Language Development and Acquisition Quiz

The transition from babbling to meaningful speech, usually starting around 1 year old but can vary.

Even though babies babble, some sounds they make don't directly transfer to speech. They need to relearn these sounds when they start talking.

Simple sounds like /p/, /t/, /m/, /a/, /o/ learned early because they're easy to make

More complex sounds like /k/, /x/, /l/ learned later because they need more control

A category of sounds that are considered the same in a language, even if they sound slightly different.

The idea that babbling directly leads to speech, with similar patterns and sounds.

The idea that babbling and speech are separate, with babbling being random and speech being intentional

Order of consonants learned based on mouth position: front sounds like /m/ before back sounds like /k/.

A connecting word that links a subject to its complement, like "be" in "She is happy."

Words like "a" and "the" that specify whether a noun is general or specific.

A suffix that marks the past tense of regular verbs, like "played" or "jumped."

A suffix that marks the third person singular present tense of regular verbs, like "runs" or "plays."

Irregular verbs in third-person singular, like "does" or "has."

A helping verb, such as "be", which helps another verb and isn't contracted, like in "Is Mary happy?"

A linking verb with a contraction, like "be" in "Mary's happy."

A helping verb with a contraction, like "be" in "Mary's playing."

A speech sound uttered by a child that is recognizable, even if not perfect, and is associated with a specific object or event in the environment.

The development of mouth muscles is crucial for a child's ability to produce speech sounds.

Specific areas in the brain responsible for speech develop and become more efficient, allowing for the control of sounds.

Children initially use nouns to refer to specific individuals or objects, as opposed to general categories.

Children often misapply words, extending their meaning beyond their intended use.

A stage in language development where children use single words to express complex thoughts or ideas, acting as complete sentences.

Using a single word to express a variety of thoughts and ideas, going beyond simple labeling.

A child's language development goes through stages, starting with single words and gradually becoming more complex.

How easily a morpheme can be understood based on its meaning.

The frequency with which a morpheme appears in everyday speech.

How distinct or noticeable a morpheme sounds.

Morphemes tied to concrete and easily understood concepts (e.g., actions, quantities) that are frequent and easy to hear.

Morphemes representing more abstract grammatical concepts (e.g., subject-verb agreement, tense), often less frequent and harder to distinguish.

The factors influencing morpheme acquisition in English (meaningfulness, frequency and distinctiveness) apply universally to other languages.

How easy it is to apply a morpheme to new words.

The ability to observe and connect a morpheme to its meaning through visual cues.

The ability to understand language, including grammar and meaning.

The ability to produce language, including speaking and writing.

The process of acquiring the rules of a language, allowing for meaningful communication.

The mental representation of a language's grammatical rules, allowing for both comprehension and production.

A situation where understanding of language precedes the ability to speak or write.

A study by Huttenlocher (1974) that found children comprehend language more than they can produce, even at young ages.

Specific examples of how children understand complex language structures (like possessives) even when they can't use them themselves.

The ability to fully comprehend language does not necessarily require the ability to speak.

A simplified form of speech used by adults when communicating with young children. It features simple vocabulary, exaggerated intonation, and shortened sentence structures.

In Baby Talk, words are often simplified by using short consonant-vowel combinations, often repeated. (e.g., 'wan-wan' for 'dog').

Baby Talk makes use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects they represent. (e.g., 'choo-choo' for a train).

In Baby Talk, grammar is less important. Adults often use simplified sentence structures similar to those used by young children during early language development.

An example of simplification in Baby Talk, where a parent might say "Mommy give Tony banana" instead of "I will givet you a banana." This involves omitting articles and modal verbs.

In Baby Talk, parents often use proper names (e.g., "Mommy," "Tony") instead of personal pronouns, making it easier for children to understand.

Studies have shown that Parentese and Baby Talk can have a positive effect on language acquisition, although the impact is not significant.

Research suggests that Parentese is particularly effective for helping very young children learn language.