Chapter 8 Language

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Areas of Focus

Basics of
What is
language
language?
structure

Debates:
Behaviourist, Language
Nativist, Development
Interationist
What is Language?
Language is formatted in a
grammatical structure, but this
doesn’t tell us about why we have
language.

Language developed from gesture,

is used for social interaction,
meaning making, to coordinate
intentions.
The specifics of how we accomplish
these actions and joint
understanding is called pragmatics.

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 • Language: System for conveying
meaning to and with others
using signals that are combined
according to rules of grammar
and to convey meaning
• Human language is complex,
involves words representing
intangible things, and is used to
Summary think and conceptualize (different
than other animal species)
• Grammar: Set of rules that
specify how the units of
language can be combined to
produce meaningful messages
 Language production – The
structured and conventional
expression of thoughts through
words
Speech – The expression of language
Components through sounds
of Language

Language comprehension – The

process of understanding spoken,
written, or signed language

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Grammatical
Structure

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 Phoneme – the smallest
unit of sound in a Example: The word pig has
language, an individual three phonemes: p, i, and g
sound

Language Phonology – the study of

how individual sounds or
Morpheme – the smallest
units of a language that
convey meaning

Structure phonemes are used to

produce language
• Example: The word pigs has two
morphemes: pig and s

Semantics – the study of

Lexical meaning –
how meaning in language
dictionary meaning of a
is constructed of individual
word
words and sentences

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Language Structure

• Syntax – The system for

using words (semantics) and
word order to convey
meaning (grammar)

• Pragmatics – The practical

aspects of language usage,
including speech pace,
gesturing, and body
language

• Non-verbal
communication – B ody
language

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Summary of What is Language

• All languages have a grammatical structure

(syntax, semantics, phonemes, parts of speech)
• Grammar only partly answers the question of
what language is.
• Pragmatics is ‘on top of’ grammar—how people
use language to accomplish goals, social
interactions.

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Theories of Language
Development

• 1. Behaviorist explanations
stated that language is
learned largely through
operant conditioning
(reinforcement) and
imitation
• Problems: Generativity,
unheard errors (e.g.,
overregularization,
under-extension,
overextension).
Theories of Language 1. Nativists, such as Chomsky,
argued that the structure of
Theory 1: Nativism language has a universal basis that
is innate.

Language development is best explained as an

innate biological capacity with a critical
period.
Nativist Infants are universal phoneticians (Steven
Pinker). Werker (2012) perceptual biases
Ideas facilitate and guide acquisition.
Language acquisition device (LAD):
Collection of processes that
facilitate language learning.
Maybe there is a module in the
brain that acts like a special
processor for language.
 According to nativist, Steven Pinker,
Broca’s infants can distinguish (can tell the
Wernicke’s difference) between all human
phonemes, although this ability
dissipates by 6 months of age.

Additional
• Overregularization –
Comprehension comes before
the process by which
Evidence
elementary school production.
children over-apply
for the
newly-learned
Nativists,
grammatical rules to
improperly “correct” an All infants go through the same
continued
irregular part of speech babbling sequence. Deaf babies
babble with their hands and are not
such as a verb
• Example: “thinked” delayed. Babbling is hard-wired or
instead of “thought” highly canalized.
Theory 2:
Behaviorism
• Language is entirely
learned (Skinner). When
babies are given rewards
(praise or attention) for a
word/sound, they are
more likely to repeat that
word/sound.

• .

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Theory 3: Interactive View
The roots of language are not innate or learned by
solely learned by imitation.
• Bio/Neuro: Brain is set up for language physically
and functionally--pattern detection, categorization,
schema formation.
• Learning: Hearing language, the same kinds of
words used in context of everyday living. Social
interaction is key.
• Child-directed speech
How Caregivers Support Word
Learning

• Engagement with toys.

• Shared experiences open world to language.
• Scaffold sound/word learning.
• Talk to infant all the time—infant direct speech helps with word
segmentation. Simplify speech (grammatically simpler and
shorter) to adjust speech to child’s ability.
• Rich in emotional expression (i.e., bonding function).
• Use of gesture like pointing to objects (referential ability).
Summary: Theories of Language
• Behaviourism/Learning Theory: Modeling,
repetition, reward/punishment.

• Nativist: Innate, some learning. Universal

grammar, language acquisition device.

• Interactionist: Modern conceptions of how

brain works coupled with everyday social
interactions.
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What are the Milestones of Early
Language Acquisition?
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Critical Milestones in Language Development

• 1-5 Months: Crying, cooing, laughing (THEY HAVE

GREAT VALUE!), beginnings of babbling. Universal.
• 6 months: Reduplicative babbling (phonemes +
consonant-vowel sounds.)
• When it begins to resemble surrounding language—
called ‘jargon’s stage’, ‘conversational babbling’ or
patterned speech (10 months).
• Approx. 1 year: First words. Simple single-words.
• Similar cross-culturally – words for parents (mama)
• Receptive vs. expressive language (i.e.,
understanding before using)
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 Milestones in Language Development

• 18–24 months – vocabulary spurt

• Over- and under-extensions (learning grammar)

• End of second year – combine words

• Telegraphic speech. Dropped morphemes

• End of third year – complex ideas, plural, past tense

• Over-regularization—He wented to the table.

• Pragmatics – three years old

o Basic understanding of practical information regarding
language including pausing between sentences
• Grammar – four years old
o Basic rules of grammar are understood without formal
education
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Language – Comprehension and Use
Babies’ Comprehension of Words

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Language Helpers:
Environmental Effect on
Language Development

• Grammar development is affected by the environment.

• Child-directed speech – simple, high-pitched, slow-paced,
emotion-charged speech used by adults when speaking with
babies and young children
• Overregularization – the process by which elementary school
children over-apply newly-learned grammatical rules to
improperly “correct” an irregular part of speech such as a verb
• Example: “thinked” instead of “thought”

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Language Helpers: Fast Mapping, Slow Mapping

• Toddlers learn that words are symbols for things.

• Fast mapping—Learn word for something after a few
exposures (but still fragile, may forget so need repeated
exposures).
• Slow-mapping: Understanding that a word can be used in
more than one way. Learn by exposure to the word in
more than one context—
E.g., play can mean with toys or when people act on
stage.
• Children try to make sense of entire utterance not just
specific words.
 Being Multilinguistic
•Can we apply the same rules of
acquisition to languages learned
later in life?
•Why are adults have such a
heard time learning another
language?
English-Language Acquisition

• The bilingual child’s

job is to learn
language. They are
enveloped in language
and language is
tailored to them. If

Marvin Joseph/ Washington Post/Getty Images

adult learners had the
same experience,
they too would learn
another language
easily (Bialystok
video).
Bilingualism
• In many parts of the world, bilingualism is the norm.

• Later studies show that monolingual and bilingual children

do not differ in language development
• Some advantages and disadvantages for each group.

• Learning a second language seems to increase the ability of

the left parietal lobe to handle linguistic demands.

• Bilingual children may have executive functioning

advantages (i.e., choosing what to pay attention to and
what to ignore, tune out irrelevant stimuli, shifting attention
easily when required, and working memory-holding and
processing new and already stored information).
 Effects of Bilingualism

• Smaller vocabularies in one language, combined

vocabularies average
• Higher scores for middle-class bilingual subjects on
cognitive flexibility, analytical reasoning, selective
attention, and meta-linguistic awareness
• Slight disadvantage in terms of language processing
speed
• Second languages more easily acquired early in life
• Greater acculturation facilitates acquisition
• Develop executive control earlier and can juggle tasks
more efficiently
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