Language Development
October 24, 2023
Language Development
• Question: Are sign languages real languages?
• Answer: Absolutely!
Language: An Everyday Miracle
• Language is arguably the single greatest
human achievement
• Only humans can do it: human essence
• Every culture does it differently…
• But development similar across cultures
What is Language?
• Language is a form of communication that uses symbols to represent
concepts
• Words are arbitrary (different languages use different words to refer
to the same object)
What is Language?
• Language shows displacement:
• Can refer to objects not physically present; past, future
What is Language?
• Language is generative: can create an endless series of new
combinations, all built from the same fundamental units
• Old words can take on new meaning
• E.g., ghost, catfish (as verbs)
• Portmanteaus (blending two words to form new ones)
• E.g., “staycation”, “bromance,” “frenemy”
Language’s Rule
Systems
Language’s Rule Systems
Pragmatics
Semantics
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Language’s Rule Systems
1) Phonology
• A phoneme is the basic unit of sound
in a language
• E.g., /r/ and /l/ in English are two
distinct phonemes, they are the
same phoneme in Japanese
1. Phonological Development
• From birth - 6 mo’s, infants can detect
phoneme changes from all languages
• Werker (1989): After 6 mo’s, infants
become better at discriminating
phonemes within own language, but
worse within other languages
• Video of Werker’s research
1. Phonological Development
• Word comprehension:
• In evidence by 6 mo’s
• Understanding common expressions at
9 mo’s
• Use own name as an anchor for
learning new words (perceptual
scaffolding)
• Multiple strategies for identifying words
1. Phonological Development
• Language Progress
• Early Vocalization (cooing) Babbling
Speaking
1. Phonological Development
• Languages cater to young children’s phonological
limitations
• E.g., “mama”, “papa”, “dada” refer to parents
• Mispronunciations common as children try to
simplify words
• Produce “minimal words”
• E.g., “du”, “ju”, “dus” = juice
Language’s Rule Systems
• 2) Morphology
• Morpheme: minimal unit of meaning in word
formation
• Truck = 1 morpheme
• Table = 1 morpheme
• Houseboat = 2 morphemes
• -s, -er, -ly considered morphemes because they
change the meaning of a word
Language’s Rule Systems
Word - strangers
Morpheme - strange er s
Meaning
Phoneme - s/t/r/ey/n/j er z
Sound
2. Morphological Development
• First words are holophrases: single
word that can have multiple semantic
meanings
• E.g., “Doggie!” = “There is a dog” or
“I like the dog,” etc.
2. Morphological Development
• vocabulary explosion: 12-18 mos, learn 1-2
words / day
• Fast Mapping:
-the way in which children quickly connect
new words with their meanings
-at first (18-20 mos), requires joint attention
2. Morphological Development
• Fast Mapping:
-processing constraints: help children narrow
down meaning of new word
e.g., words refer to whole objects
e.g., words have unique meanings
“poodle” = subcategory of dog
2. Morphological Development
• “Vocabulary explosion” accompanied by
common errors:
• Overextensions
• E.g., all four-legged creatures are dogs
• Underextensions
• E.g., only family’s dog is a dog
2. Morphological Development
• Infants begin using two-word phrases at 18 to 24 months
• Telegraphic speech
• E.g., Where doggie?
• E.g., My hat.
2. Morphological Development
• Individual differences in:
a. Phonological memory
b. Word learning styles
i. Referential
-mostly people or objects
ii. Expressive
-more social phrases (stop it!, oh no!)
Language’s Rule Systems
3) Syntax
• The manner in which morphemes and words are
combined to create grammatically correct phrases and
sentences
3. Syntax Development
• The “wug” test
• Asks Ps to perform a
grammatical manipulation on a
novel word.
• Young children (4-5) able to
perform this task, suggesting
they’re able to extract
generalizable rules. Jean Berko (1958)
3. Syntax Development
• Young children begin to grasp rules of
morphology
• E.g., adding -s to create plural form, -ed
to create past tense
• Overregularization sometimes occurs
• E.g., I brushed my tooths
3. Syntax Development
• Young children begin to grasp rules of syntax
• “Where kitty?” to “Where kitty is going?” to
“Where is kitty going?”
Language’s Rule Systems
4) Semantics
• The meaning of words and sentences
• A sentence can be semantically correct but syntactically wrong
• E.g., “I am doing good today.”
• A sentence can be syntactically correct but semantically wrong
• E.g., “Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.”
4. Semantic Development
-children < 4-5 misinterpret passive constructions
1. The girl hit the boy.
2. The boy was hit by the girl.
-pre-schoolers interpret #2 as “boy hit the girl”
-but will understand “The candy was eaten by
the girl.”
Language’s Rule Systems
5) Pragmatics – learning how language is used in
particular contexts within a culture
5. Pragmatic Development
• A. Acquiring conversational skills
• Turnabout: speaker replies then adds something
to get partner to respond again
• E.g.,
• Parent: How are you?
• Child: I’m fine… how are you?
5. Pragmatic Development
• A. Acquiring conversational skills
• Illocutionary intent: what a speaker means to say
e.g., “There are toys all over the floor”
= “Clean up this mess!”
5. Pragmatic Development
• B. Communicating clearly
• Referential communication skills: producing clear
verbal messages and recognizing when messages
we receive are unclear
5. Pragmatic Development
• C. Narratives
• Progress from “leapfrog” narratives (age 3 / 4)…
• To chronological narratives (age 5) …
• To classic narratives (age 6)
5. Pragmatic Development
• D. Sociolinguistic Understanding
• Adapting language style to social context
• E.g., being polite when making requests
How do Children Acquire
Grammar?
1. Classical Behaviourist Perspective
• Babies start out “dumb”
• Through experience they gain knowledge about
language & the world
• Language learned via imitation & reinforcement
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2. Nativist Perspective
• Babies are smart – knowledge is innate
• “There is a special cognitive faculty for
learning & acquiring language” - Steven
Pinker
• Chomsky: humans biologically
programmed to learn basic systems of
language
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2. Nativist Perspective
• a) Specialized brain structures and networks to
support language
• Broca’s area (language production) and
Wernicke’s area (language comprehension)
2. Nativist Perspective
-b) only humans learn grammar readily
-Chimps can understand human language but can’t
learn rules of syntax
2. Nativist Perspective
-b) only humans learn grammar readily
E.g., Kanzi the Chimpanzee understands 100s of words
& follows instructions
-basic grammar (= a 2-y-o-human)
Video: Kanzi the chimpanzee
2. Nativist Perspective
c) Strong link between growth of vocabulary and
mastery of grammar
-Common underlying system: Language Acquisition
Device (LAD)
2. Nativist Perspective
d) Critical period for learning fluent language skills
e.g., feral children (Victor, the “wild boy of Aveyron”)
e.g., isolated children (Genie)
-unable to learn more than a basic understanding of
language
3. Social-Interactionist Perspective
• Language arises from a combination of
biological maturation and environmental
experiences
• Conversations more important than exposure
to talking
• Recall Vygotsky’s “collaborative learning”
3. Social-Interactionist Perspective
• Language arises from a combination of biological
maturation and environmental experiences
• Make stories interactive (to enhance learning)
Signed Language &
Gestural Communication
Using Gestures to Communicate
• Gestures used to communicate, but not
considered language
• Infants (8-10 mo’s) learn to gesture before being
able to communicate using language
• E.g., pointing to object they want
Using Gestures to Communicate
• Gestures used to communicate, but not
considered language
• Many are culture-specific
• E.g., “thumbs up”
Using Gestures to Communicate
• Precursor to language:
• Rowe et al. (2008)
• The more children gestured at 14 mo’s, the greater
their spoken vocabulary at 42 mo’s
• Often accompany speech when toddlers learning to
talk
• e.g., holding out arms, curling fingers to look like
claws (while trying to say “lion”)
Signed Languages
• E.g., American Sign Language (ASL)
• Considered to be a true language
• Symbolic, arbitrary, generative, shows
displacement
Signed Languages
• Deaf children exposed to ASL:
• Progress through language milestones in much the
same way as hearing children
• signs can be produced at an earlier age than spoken
words
• Learn to “babble” in sign before progressing to
holophrases
Signed Languages
• Deaf children exposed to ASL:
• Are proficient at fast-mapping to expand
vocabulary
• Experience growth in same brain areas as
hearing children
Signed Languages
• Deaf children not exposed to sign language
often create their own!
• E.g., Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL)
