Language Acquisition

The Development of Children (5th ed.)

Cole, Cole & Lightfoot

Chapter 8

Early Childhood (ages 2-6)

Explosive growth in ability to comprehend and use language

Learn several new words per day

By the age of 6, a child’s vocabulary is between 8,000 and 14,000 words

Totally transforms theirmental and social lives

Overview of the Journey

Puzzle of Language Development

Language Subsystems

Explanations of Language Acquisition

Essential Ingredients for Acquisition

Relation of Language and Thought

Puzzle of Language Development

Language Subsystems

Explanations of Language Acquisition

Essential Ingredients for Acquisition

Relation of Language and Thought

The Puzzle of Language

Development

Prelinguistic Development

Problem of Reference

Problem of Grammar

Prelinguistic Developments Birth: Preference for

language over other kinds of sounds; can differentiate basic phonemes characteristic of world’s languages

Neonate: Can distinguish sounds of their native language from those of a foreign language

2½ months: Social smiling; cooing babbling ( jargoning words by 1 year old)

Prelinguistic Developments

3 months: Match behavior to that of another person (primary intersubjectivity)

9 months: Social referencing and pointing at an object (evidences of secondary intersubjectivity)

18 months: Will not point unless caregiver is present

Problem of Reference

“Smotri sinochik! Tam sidit ptitsa.”

“Smotri sinochik! Tam sidit ptitsa.”

“Look, son! There sits a ptitsa.”

“Look, son! There sits a ptitsa.”

How do children discover what

words mean?

How do children discover what

words mean?

Problem of Reference

“Look, Sarah! That’s a _________.”“Look, Sarah! That’s a _________.”

Problem of Grammar

Grammar: Rules of a given language for the sequencing of words in a sentence and the ordering of parts of words

7 months: Sensitive to ordering of words in simple sentences and can abstract patterns of word usage from such sentences

Later: “My doggy runned away” – significant, because have not been taught to say this and have not learned it from imitation

How do children learn to arrange words and parts of words in a way that has meaning to others?How do children learn to arrange words and parts of words in a way that has meaning to others?

Language Subsystems

(1) Sounds

(2) Words

(3) Sentences

(4) Uses of Language

1: Sounds

Phonemes: Basic sounds in a language Newborn: Can perceive the differences between

the phonemes of language Shortly afterward, will cease to differentiate

sounds that are not a part of their native language (Japanese: /l/ and /y/; Spanish: /b/ and /v/)

Morphemes: Smallest units of meaning in the words of a language “Transplanted” [trans] [plant] [ed] By 8-9 years, can use morpheme knowledge to

figure out meanings of new words (e.g., “treelet”)

2: Words

Genuine words appear around first birthday Aided by adult interpretation of vocalizations

Words as mediators that allow a child to operate indirectly on an object via an adult Conversely,

allows the child to be influenced by others (e.g., a command)

2: Words

Growth of vocabulary… 14 months: 10 words 18 months: 50 words 24 months: 300 words

Receptive vocabulary (i.e., what they understand) is much larger 14 months: 100 words

Mostly nouns (closely linked to actions they accomplish, or that change and move) 24 months: By then, nouns account for less than half Verbs, relational words (e.g., “gone” “here” “no”), comments

on attainments (e.g., “There!” “Hooray!” “Uh-oh”)

Vocabulary Development

2: Words

Problems of referential ambiguity Overextensions: Applying

a verbal label too broadly (e.g., “Daddy” to all men)

Underextensions: Applying the label too narrowly (e.g., “cat” only to the family’s cat)

Levels of abstractions: Children between ages of 2 and 4 seem to label all sets at the same intermediate level of generality…

Levels of Abstractness

Word Meanings

For a young child, word meanings are dominated by the contexts of action in which the words have played a role

As the child acquires formal conceptual categories of language, the structure of word meanings changes accordingly

Assessed by “What kind of thing is a _____?”

Holophrases

Simple-word utterances of babies that some believe stand for entire phrases or sentences “Up” “Bottle”

However, are almost always accompanied by nonverbal elements (e.g., gestures, distinctive facial expressions) Consequently, single word in

conjunction with gestures and facial expressions is equivalent of a whole sentence

3: Sentences

Utterances of 2+ words: Language milestone at end of infancy (age 2 years) “Want do” “More sing” “Water off” “Mail come”

Can vary order of words to create different meanings (early understanding of grammar) “Chase Daddy” vs. “Daddy chase”

Increasing complexity… Measured in number of morphemes (units of

meaning): MLU (mean length of utterance) “Boys aren’t playing” = 3 words, but 6 morphemes

(boy, s, are, not, play, ing)

Rapidly Increasing

Complexity

3: Sentences

Grammatical morphemes: Units that create meaning by showing relations between other elements within sentence Present progressive

(-ing) first to appear Followed by location,

number, possession, past tense

3: Sentences

Complex constructions Words added to end of

a sentence to turn it into a question “You will come, won’t you?”

Acquire grammar rules that even most adults can’t explain evidence of high level of abstraction

4: Uses of Language

Conversational conventions (pragmatics) Cooperative principle: Make contributions to

conversation at required time and for accepted purpose of the talk exchange

Conversational acts Proto-imperatives:

Engage another person to achieve a desired objective (e.g., “More”)

Proto-declaratives: Initiate/maintain dialogue with another person (e.g., point and “Doggie”; giving)

4: Uses of Language Taking the listener into account

3½ years: Provide more information to someone who is blindfolded; use simpler language with younger child or a baby doll (but not a grown-up doll)

Use of metaphors (creative process) Beginning of metaphorical language

coincides with the onset of symbolic play (e.g., yellow bat becomes an ear of “corn”)

In middle childhood, still have difficulty with metaphors that link physical terms to people (e.g., “That kid is a bulldozer”)

Explanations of Language Acquisition

Learning-Theory Explanation

Nativist Explanation

Interactionist Explanation

Learning-Theory Explanation

Major causal factor Environment (nurture)

Mechanisms Conditioning: Classical

(sum of all experiences) & operant (parental enthusiasm over closer approximations to correct sound of the word)

Imitation: Abstract modeling (Bandura) for grammar

Major phenomenon explained Word meaning

Nativist Explanation

Major causal factor Heredity (nature): Innate ability

(Chomsky)

Mechanism Triggering: Via Language

Acquisition Device (LAD) programmed to recognize the deep structures that underlie any particular language that the child may hear

Major phenomenon explained Syntax

Interactionist Explanation Major causal factor

Cognitive hypothesis (derived from Piaget’s constructivism): Interaction of social and biological factors

Cultural-context approach (based on Bruner’s formats – peekaboo & routines): Cultural mediation of social-biological interaction

Mechanisms Cognitive hypothesis: Assimilation-

accommodation Cultural-context approach: Cultural

scripts – Language Acquisition Support System (LASS)

Major phenomenon explained Language-thought relationships

Vocabulary Size & Grammatical Complexity Linked

The fact that grammatical growth is more closely correlated with vocabulary growth than either of those are with age lends support to the constructivist framework.

Bates & Goodman, 1999

Essential Ingredients for Acquisition

Biological Prerequisites

Role of the Environment

Language Requirements

Biological Prerequisites Chimpanzees

After years of hard work, chimpanzees can learn several dozen signs, in combinations similar to a 2-year-old; but children with no special training learn thousands of words in a relatively short time span

Down syndrome Restricted vocabulary and simple grammar suggest that

normal language development requires normal cognitive function, at least in certain key areas

Williams syndrome Although mentally retarded, relatively normal vocabulary and

grammar use suggest that at least some aspects of language develop independently of general cognitive function

Role of the Environment Deaf children (whose parents won’t sign or who

“home sign”) and hearing children raised by deaf parents Develop basic rudiments of grammar (2- or 3-word phrases),

but not more complex ones Fast Mapping

Children hear an unfamiliar word in a familiar, structured, and meaningful social interaction (e.g., taking a bath routine)

Whole-object principle: Assume word (“cup”) applies to whole object

Categorizing principle: Assume that object labels (“dog”) extend to classes of similar objects

Mutual-Exclusivity principle: Assume that an object can have only one name (“zebra” refers to the animal that’s different in a group of cows – “cow” already known)

Language Requirements

1. Biologically programmed sensitivity to language present at birth, which develops as the child matures (Nativist view)

2. Ability to learn from and imitate the language of others (Environmental-learning view)

3. Acquisition of basic cognitive capacities – schemas for actions with objects, ability to represent the world mentally, presence of lexical principles (Interactionist view – Constructivist version)

4. Inclusion of children in familiar routines in which language is one of many forms of interaction (Interactionist view – Cultural-context version)

Relation of Language & Thought

Language becomes an intellectual function, while thinking becomes verbal

Vygotsky

Progress of Language Development

Age Typical Behavior

Birth Phoneme perception; crying

3 months Cooing

6 months Babbling; lose discrim. non-native phonemes

9 months First words; holophrases

12 months Use of words to attract adults’ attention

18 months Vocabulary spurt; telegraphic speech (2-word)

24 months Response to indirect request (“Is door shut?”)

30 months Create indirect request; take listener account

Early child. Increase grammatical complex. (overgeneral.)

Middle child. Understand passive forms; acquire written

Adolescence Acquire specialized language functions