Language
Mr. Koch
Psychology II
Andover High School
Basic Elements of Language
Symbols
(such as words)
Language
Grammar
(set of rules for combining those symbols)
Structure
• Phonemes
• The smallest unit of sound that affects the meaning of speech
– Number of phonemes in world’s languages varies from 13 (Hawaiian)
to over 60 (Hindi) – English has about 40
» Same letter can represent multiple phonemes
• (i.e. letter “a” in cake vs. cat)
• Morphemes
• The smallest unit of language that has meaning
– (i.e. Relearned → Re- , learn , -ed)
• Words
• Unit of language composed of one or more morphemes
• Phrases
• Sentences
• Grammar
Structure
• Grammar
– Syntax
• Rules that govern the formation of phrases and
sentences in a language (i.e. placement of nouns, adjectives, etc.)
» Snows sudden floods melting cause.
» Melting snows cause sudden floods.
– Semantics
• Rules governing the meaning of words and sentences
» Rapid bouquets deter sudden neighbors
• (Because uses words combined in proper syntax,
it sounds right, but recognize it as nonsense
because of semantics)
Development
• Babbling Stage
– Infants of all nationalities begin with same
babbling sounds
• By 9-10 months, begins to resemble native language –
lose ability to make or distinguish certain sounds from
other languages
Development
• Babbling Stage
– Infants of all nationalities begin with same
babbling sounds
• By 9-10 months, begins to resemble native language –
lose ability to make or distinguish certain sounds from
other languages
Development
• Babbling Stage
– Infants of all nationalities begin with same babbling
sounds
• By 9-10 months, begins to resemble native language –
lose ability to make or distinguish certain sounds from
other languages
• One-Word Stage
– Stage where children tend to use one word at a time
(~12-18 mo.)
• After this period, vocabulary begins expanding rapidly
• Two-Word Stage
– Stage where children speak mostly with two word
sentences (~2y.o.)
• “Telegraphic” Speech - mostly nouns & verbs, typically
follows syntax
• By about 5 yrs, have acquired most of grammatical rules
Language Acquisition Theories
• Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
– Learning comes from reinforcement and modeling
• But, it seems not all language behavior in children could be explain by this –
learn too much, too fast and many phrases that are never conditioned/modeled
– overgeneralization – “Caleb hitted my head so I throwed the truck at him”
• Inborn Universal Grammar (Chomsky) (aka Nativist Theory)
– We all come “pre-wired” (nature) with a “language
acquisition device” to use language (all languages in world are
variations of similar components) – exposure allows it to develop
(nurture)
– “Critical Period” (Lenneberg)