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Language

Animal Language. Animals are capable of limited communicationLanguage in animals is not comparable to human languageApes lack appropriate vocal cords for generation of speechApes can be trained to use non-vocal sign languageWashoe acquired American Sign LanguageDolphins can be trained to respon

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Language

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    1. Language Language is a form of communication in which sounds and symbols are combined according to formal rules Language Acquisition is the process of learning language and it’s rules and structures

    2. Animal Language Animals are capable of limited communication Language in animals is not comparable to human language Apes lack appropriate vocal cords for generation of speech Apes can be trained to use non-vocal sign language Washoe acquired American Sign Language Dolphins can be trained to respond to hand signals and to vocal commands Animal language lacks complexity and syntax

    3. Theories of Language Development Is language capability innate or learned? Most researchers believe that language acquisition is a combination of nature and nurture. Language Acquisition Device- an innate mechanism, hypothesized by Chomsky, that enables a child to analyze language and extract the basic rules of grammar

    4. Movie

    5. Elements of Language Phoneme Basic speech sound Initial consonant in “rake” versus “lake”

    6. Elements of Language cont’d Morphemes Smallest unit of language that have meaning Types of morphemes Free morphemes can stand alone Cat Danger Bound morphemes cannot stand alone and always attach to free morphemes -ness in happiness un- in unclear -ing in swinging

    7. Elements of Grammar Syntax The structure of language Grammar: Parts of speech and rules for combining words Word order: “Spot bit Abby” differs from “Abby bit Spot” Semantics The study of meaning

    8. Development of Language Abilities Prelinguistic Sound Production Crying (0-2 months) Cooing (1-5 months) Takes same form in all languages Is done by all babies Babbling (5-12 months) Vocal play (single syllables) Reduplicated babbling Nonreduplicated babbling (more complex sounds) Deaf babies and babbling Hearing speech is not necessary for babbling Deaf babies babble manually if exposed to sign language

    9. Early Expressions of Communicative Intent Protowords (end of first year) Many first “words” Are not real words because they are used in only 1 context Baby points to object of interest and says “ha” Characteristics that suggest communication is intentional Child makes eye contact with adults Child vocalizes with consistent sounds and intonation patterns Child persists in attempting to communicate if not understood

    10. Early Expressions of Communicative Intent cont’d One-word utterances Appear in most children between 10-15 months but sometimes not until 2 Typical Early Words Familiar objects or people “Daddy” “ball” Social words “bye-bye” “uh-oh”

    11. Early Expressions of Communicative Intent Two word utterances and beyond Typically appear around 18-20 months of age Telegraphic speech Most obvious and essential part of ideas are conveyed “ride car” rather than “I want to go riding in the car” Few function words like “a,” “the,” “of” Few bound morphemes like –s or –ing Adult word order is usually maintained

    12. Word Learning Associating words with concepts in the world objects, actions, abstract notions, etc... Poses 2 problems: 1. Extension: Figuring out what aspects of the world people are talking about 2. Intension: Figuring out what people mean when they use word-referent links

    13. Extension: Mapping words to objects Seems like it would be straightforward: Child sees something and then hears a word Associative learning! Evidence: Children learn more words when parents “follow-in” to their child’s attentional focus

    14. Problems with “dumb” associative learning Parents don’t always “follow-in” 30-50% of the time, children are looking at something OTHER than what’s being labeled by speaker. Discrepant Labeling In some cultures, people don’t speak directly to children But, word learning is not necessarily delayed

    15. Finding the meaning Even when it’s clear what part of the world a speaker is talking about, it’s unclear what the meaning is Quine’s problem of “Indeterminacy” Infinite number of logical possibilities for the meaning of a given word

    16. Indeterminacy: Gavagai

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