Language
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 is in the word: Chat?
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:
– beginning at 3 to 4 months
– the stage of speech development
in which the infant spontaneously
utters various sounds at first
unrelated to the household
language
 10
months start to only learn the
language of the household
 Start to lose the ability to make
sounds other than the sounds of
the spoken language at home
Stages of Language
 2.
One word stage:
– from about age 1 to 2
– the stage in speech
development during
which a child speaks
mostly in single words
Stages of Language
 3.
Two-Word Stage
– beginning about age 2
– the stage in speech development during
which a child speaks mostly two-word
statements
 4. Telegraphic Speech
– 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
(approximate)
Stage
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

VS.
Theory 1: Skinner Believes We Learn
Language Through Learning Techniques
(Class. Cond., Op. Cond, and Observation)

1.
2.
3.
Tools for learning language according to Skinner:
Association: associate the sight of things with
certain sound of words
Imitation: watch models speaking words and
syntax and then we imitate them.
Reinforcement: given positive feedback and
words of encouragement when we speak
correctly.
Theory 2: Chomsky Believes
Our Brains Are Hardwired
With Inborn Universal
Grammar.
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
Hindispeaking
adults
6-8
months
8-10
months
10-12
months
Infants from English-speaking homes
Englishspeaking
adults
Importance of Early Language
Learning
Percentage
correct on
grammar
test
100
90
80
70
60
50
Native 3-7
8-10 11-15 17-39
Cognitive Neuroscientists:
Statistical Learning
Mix between inborn ability and
environment
 Genes do play a role in language
development
 Learning during the first 7 years is
critical
 Learn a new language easiest when
younger
 When a young brain does not learn
any language, its language capacity
never fully develops

Languages Influence on
Thinking
 Linguistic
Determinism : 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
Thinking Without Language
 There
are some ideas in which we do not
depend on language.
 Ex: Remembering different colors.
 What direction do you turn in your driveway
when you come home from school?
 What direction do you turn a knob to turn
water on?
LANGUAGE AFFECTS THINKING AND THINKING
AFFECTS LANGUAGE.
Animal Thinking and
Language
Animal Thinking
 Yes animals think
 Count, exhibit insight, use
tools, and transmit
cultural innovations
 Animals also use
deception

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/08/05/am.kluger.ani
mals.think.cnn
Animal Thinking and
Language
Yes animals use
language
 Chimps have learned
181 different signs
 Can form sentences
 Human language similar
to a 2 year old
 Animal language much
more sophisticated
