Language Development

Lyssa & Susan

Early Communication

Communication begins with senses and motor skills

The most obvious sense for language is audition (listening)

Child-directed speech- the high pitched simplified and repeated way adults speak to infants

Early Communication Cont.

Babies communicate with cries, smiles, gurgles, and pouts

From 6-9 months they start babbling At 1 year babies start imitating what

they hear Deaf children whose parents use sign

language use hand gestures

First Words

21 month olds talk twice as much as 18 month olds (Naming Explosion)

Naming Explosion: A sudden increase in an infants vocabulary, especially in the number of nouns, that begin about 18 months of age.

12-18 month olds name each caregiver, usually mama, dada, nana, tata, usually by using 2 syllable words.

They also express needs in the same way by saying poo-poo, ka-ka, pee-pee, wee-wee

Cultural Differences in Language Use

Infants differ in the use of various parts of speech depending on the language they are learning

Chinese and Korean are called verb-friendly languages, which means the verb is placed in the beginning or end of a sentence.

In English the verbs occur in various positions and also their forms changes the sentence in illogical ways. (ex. go, went, gone)

Acquiring Grammar

At about 21 months old, word combination begins

ex. “More juice” and eventually “mommy read book”

Listening to two languages does not slow down a child’s ability to learn each language

They’ll learn faster hearing the word “milk” from 4 different people than “leche” from 2 different people

How is language learned so quickly?

#1 hypothesis- Infants need to be taught

#2 hypothesis- Infants teach themselves

#3 hypothesis- Social impulses foster infant language learning

#1 Hypothesis- Infants need to be taught

All learning is acquired, step by step, through association and reinforcement

Ideas of this hypothesis about language learning:

Parents are expert teachers and other caregivers help them teach children to speak

Frequent repetition of words is instructive, especially when the words are linked to the pleasures of daily life

Well-taught infants become well-spoken children

#2 Hypothesis- Infants teach themselves

Language learning is innate; adults don’t need to teach it

Chomsky believes language is too complex to be mastered step-by-step

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)- Chomsky’s term for a hypothesized mental structure that enables humans to learn a language, including basic aspects of grammar, vocab, and intonation

LAD quickly and efficiently connects neurons and creates dendrites to support whichever particular language the infant hears

According to this hypothesis no trigger is needed because the developing brain is searching for a language

#3 Hypothesis- Social impulses foster infant language learning

According to this perspective infants communicate in every way they can because they are social beings, dependent on one another for survival, well-being and joy.

By 9 months a babies’ brain and heart rate indicate attention when people talk to them with awareness and pleasure that they are the center of attention

That emotional message of speech propels an infant to learn a language

Combining All 3 Approaches

Researchers have tried to combine all 3 approcahes. They noted that children develop language for many reasons.

They interpreted their experiments as a suppoting idea that HOW language is learned depends on the age of the child as well as on the particular circumstances

Test Question

How do deaf and hearing babies compare in early language learning?

Answer- by 9 months they start babbling, and by the end of 1 year they start imitating what they hear, but the deaf babies imitate sign distinctive hand gestures in a repetitive manner, similar to babbling.

Within the first 2 years, what are the stages of language development a child goes through?

Answer- baby=cries 1yr=words before 2yrs=sentences