Psychology Midterm 2

a largely arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols, suchas words or gestural signs, in rule-based ways to create meaning

the categories of sounds our vocal apparatus produces

the smallest units of speech that are meaningful (think “M” for meaningful)

the grammatical rules that govern how we compose words into meaningful strings

grammatical elements that modify words by adding sounds to them that change their meaning (e.g. adding “–s” for plural in English)

language variations used by groups of people who share geographic proximity or ethnic background

elements of communication that aren’t part of the content of language but are critical to interpreting its meaning

similar-sounding words that have related meanings

proficient and fluent at speaking and comprehending two distinct languages

places a pacifier in an infants mouth and allows the infant to suck freely. The pacifier is hooked up to a computer that measures the rate and intensity of sucking.

intentional vocalization (not crying, burping, sighing, or laughing) that lacks specific meaning. E.g. “bababadaabada”

key principle characterizing early word learning in which children learn to recognize and interpret words before they can produce them

limitations on how easily children can coordinate their vocal apparatus to produce sounds

more pauses, slower speech, more effortful speech, and more variable pronunciation of words due to motor planning and coordination difficulties

repeated articulation of the same sounds, prolonged pronunciation of some sounds, and sudden spurts of speech

single-word phrases used early in language development to convey an entire thought “more juice”

children learn language through imitation.

allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be createdby combining words in novel ways

children come into the world knowing how language works(idea that children are born with syntactic rules)

hypothetical organ in the brain in which nativists believe knowledge of syntax resides

suggests that particular aspects of the social environment help structure language learning. Children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactions.

proposes that children’s ability to learn language is a result of general skills that children apply across a variety of activities.