CLA Speaking Terminology

CLA Speaking Terminology

1. Early Stages

   • Acclimatisation - Baby in the womb acclimatises to the sounds of its native language
   • Crying - Instinctive noise NOT used for communication
   • Cooing - AKA gurgling and mewing, 6-8 weeks old; child develops increasing control over vocal chords
   • Babbling - Most important stage in the first year; 6-9 months old where sounds begin to resemble adult sounds more closely
   • Bilabial sounds - Most common in babbling stage - voiced plosive consonants, when these sounds are repeated it is said to be a reduplicated monosyllable
   • Babbling sounds have NO meaning - baby experimenting
   • Phonemic Expansion - During babbling the different number of phonemes produced increases
   • Phonemic Contraction - 9-10 months old, number of phonemes produced reduces to those found in the native language
   • Somewhere around 12 months the child makes its first recognizable and meaningful word
   • Theories
     • B.F. Skinner - Behaviourism
       • We are all born a blank slate ready to learn according to what happens to us
       • We imitate the language around us
       • We learn through reward and punishment
     • Noam Chomsky - Evolutionary
       • Exact opposite to Behaviourism
       • Pre-programmed LAD (Language Acquisition Device)
       • Children make virtuous errors by over-generalising rules
       • Eric Lenneberg - Critical Period for language
     • Jerome Bruner - Interactionist
       • Learn by interacting with peers
       • LASS (Language Acquisition Support System)
     • Jean Piaget - Cognitive
       • Language comes after concepts
       • Egocentric Speech
     • Lev Vygotsky
       • ZPD - Zone of Proximal Development
       • More experienced partner provides help in the way of an intellectual scaffold

2. Phonological Development

   • Plosives (Easiest)
     • P, B, T, D, K, G and Glottal Stop
   • Nasal
     • M, N, and "ng" sounds
   • Fricative
     • F, S, Z, X, H, "th" as in thigh, "th" as in they, "sh" as in shoe, "g" as in genre
   • Affricate
     • "ch" as in chair, "g" as in gin
   • Approximant (Hardest)
     • W, J, "r" as in run
   • Lateral
     • L
   • Simplification Techniques
     • Deletion - Last consonant
     • Reducing consonant clusters
     • Substitution
     • Switching Sounds
     • Assimilation

3. Lexical and Semantic Development

   • Katherine Nelson - First words
     • Naming words - 60%of first words
     • Actions/events - second largest group
     • Describing/modifying things - Third largest group
     • Personal/social words - 8%
   • Over-extension
     • Categorical - the name for one category is used for all members of the category
     • Analogical
       • A word for an object in one category is used for one in a different category
     • Mismatch Statements
       • Making a statement about one object in relation to another

4. Grammatical Development

   • One word stage
     • Holophrases - Single words that are used to express a bigger meaning
   • Two word stage
   • Telegraphic Stage
   • Post-telegraphic Stage

5. Pragmatics and Discourse Development

   • Halliday's Functions
     • Instrumental - Express needs
     • Regulatory - Tell others what to do
     • Interactional - Make contacts with others and form relationships
     • Personal - Express feelings, opinions and individual identity
     • Heuristic - Gain knowledge about the environment by asking questions/exploring ideas
     • Imaginative - Tell stories/jokes; create imaginary environment
     • Representational - Convey facts and information
   • Dore's Functions
     • Labelling - Naming a thing
     • Repeating - Repeating an adult word
     • Answering - Responding
     • Requesting action - Asking for something
     • Calling - Getting attention
     • Greeting - Greeting someone
     • Protesting - Objecting to requests
     • Practising - Using language when no adult is present