Language and its Development
description
Transcript of Language and its Development
![Page 1: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Language and its Development
![Page 2: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Language What defines language? What properties
does language have?
How does language allow for communicative power?
Why does language exist? What does it gain us?
When does language develop?
![Page 3: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Properties of Language Symbolic
Cat = Thor = Arbitrary Productive Discrete
Language is based on discrete units; each unit is unique
![Page 4: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Properties of Language
/bog/ /pog/
![Page 5: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Properties of Language
![Page 6: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Properties of Language Symbolic
Cat = Thor = Arbitrary Discrete
Language is based on discrete units; each unit is unique
Productive
![Page 7: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Properties of Language- Productivity We can say sentences we’ve never heard
before “I hate you, Mommy!”
We have a limited set of words and structures that can be recombined.
Generativity: “He said that she told them that he thought that
we heard that they reported that…”
![Page 8: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Ambiguity in Speech
![Page 9: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Resolving AmbiguitySocial agreement, context, intention Grice (1975): Maxims of Conversation 1. Quality: Tell the truth! (Avoid falsehoods *and*
statements for which you have no evidence)2. Quantity: Include what is necessary to express
information, and nothing extraneous.3. Utterances will be related to the topic at hand4. Manner: Avoid ambiguity, use common ground
(Clark)
![Page 10: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Ambiguity in Speech Humor:
Last night I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. What he was doing in my pyjamas, I’ll never know”- Groucho Marx
Garden Path Sentences The horse raced past the barn fell. The prime number few.
![Page 11: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Properties of Language Is language unique to humans? Or does
animal communication meet these criteria? Symbolic?
call systems used by animals only in presence of predators; NO
Arbitrary? For some animals, YES; others, NO
Discrete NO
Productive Productivity dependent upon discreteness; NO
![Page 12: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Language and Thought What does language allow us in terms of our
ability to think? Whorfian hypothesis
Eskimos and “snow” Interlanguage differences
Colors Spatial position/direction Grammatical gender
![Page 13: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
The Innateness of Language Behaviorism: Language is learned like
everything else We say something, we receive feedback, which
encourages us to say it again BUT: We can say things we’ve never heard;
we can produce new structures. Chomsky: Language is innate to humans
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) Universal Grammar Poverty of the Stimulus
![Page 14: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
The Nature of Feedback (Poverty of the Stimulus)1. Children get little or no direct instruction.2. Children get little feedback and don’t listen to what they
get -- so why do they ever correct their errors?3. Children hear many ungrammatical structures not
identified as such -- how do they come to learn these are wrong?
4. In some cultures adults don’t speak to children.5. Children will make up a language if they are not given one
-- deaf children of hearing parents.
![Page 15: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Feedback
Child: Nobody don’t like me.Mother: No, say “Nobody likes me.”Child: Nobody don’t like me.Mother: No, say “Nobody likes me.”Child: Nobody don’t like me.[dialogue repeated eight times]Mother: Now listen carefully, say
“Nobody likes me.”Child: Oh! Nobody don’t likeS me.
![Page 16: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
The Nature of Feedback (Poverty of the Stimulus)1. Children get little or no direct instruction.2. Children get little feedback and don’t listen to what they
get -- so why do they ever correct their errors?3. Children hear many ungrammatical structures not
identified as such -- how do they come to learn these are wrong?
4. In some cultures adults don’t speak to children.5. Children will make up a language if they are not given one
-- deaf children of hearing parents.
![Page 17: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
The Language Gene SLI: Specific Language Impairment: Language
is impaired without signs of impairment in other areas (motor, cognitive, etc.)
The FOXP2 gene Members of the KE family with a corruption of this
gene had SLI; the others didn’t. The Language Gene?
![Page 18: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
The Language Gene
![Page 19: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
The Language Gene Is it really specific to humans?
NO Is language the only area affected by the
gene? NO
FOXP2 affects rapid-motor sequencing (which is imperative for language), but not language itself.
![Page 20: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Statistical Word Learning Saffran, Aslin, and Newport
(1996) 8-month-olds presented with a
series of syllables (2 mins) Bidakupadotigolabubidaku Transitional probabilities
Within-word: 1.0 (bida) Between-word: 0.33 (kupa)
Then, they play repetitions of the “words” and “nonwords” If babies have learned the
words, they should prefer the nonwords.
And they do!
![Page 21: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Language Development In utero:
Can distinguish between vowels (/a/ vs. /o/) Infants:
Can distinguish phonologically similar sounds at 2 months (they lose this ability by 8-12 months)
Can pick up on cues to word segmentation Can distinguish their native language from other
languages
![Page 22: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Language Development How do we tell what
babies know? Preferential looking Sucking Heart rate
![Page 23: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Language Development Babies prefer looking
at/hearing new things
When something is interesting: Heart rate slows Sucking rate slows
![Page 24: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Child Language Development How do children get from being completely non-
verbal to being expert speakers?1. Can distinguish between vowel sounds (/a/ vs. /o/)- in
utero2. Can distinguish between all contrasts- from birth3. Categorical perception of speech sounds (8-12 months)4. Babbling: 6 months5. One word stage: ~1 year6. Two word stage: ~2 years (vocab is about 50 words)7. Multiword utterances; gradually increase in complexity
![Page 25: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Verb Learning Two types of past
tense verbs: Regular: talked, liked,
hated Irregular: ate, went,
was U-shaped curve of
language learning Early: correct usage Middle:
overgeneralization Late: correct usage
![Page 26: Language and its Development](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062814/568167bd550346895ddd0d7d/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
The Critical Period If language learning
doesn’t occur before a certain time, language will be impaired
Johnson & Newport (1989) Age of Acquisition affects
ability to learn second language
Genie Pinker (NR)
Nicaraguan sign language Deaf children