Fichas
Child Language Acquisition Key Terms and Theories
Fichas del conjunto (48)
- 1Communicative CompetenceThe ability to creative meaningful speech or writing.
- 2Proto WordA made up word such as "ray-rays" for raisins becuase the child can not yet pronounce the word.
- 3Pre- Verbal StageConsisting of crying, cooing and babbling
- 4Reduplicated babblingRepeatedly using the same sounds such as "bababababa"
- 5Variegated babblingInvolves variation of the consonant and vowel sounds being produced.
- 6Holophrastic StageUsually between 12 and 18 months.
A whole sentence worth of meaning in a single word.
Often concrete nouns. - 7Non-Verbal CommunicationGestures, Haptics (Touch), Paralanguage (stress, amplitude, speed), Eye Contact and Facial Expressions -these are the main ones for a child.
- 8ReduplicationRepeated syllables within a word
Such as moo-moo or wee wee - 9DiminutivesThe reduction is scale of an object through addition of extra suffix
e.g. Doggie, Dolly
More accessible and phonologically easier or more appealing to say. - 10SubstitutionThe process of swapping one sound for another that is easier to produce.
- 11AssimilationOne consonant or vowel is swapped for another
- 12DeletionOmitting a particular sound within a word
- 13Consonant cluster reductionReducing phonologically complex units into simpler ones - from two or more consonants down to one.
- 14Two word stageOccurs around 18 months - puts two words together. The more a child progesses, the clearer and more refined the language becomes. Begins to understand grammar.
- 15Vocabulary spurtCognitive change occurs and child moves into a period of rapid acquisition and faster lexical development.
- 16Telegraphic stageOccurs around age 2.
Longer and more complete.
Coveys main message with minimum number of words.
Include key content words but likely to omit grammatical words. - 17Content wordsWords within a sentence that are vital to meaning
- 18Gramatical wordsWords within a sentence that are necessary to demonstrate structural accuracy.
- 19Post telegraphic stageOccurs around age 3.
Contracted forms, verb inflections and formation of pronouns.
By age 4 largely grammatically accurate and complete sentences. - 20Operant conditioningA positive or negative response given by caregiver can influence the way a child speaks in the future
- 21Positive reinforcementThe positive feedback given to a child which is thought to encourage similar performance again.
- 22Language Acquisition DeviceProposed bt Chomsky.
All humans are born with an innate language capacity. - 23Tabula RasaLatin for "blank slate" and the term used to describe the idea that children are born with unbdeveloped, fresh brains.
- 24Universal GrammarTerm coined by Chomsky -the idea that all human languages possess similar grammatical properties which the brain is "hard -wired" to decode and use.
- 25Virtuous errorsGrammatical errors that are understandable and logical through an incorrect assumption being made about grammar rules.
- 26Cognitive developmentPiaget
A child's development of thinking and understanding. - 27LASS Language Acquisition Support SystemProposed by Bruner. A system whereby caregivers and other individuals who play a key role in a child's language development.
- 28ScaffoldingThe support provided by caregivers through modelling how speech ought to take place in order to help language development.
- 29EgocentricThinking only of the self without undersatnding or regard for the feelings of others.
- 30Object permanenceAn understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen or touched.
- 31CDS Child directed speechThe various ways in which a caregiver (unconsciously) adapts their speech in order to aid a child in language development.
- 32ExpansionWhere a caregiver might develop the child's utterance to make it more grammatically complete.
- 33RecastThe grammatically incorrect utterance of the child is spoken back to the child but in the correct form.
- 34Mitigated imperativesAn instruction given in such a way that it does not appear to be a command but a more gentle suggestion
- 35IRF Structure Initiation, Response, FeedbackSinclair and Coulthard's means of analysing educational discourse.
Three part conversational exchange. One speaker starts the conversation, a second speaker responds and the first speaker then provides some feedback. - 36Instrumental functionWhere a child's utterance is trying to fulfil a need.
- 37MKO More knowledgeable otherThe older participant in an interaction who might offer support to a child so they can further their own developmental learning.
Vygotsky - 38ZPD Zone of proximal developmentDescribes the area between what a child can already do and that which is beyond their reach. Caregiver might enable child to progress by offering support.
Vygotsksy - 39Usage based linguisticsA model that emphasises that language structures emerge from use and language patterns are formed becoming what we know as grammatical constructions.
Tomasello - 40OverextensionWhena child uses a word more broadly than intended to describe things other than the actual item to which the word applies.
- 41UnderextensionWhere a child might use a word more narrowly to describe something without recognising the word has a wider use.
- 42HypernymA more generic term that is connected to more specific word choices that are all within the same semantic field.
e.g Fruit is a hypernym - 43HomonymThe more specific words that can be defined within the more generic hypernym.
(Tree - hypernym)
(Oak, Ash, Willow, Beech - homonym) - 44Bound morphemesUnits of meaning within a word that depend on other morphemes to make sense.
- 45Unbound or free morphemeUnits of meaning within a word that do not depend on other morphemes to make sense.
- 46SuperlativeAn adjective or adverb that expresses the highest degree of quality.
- 47MLU Mean length of utteranceThe average utterance length of speakers - calculated by adding up the total number of words spoken and dividing by the total number of utterances - a way of measuring each speakers input or dominance.
- 48Copula verbA verb that joins a subject to an adjective or noun complement. "I am happy" joins the subject "I" to the adjective "happy" - can include the verb "to be" - "to look" - "to seem" - "to feel".