Development of Language

 Language:
refers to our
spoken, written,
or gestured
words and how
they are
combined to
communicate.
 Language: Building Blocks
1. Phonemes: the smallest distinctive
sound unit.
 How many phonemes are in the word:
Cheat?
2. Morphemes: the smallest unit that
carries meaning; may be a word or a part
of a word (such as a prefix)
 How many Morphemes is in the word
“previewed?”
 How many Morphemes is in the word
“rabbits?”
 Language: The Rules
 Grammar: a system of rules that
enables us to communicate with and
understand others. Includes semantics
and syntax.
–Semantics: the study of meaning;
rules for how we get meaning from
morphemes, words, and sentences in a
given language.
–Syntax: the rules for combining words
into grammatically sensible sentences in
a given language.
 Examples of Language Rules
 Semantic Examples: adding –ed to end
of word does what?
 Adding –s to a noun does what?

 Syntax Examples: In English adjectives

come before nouns but the opposite is
true in Spanish.
 Pretty girl
 Chica bonita
 Stages of Language
1. Babbling Stage:
1. beginning at 3 to 4 months
2. the stage of speech development in which the
infant spontaneously utters various sounds at
first unrelated to the household language

2. One word stage:

1. from about age 1 to 2
2. the stage in speech development during which
a child speaks mostly in single words, but those
words carry meaning
 Stages of Language
1. Two-Word Stage
1. beginning about age 2
2. the stage in speech development during which a
child speaks mostly two-word statements
3. Telegraphic Speech
1. early speech stage in which the child speaks like a
telegram – “go car” – using mostly nouns and verbs
and omitting “auxiliary” words
 Language Summary
Summary of Language Development

Month Stage
(approximate)

4 Babbles many speech sounds.

10 Babbling reveals households

language.

12 One-word stage.

24 Two-world, telegraphic speech.

24+ Language develops rapidly into

Complete sentences.
 Theories of Language Development:
B. F. Skinner vs. Noam Chomsky A.K.A.
Dudes I Need to Know For the Test


VS.
 Theory 1: Skinner Believed We Learn
Language Through Learning Techniques
(Class. Cond., Op. Cond, Observation)
(Nurture Argument)
Tools for learning language according to Skinner:
1. Association: associate the sight of things with
certain sound of words
2. Imitation: watch models speaking words and
syntax and then we imitate them.
3. Reinforcement: given positive feedback and
words of encouragement when we speak
correctly.
Theory 2: Chomsky Believes Our Brains
Are Hardwired With Inborn Universal
Grammar. (Nature Argument)

Language is enabled by a:
 Language Acquisition Device: humans are
born with innate abilities to acquire language.

 Argued although children do learn the language of

their environment, the rate they acquire words and
grammar without being taught is too astonishing
to be explained purely from external learning
principles.
 Experience Modifies Brain to
Learn Native Language
Percentage able 100
to discriminate 90
Hindi t’s 80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 Hindi- 6-8 8-10 10-12 English-
speaking months months months speaking
adults adults
Infants from English-speaking homes
 Languages Influence on
Thinking
Linguistic Determinism (lingusitic
relativity): Benjamin Whorf’s idea that
language determines the way we think.
 English has many self-focused emotions
vs. Japanese which has many words for
interpersonal emotions.
 Language Relativity and
Doublespeak
 Double-Speak describes when language
is used to disguise the actual meaning
and possibly mislead people.
 Examples:
 “Downsizing”=multiple firings of
employees.
 “Physical Persuasion”=torture
 “Collateral Damage”=death of civilians
 “Concentration Camp”=labor/death camp
 Reviewing Expectancy
 Allexpectancy/set concepts are related to
how our preconceptions, prior
experiences, and schemas for
phenomenon affect our thinking patterns
and problem solving abilities.
 When explaining these concepts have to
identify source of your preconception.
 There are two basic types of
set/expectancy:
–1. Perceptual Set
–2. Mental Set
 Concepts that Fall Under
Category of Mental Set
 Stereotyping
 Availability Heuristic
 Representative Heuristic
 Fundamental Attribution Error
 Self Fulfilling Prophecy/Pygmalion Effect
 Functional Fixedness
 Confirmation Bias
 Hindsight Bias
 Belief Bias
 Framing
 Learned Helplessness
 Set/Expectancy’s Affect on
Human Perception
 Specific Examples: 1. Perceptual
Set
2. Gestault Principles
-Closure, etc
3. Top-Down Processing
4. Availability Heuristic/ Stereotyping
/Fundamental Attribution Error
-Example: Because of news reports, I stay
away from Muslims b/c I believe most of
them are terrorists.
How does set/expectancy
affect the experience of
drugs??
How can set/expectancy affect
a student’s performance in the
classroom?
How does set/expectancy
affect our Problem Solving
Abilities?
How can set/expectancy
affect our Memory?