Childhood Language Acquisition
What is the first stage of CLA?
Pre-verbal/Babbling stage
What are the three main theories behind CLA?
Behaviourism, Innatism, Interactionism
What is a function word?
conjunctions, determiners, etc.
Name one type of 'register' used in English Language?
Frozen, Formal, Consultative, Casual, Intimate
What stage do children first use verbs?
Which theory did Chomsky support?
Innatism - concluded that children must have an inborn faculty for language acquisition
What is final consonant omission? Provide an example
Not saying the final syllable in a word - e.g. fa instead of fall.
What does metalanguage mean?
language that describes language
What words do children use first - content or function words? Give one example
Content words - nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
What is 'parentese'? Which theory supports its use?
baby talk - Interactionalism
What is elision? Provide an example.
Elision is the omission of sounds, syllables or words in speech. This is done to make the language easier to say, and faster. E.g. tink or ting
What is the Fis phenomenon?
Fis phenomenon is a phenomenon during a child's language acquisition that demonstrates that perception of phonemes occurs earlier than a child's ability to produce the appropriate sound.
"Go daddy" would like be said by a child in which stage?
Two-word stage
What is the difference between the Behaviour Theory and the Interactionalist Theory?
Behaviorists believe that children learn language directly from experiences with their environment. The Interactionist Theory – Explains that neither biology nor behavior alone shape language, but a combination of the two
What is an overgeneralisation? Provide an example
Using a word too broadly. E.g. calling every four legged animal a dog
What is an example of children overgeneralising grammar?
What are the first two inflections that emerge in children? Think about the 'Wug' phenomenon.
-ing on verbs and -s for nouns
Who is Genie? What does she teach us about CLA?
Genie's case supports Skinner's theory. Because she was not exposed to language, she was unable to produce it normally. When Genie was locked up in the room, there were a lot of things she was missing which could help her to develop language acquisition
What is an undergeneralisation? Provide an example
Using a word in a narrow fashion. For example, only using dog to describe your pet.
What does Piaget argue about child language acquisition?
Piaget argues it is dependent on a child's mental or cognitive development. He argued that a child has to understand a concept before s/he can acquire the particular language form which expresses that concept