Child language acquisition summary.

Child language acquisition revision notes:

• Phonology stage:
  • 0-2 months 
    • crying (to mean a variety of needs).
  • 4-7 months  
    • cooing (sounds, e.g. 'goo', 'gaga)
    • first laughter.
    • changes in pitch and loudness.
  • 6-9 months 
    • babbling (fist comination of sounds).
    • reduplicated monosyllables (repeated sounds, e.g. 'baba").
  • 9-12 months 
    • protowords (sounds unrecognisable out of context).
    • consonant clusters (groups of consonants that demand more muscular control).
• Grammar stage:
  • 12 months 
    • first words
    • holophrases (single word that represents more complex thought, e.g. 'juice').
  • 18-24 months
    • two word phase (first combinations of words, usually a subject and verb, e.g. 'doggie gone'). 
  • 24 months 
    • telegraphic stage (vocabulary expands, utterances sound like a telegram, e.g. 'daddy get milk').
  • 36 months 
    • post telegraphic stage (vocab expands to include auxillaries, prepositions and articles).
• Meaning stage: Over extension - widening the meaning of a word so that it applies to not just the actual object, but similar ones.
  • productive vocabulary - the words a person is able to use in speech or writing. 
  • receptive vocabulary - the words a person is able to understand or recognise. 
• Under extension - the meaning of the word used is too narrow, ignoring the other objects that do fit into that category.
• Virtuous errors - mistakes made that shows some understanding, though incomplete of standard syntax. 
  • addition - adding letters, reduplicating sounds. 
  • deletion - unstressed syllables are removed, consonant clusters may be reduced. 
  • substitution - method of simplification, replacing harder sounds with easier ones. 
• Network building theory Aitchison (1987):
  • labelling - attaching words to objects. 
  • packaging - in trying to ascertain the boundaries of the label the child is likely to over or under extend. 
  • network building - identifying connections between objects. 
• The 'fis' phenomenon - Jean Berko and Roger Brown (1960's). The theory suggests that reception has outstripped production; children can distinguish and hear more than they can say. 
• Behaviourism theory (Skinner):
  • a child learns language through positive reinforcement.
  • parents tend to reward infant vocalisations (babbling) by giving the infant attention. This increases the frequency of vocalisation.
  • children imitate speech sounds and words. 
  • provided this imitation is rewarded, learning will take place.
• Negative reinforcement - a response or behaviour is strengthend by avoiding a negative outcome.
• Positive reinforcement - if you perform the correct action you get a reward.
• The Wug test (Jean Berko, 1958):
  • asked children to complete the sentence, (use the plural for 'wug').
  • the children were able to answer correctly.
  • this debunks the behaviourist theory, as it shows that the children understand grammar rules, as they wouldn't have heard/learnt their parent's say the…