Lecture Outline

1

• Lecture Outline
• Components of Language Development
• Theoretical Perspectives on Language Development
• Nativist
• Evidence and Criticisms
• Interactionist
• Evidence and Criticisms

2

• Components of Language Development
• Phonological Development
• Acquisition of knowledge about the sound system
  of a language
• Phonemes The smallest sound units that
  distinguish meaning
• Ex rake and lake differ by one phoneme (/r/
  versus /l/)

3

• Syntactic Development
• The learning of the syntax (grammar) of a
  language
• Syntax Rules in a language that specify how
  words from different categories (nouns, verbs,
  adjectives, etc.) can be combined

4

• Semantic Development
• Learning the system for expressing meaning in a
  language, including word learning

5

• Pragmatic Development
• Acquiring knowledge about how language is used
  (cultural rules)

6

• Nativist Perspectives on Language Development
• Universal Grammar A set of highly abstract,
  unconscious rules that are common to all
  languages (Noam Chomsky)
• Unique to humans

7

• Evidence Consistent with Nativist Perspectives
• Children master language with little explicit
  training
• Non-human primates require extensive training to
  master the most basic language skills
• Although some non-human primates may combine
  symbols, they do not show evidence of using
  syntax
• Indicates that only humans can acquire language
  and also suggests that innate factors are
  involved in language development

8

• Evidence (cont)
• Certain areas of the brain appear to be
  specialized for language
• Left hemisphere of cerebral cortex
• Hemispheric specialization is present in
  infancysuggests that innate factors are involved
  in language development

9

• Evidence (cont)
• Appears to be a critical period for language
  acquisition
• Critical period Time during which language
  develops readily and after which language
  acquisition is much more difficult and less
  successful
• Suggests that innate factors are involved in
  language development

10

• Evidence for critical period
• Brain damage is more likely to result in
  permanent language impairment if it occurs in
  adulthood than if it occurs in childhood

11

• Less hemispheric specialization occurs when a
  second language is learned at 4 years or older
  than if it is learned earlier

12

• Knowledge of grammar is related to the age at
  which individuals begin learning a second
  language, not the length of their exposure to the
  language
• Individuals exposed earlier show greater
  knowledge as adults

13

• Evidence Consistent with Nativist Perspectives
• (cont)
• Congenitally deaf children whose parents are not
  proficient in sign language
• Develop larger vocabularies (gestures) than their
  parents
• Spontaneously impose syntax (grammatical
  structure) when signing
• Suggests that innate factors are involved in
  language development

14

• Criticisms of Nativist Perspectives
• Universal grammar common to all languages has not
  been identified
• Focus on syntactic development and neglect other
  aspects of language development
• Ignore role of social environment in language
  development

15

• Interactionist Perspectives on Language
  Development
• Language development is strongly influenced by
  childrens motivation to communicate with others
• Because of this motivation, they pay attention to
  clues in language and the social context in
  which language is used
• Allows them to master language

16

• Evidence Consistent with Interactionist
  Perspectives
• Children show sensitivity to a variety of clues
  in language and the social context in which
  language is used

17

• Fast Mapping
• Process of rapidly learning a new word when a
  familiar and unfamiliar word are contrasted
• Ex chromium and red

18

• Linguistic Context
• Grammatical form of a novel word influences
  childrens interpretation of it
• Ex sibbing vs. a sib vs. some sib

19

• Syntactic Bootstrapping
• Inferring the meaning of a word based on the
  grammatical structure of the sentence in which it
  is used
• Ex The duck is kradding the rabbit
• OR
• The duck and rabbit are kradding

20

• Pragmatic Cues
• Aspects of the social context that are used to
  infer the meaning of words
• Children use direction of gaze or other gestures
  to learn word meanings
• Will assign a new word to the object that an
  adult is looking at when saying the word (even if
  the child cannot see the target object)
• Intentionality/Emotional Reactions of the speaker
• Ex Lets find the gazzer!

21

• Criticisms of Interactionist Theories
• Language is too complex to be learned only by
  paying attention to clues available in language
  and the social context in which it is used
• The evidence of childrens sensitivity to clues
  involves mainly semantic development, not
  syntactic development