
1960–1970: Theories of Language Development
Nativist (Biological / Generativist Approach):
Humans are biologically predisposed to talk.
Language ability is innate and requires only minimal input from the environment.
In the 1960s–70s they were called nativists; today, this perspective evolved into the Generative Approach.
Empiricist (Behaviorist / Environmental Approach):
Emphasized the environment and learning through reinforcement, imitation, and experience.
Language was viewed as a learned behavior, similar to other behavioral learning techniques.
Over time, this view broadened into what we now call Constructionist Theories, which highlight how children build (or construct) language knowledge from environmental input and social interactions.
Modern perspective = Interactionist → combination of both.
Behaviorist Theory (B.F. Skinner)
Language = learned behavior.
He believed that all behavior is operant and change follows or contingent on that behavior also of reinforcer of that behavior.
complex Behavior learned in two ways-
Chaining – linking smaller behaviors into a sequence (e.g., sounds → syllables → words).Each step serves as a stimulus for the next one that its trained
Shaping – Singular Behavior reinforced until the full word is produced.
B.F. Skinner wrote Verbal Behavior, a book that explained language as a learned behavior.
His model did not focus on syntax (sentence structure).
Instead, it emphasized three main processes:
Modeling – adults provide language examples.
Reinforcement – correct speech is rewarded/encouraged.
Imitation – children repeat sounds and words they hear.
Together, these processes explained how children learn to speak in the Behaviorist view.
Skinner’s Five Uses of Language (Verbal Operants)
Mand – A command or request (e.g., “I want juice”).
Echoic – Imitation, repeating what is heard (e.g., adult says “dog”, child repeats “dog”).
Intraverbal – Social small talk or responding to another’s words (e.g., Q: “How are you?” → A: “Good”).
Tact – Labeling something in the environment (e.g., pointing and saying “duck”).
Autoclitic – Adding grammar/structure like subject–verb–object (e.g., “I can eat cookie”).
🧠 Theories of Language Acquisition – Study Breakdown
🌱 Backdrop: Nature vs. Nurture
Nativist (Nature / Biological / Generativist) → Language is innate, humans are born with ability to talk, needs only minimal input.
Empiricist (Nurture / Behaviorist / Environmental) → Language is learned from environment, reinforcement, and imitation.
Modern view = Interactionist → Both nature + nurture.
📗 Behaviorist Theory (B.F. Skinner)
Language = learned behavior.
Book: Verbal Behavior.
Processes:
Modeling → Adults give examples.
Reinforcement → Correct speech encouraged.
Imitation → Kids copy speech.
Learning strategies:
Chaining → small steps linked together (sounds → syllables → words).
Shaping → Reinforce approximations until full word emerges.
Skinner’s Five Verbal Operants:
Mand → request (“I want juice”).
Echoic → imitation (child repeats “dog”).
Intraverbal → small talk, answering (“How are you?” → “Good”).
Tact → labeling (says “duck” when seeing duck).
Autoclitic → adding structure/grammar (“I can eat cookie”).
⚠ Weakness: Doesn’t explain how kids create new sentences never heard before.
📘 Nativist / Generativist Theory (Noam Chomsky)
Language is innate → built into humans.
Book: Syntactic Structures.
Language Acquisition Device (LAD): hypothetical brain tool containing universal grammar.
Two levels of processing:
Phrase Structure Rules (Universal) → sentence patterns shared by all languages.
Transformational Rules (Language-Specific) → convert universal patterns into real sentences of each language.
Core Ideas:
Deep structure = universal meaning.
Surface structure = spoken/written form.
Humans generate infinite new sentences.
Criticism of Behaviorism (Chomsky’s View):
Parents don’t consistently correct grammar.
Children create sentences they’ve never heard.
Adult speech is imperfect → imitation not enough.
⚠ Limitations of Chomsky:
Ignored semantics (meaning), pragmatics (social use), and context.
📙 Case Grammar – Charles Fillmore
Focused on semantics shaping grammar (not just syntax).
Supporters = Generative Semantic Theorists.
Sentence components:
Modality = speaker’s intent (question, command, tense).
Proposition = relationship between verb and nouns (cases).
Example: “The boy hit the ball.”
Agent = boy, Object = ball.
Key Point: Grammar is driven by meaning + roles of nouns/verbs.
📕 Semantic-Cognitive Theory & Lois Bloom (Semantic Revolution)
Reaction to Chomsky’s syntax-only model.
Meaning drives structure, not the other way.
Lois Bloom’s famous example: “Mommy sock” could mean:
That’s Mommy’s sock.
Mommy is putting on a sock.
Conclusion: Need context + meaning to interpret.
Published: Language Development: Form and Function of Emerging Grammars.
🗣 Sociolinguistic / Social Interactionist Theory (Speech Act Theory – Searle)
Language develops through social interaction.
Communication comes before full words.
Speech Act Theory:
Propositional force = meaning.
Illocutionary force = intent.
Primitive Speech Acts (PSAs): early communicative attempts (pointing, babbling with intent).
Caregiver-child dialogue: turn-taking, eye contact, positive reinforcement.
Searle’s 3 Stages of Communication:
Perlocutionary (0–6 mo): caregiver interprets cries/coos.
Illocutionary (6–12 mo): intentional gestures/vocalizations.
Locutionary (12+ mo): real words.
🧩 Emergentist / Constructionist Theory
Response to Chomsky’s strict nativism.
Brain is prepared, but environment gives input.
Domain generality: Language builds from general brain processes + social context.
Timing matters: brain maturation and social input must align.
Key Idea: Language emerges from interaction between biology + environment.
🎯 Quick Comparison (to memorize fast)
Skinner (Behaviorist): Language = learned. Key words: reinforcement, imitation, operant conditioning.
Chomsky (Nativist): Language = innate. Key words: LAD, universal grammar, generative.
Fillmore (Case Grammar): Language = driven by meaning. Key words: agent, object, proposition, modality.
Bloom (Semantic Revolution): Syntax alone fails → need context/meaning.
Searle (Social Interactionist): Language = social, develops through interaction.
Emergentist: Language = brain + environment working together.