Language Development

• A system of communication 

• Symbolic representation - each word stands for something 

• Words have no meaning

• Common understanding of the meaning to communicate 

• To convey a physiological need to the carer

• A survival mechanism indicating healthy development

• A part of attachment formation

• Sending and receiving of messages between mother and infant 

• Evidence of consistent biological responses in mother's brain 

• Crying child could receive more food/resources than a quieter child

• Phonology 

• Semantics

• Syntax

• Pragmatics

Phonology

• Sound system 
• Which sounds can go together
• Making speech sounds 
• Discriminating between phonemes 

Semantics 

• Meaning of words and sentences 

Syntax 

• Rules and order of words in sentences 

Pragmatics 

• Ability to modify language depending on context and social rules

• Meshing 

• Pseudo-dialogue 

• Pointing 

• Crying 

• Babbling 

• Cooing 

• Nodding 

• Waving 

Need to recognise and remember speech sounds 

• Innate preference for familiar pattern/language

Need to be able to separate words in speech stream

• Use prosodic (tune and rhythm) cues and focus on syllables 

Need to be able to link sounds to meanings

• Associate words and objects/actions 

• 4 months - experiment with volume and position of tongue 

• 6 months - canonical babble (syllables of consonant and vowel) e.g. da ba 

• 8 months - duplicated babble e.g. da-da

• 10 months - variegated babble e.g. da-de

• 12 months - spurt in vocabulary 

Skinner (1957) - Reinforcement 

• Adults respond to/reward attempts to talk 
• Teach and repeat associations between objects and words 
• Reinforcement for sounds/sentences

Bandura (1971) - Imitation

• Learn language and accent of social group 
• Parents recite phrases for repetition
• There is lack of evidence of it teaching grammar 

• Language is universal

• Common features such as nouns and verbs 

• Similar acquisition in all societies

• Poverty of input - can produce previously unheard sentences

• Language acquisition device (LAD) - mechanism to learn any language 

• More exposure produces basic rules of grammar 

• Cognitive processes may be more dominant in one hemisphere of the brain than the other 

• Broca's area involved in speech production

• Wernicke's area involved in language comprehension

• Plasticity allows for early compensation for damage (5 years)

• Supports Chomsky's LAD

• Only species with brain structure to produce language 

• Innate ability to distinguish speech sounds/patterns

• Chimps can learn words 

• Use of grammar is unique to humans 

• Can construct relatively complex sentences in pre-school

• Subtle use of word meaning in jokes and stories