Section 11_19

Stages of Language Development

  • Language acquisition is a universal process.

  • Typically developing children around the world follow the same stages in the same sequence:

    • This is applicable to both spoken and signed languages.

Universal Stages of Language Acquisition

  • Crying (0-1 month):

    • Primary means of communication; includes cries, burps, and grunts.

  • Cooing (2-3 months):

    • Vowel-like sounds; includes coo/goo sounds and gurgling.

    • Early exploration of vocalization involving velar sounds (back vowels).

  • Vocal Play (3-4 months):

    • Development of more varied sounds; includes raspberries, squeals, yells.

  • Babbling (4-12 months):

    • Starts with CV monosyllables (4-6 months).

    • Progresses to canonical babbling (7-10 months).

    • Culminates in variegated babbling (10-12 months).

  • One-Word Stage (1-1.5 years):

    • Lexicon consists of less than 50 words; overlaps with babbling.

    • Simple phonology; mainly includes nouns and verbs; uses holophrases (e.g., "want!", "more!").

  • Two-Word Stage (1.5-2 years):

    • Lexicon increases to over 50 words; combinations start to make semantic sense.

    • Not necessarily syntactically correct; focuses on meaning rather than grammatical structure.

  • Telegraphic Speech (2+ years):

    • Combinations of two or more words; begins to use content words over function words.

    • Word order begins to show patterns; function morphemes are acquired consistently over time.

Features of Language Acquisition

  • Child-Directed Speech (CDS):

    • Speech directed to children; characterized by exaggerated pitch and prosody (parentese).

  • Holophrases:

    • One-word utterances that convey complex ideas.

True or False Section

  • Children generally produce more language than they understand; False.

  • Newborns can distinguish their native dialect by around 5 months; False.

  • Canonical babbling occurs before variegated babbling; True.

  • Babies in utero cannot hear language; True.

The Brain and Language

  • Corpus Callosum:

    • Thick fiber bundle connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

    • Right hemisphere is involved in visual-spatial tasks, non-speech sounds, and music.

    • Left hemisphere primarily responsible for language and analytical processing.

  • Localization:

    • Different brain regions perform different functions.

    • The brain's organization is contralateral; each hemisphere controls the opposite body side.

Language Disorders

  • Aphasia:

    • Language disorder resulting from brain damage (e.g., trauma, stroke).

    • Broca’s Aphasia: Broken but comprehensible speech; struggles with word retrieval.

    • Wernicke’s Aphasia: Fluent speech filled with lexical errors, often incomprehensible.

Quiz 7 & Homework Reminders

  • Topics for the quiz include:

    • Stages of language acquisition.

    • Theories of language acquisition in different contexts.

    • Age determination based on language ability.

    • Recognition of Broca’s vs. Wernicke’s aphasia cases.

  • Homework due involves language acquisition and brain functions.

    • Ensure familiarity with the stages and abilities related to children’s language.

Conclusion

  • Language acquisition involves complex interaction between developmental stages and brain functions, highlighting the biological basis of language and its cognitive processes.

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