Part 1 Chapter 1: First Language Development PDF

PART 1:FIRST LANGUAGE How children learn language  HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE  Language Ability Development: Humans have the ability to produce and comprehend speech, but these skills are not present at birth.  Early Language Learning: By the age of 4, children have l...

PART 1:FIRST LANGUAGE How children learn language  HOW CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE  Language Ability Development: Humans have the ability to produce and comprehend speech, but these skills are not present at birth.  Early Language Learning: By the age of 4, children have learned a significant amount of vocabulary and grammatical rules, enabling them to create a variety of sentence structures.  Mastery by Age 4: Although some complex structures like passives are still challenging, by age 4, children have overcome the most difficult aspects of language learning.  Universal Achievement: This rapid language acquisition occurs in children worldwide, regardless of the language they are learning.  Comparison to Adult Learners: The proficiency of young children in language often surpasses that of adults learning a second language, highlighting the efficiency of early language acquisition. A key task for psycholinguists is to explain how children achieve this language proficiency, which involves understanding both speech production and speech comprehension as distinct but related processes. CHAPTER 1:OUTLINE 1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEECH PRODUCTION 1.1.1 From vocalization to babbling to speech 1.1.1.1 Vocalization to babbling Initial Sounds: Infants produce various sounds like crying, cooing, and gurgling before speaking, and these sounds are consistent across cultures, including deaf infants. Onset of Babbling: Around seven months, infants start to babble, creating repeated syllables what may be described as repeated syllables (‘syllabic reduplication’), e.g. ‘baba’&‘momo’. While most of the syllables are of the basic Consonant + Vowel type, some consist of closed syllables of the simple Consonant + Vowel + Consonant variety (‘panpan’). Universal Babbling Patterns: The pattern of babbling with repeated syllables is found in all studied languages, indicating it is a universal stage of speech development. Language-Specific Intonation: By six months, infants begin to babble with intonation patterns influenced by their native language, and these patterns can be recognized by native speakers. or example, English sounds like the ‘th’ in ‘though’ and the ‘th’ in ‘thin’ are rare. Learned Intonation: The use of language-specific intonation in babbling is learned from exposure to spoken language, unlike deaf infants who do not babble but can vocalize and cry. Deaf Infants and Sign Language: Deaf infants exposed to sign language from birth show a form of babbling with their hands, analogous to vocal babbling in hearing infants.  1.1.1.2 BABBLING TO SPEECH Children typically begin saying their first words around age 1, though this can vary. Not all sounds from babbling are used in early speech; some need to be reacquired. There may be some order to the acquisition of speech sounds. For example, sounds like /x/ (as in Bach), /k/, and /l/ that commonly occurred in vocalization and babbling prior to speech may now tend to occur later, after the acquisition of such phoneme sounds as /p/, /t/, /m/, /a/ ‘fall’, and /o/ ‘tall’.  A phoneme represents a class of speech sounds in a language. For example, in the word ‘pep’ the individual sound/p/ can represent the sound at the beginning of the word ‘pep’ as well as the sound at the end of the word ‘pep’. The letters surrounded by slashes (//) indicate that a phoneme sound is identified. A phoneme sound is a single discrete sound of a language. Phonetically, the two sounds are different, with /p/ in the final position having a large amount of aspiration (puff of air). Nevertheless, they are regarded as the same phoneme. Discontinuity Between Babbling and Speech: There is a noticeable gap between babbling and meaningful speech, with not all babbled sounds immediately appearing in early speech. Some research indicates little continuity. Intentional vs. Non-Intentional Vocalization: Babbling is non- intentional and driven by random coordination of speech articulators, while meaningful speech requires intentional control and alignment with sounds associated with objects and needs. · 1.1.1.3 EXPLAINING THE ACQUISITION ORDER OF CONSONANTS AND VOWELS The development of intentional speech connections is influenced by the visibility of articulators and ease of articulation. Motivation and Observation: Once a child understands some words, they become motivated to produce meaningful speech and start observing and imitating the movements of visible articulators like the mouth and lips. Consonant Production: Consonants involving visible articulators (e.g., /m/, /p/, /b/) are learned earlier, while those involving non-visible articulators (e.g., /k/, /s/, /z/) are acquired later. Vowel Production: Vowels, which involve largely unseen articulators, require more trial and error. Sounds closer to the resting position of articulators (e.g., /a/) are learned earlier, while more complex sounds (e.g., /i/) are learned later.  Chance discoveries of articulator-sound connections can occur, but retaining these sounds requires incorporating them into the child's overall developing sound system. An example is Hildegard's initial accurate pronunciation of "pretty," which deteriorated over time as she developed her pronunciation skills, illustrating the need for integration into the sound system.  1.1.2 EARLY SPEECH STAGES: NAMING, HOLOPHRASTIC, TELEGRAPHIC, MORPHEMIC 1.1.2.1 Naming: one-word utterances When do children start to say their first words? Children typically learn their first word when they can produce a recognizable speech sound and use it in connection with a specific object or event. For instance, a child might say "da" for "daddy," even if the pronunciation is not perfect and the meaning initially includes more than just their father. First words can appear between 4 and 18 months, with an average around 10 to 12 months. This variation can be influenced by physical development, such as mouth musculature, and brain development, particularly in areas of the cerebral cortex involved in speech.  Initially, children often use nouns as proper nouns to refer to specific objects. E.g. "dada" may start as a term for one particular person but might later be extended to other people. Similarly, "wow-wow" may refer to one dog and later extend to other animals or even objects. As children grow, they learn to refine and adjust their use of words, gradually extending and restricting their meanings more accurately. 1.1.2.2 HOLOPHRASTIC FUNCTION: ONE-WORD UTTERANCES Children often use single words to convey complex ideas or emotions, much like how adults use whole sentences. This use of single words to express broader meanings is known as holophrastic speech. Examples: Expressing Desire: A child who loses their mother in a store might cry out "mama" to mean "I want mama." Describing Ownership: A child might point to a shoe and say "mama" to indicate "The shoe belongs to mama." Holophrastic Speech: Definition: A single word used to convey an idea that would typically require a full sentence. "Holo" means whole, and "phras" refers to phrase or sentence. Examples of Holophrases: "Peach, Daddy, spoon" to describe a situation where Daddy cut a piece of peach that was on a spoon. "Car, go, bus" to describe a situation where hearing a car reminded the child of being on a bus the previous day. Characteristics: Pauses and Intonation: Children may use a series of single words with pauses and falling intonation, resembling how adults signal the end of a sentence. Interpretation Challenges: Understanding a child’s holophrastic utterances can be difficult. Parents often rely on context and prior knowledge to interpret these utterances, as it’s not always clear what the child intends. The term "utterance" is often used instead of "sentence" to avoid debates over whether the child’s speech is a complete sentence or grammatically correct. It simply refers to what the child says, focusing on the communicative intent rather than grammatical accuracy. 1.1.2.3 TELEGRAPHIC SPEECH: TWO- AND THREE-WORD UTTERANCES Children do not proceed as rapidly to two-word utterances as one might expect, e.g. ‘tummy hurt’ is more effective than just ‘hurt’ or ‘tummy’. In any case, around 2 years of age or so children begin to produce two- and three-word utterances. Table 1.1 lists a number of typical two-word utterances along with what a mature speaker might say in the same circumstances. The possible purpose of each utterance is indicated, as are some of the semantic relations involved. Variety of purposes and semantic relations Children exhibit a variety of purposes and the complexity of semantic relations of their words. Regarding purpose, the child uses language to request, warn, name, refuse, brag, question, answer (in response to questions), and inform. In order to gain these ends, the utterances involve such semantic relations and concepts as agent, action, experiencer, receiver, state, object, possession, location, attribution, equation, negation, and quantification.  LOW INCIDENCE OF FUNCTION WORDS The child's early utterances often contain few function words, such as articles, prepositions, and the copula "be." Instead, they primarily use nouns, verbs, and adjectives, which are more informative and likely the first words children understand. The meanings of function words can only be inferred once the child knows the meanings of the more content-rich words. For example, understanding the nouns "toy" and "table" helps a child deduce the meaning of the preposition "on" in context.  CLOSE APPROXIMATION OF THE LANGUAGE’S WORD ORDER A notable feature of a child's early utterances is their tendency to follow the correct word order of full sentences. For example, a child is more likely to say "My cup" instead of "Cup my," and "Daddy come" instead of "Come Daddy." This indicates that even with simple, two-word phrases, the child is beginning to learn the word order of the language. Although there may still be deviations, this pattern shows that the child has grasped an important aspect of English grammar, which will help them later in understanding and producing more complex sentences.  1.1.2.4 MORPHEME ACQUISITION  Children start to add function words and inflections to their utterances. Function words like the prepositions ‘in’ and‘on’, the articles ‘the’, ‘a’, and ‘an’, the modals ‘can’, and ‘will’, and the auxiliaries ‘do’, ‘be’, and ‘have’, begin to appear, together with inflections such as the plural /s/ on ‘cats’, and /z/ on ‘dogs’, and tense markings such as the /t/ past tense form on ‘worked’.  A morpheme, it should be noted, is a root word or a part of a word that carries a meaning. Thus, the word ‘elephants’ consists of two morphemes, ‘elephant’ and Plural (s), as does the single word ‘ran’, which consists of ‘run’ and Past. The word ‘elephants’ consists of eight phonemes /e/, /l/, / ə /, /f/, /∂/, /n/, /t/, and /s/ (the symbol ə, schwa, represents a sort of reduced vowel). Clearly, the orthography often does not adequately represent actual speech sounds.  THE BROWN MORPHEME ACQUISITION RESEARCH Roger Brown's research on morpheme acquisition, conducted in 1973, is one of the most significant studies in the field. Brown studied three children over an extended period, focusing on how they acquired various function words and inflections in English. He discovered that children generally learn morphemes in a similar order. Although there are variations in the speed at which different children learn, the overall sequence remains consistent. Other studies have confirmed Brown's findings, even in children with language disorders. For example, morphemes like the Present Progressive, Prepositions, and Plurals are typically learned earlier, while Articles, Third Person forms, and the Auxiliary "be" are acquired later.  WHY THIS ORDER OF ACQUISITION? The order in which children acquire morphemes has been widely debated. Roger Brown investigated whether this order was related to the frequency of morphemes in adult speech but found no correlation. He suggested that the order might reflect increasing semantic or grammatical complexity, with simpler concepts like "plural" being learned earlier than more complex ones like the copula "be," which requires understanding both number and tense. Some, like Dulay et al. (1982), argue that this order is predetermined by unknown mechanisms in the child's mind, but this view is more contentious.  OUR EXPLANATION OF THE ORDER OF ACQUISITION Despite nearly three decades since Brown's theory of morpheme acquisition was introduced, only Steinberg's work has provided an adequate explanation for the order of acquisition. Steinberg proposes that the order can be explained using universal psychological learning principles, applicable to children learning any language. The three key variables he identifies are: (1) the ease of observing the referent, (2) the meaningfulness of the referent, and (3) the distinctiveness of the sound signal associated with the referent. These factors influence what children understand first, which in turn predicts what they will produce first. These principles also apply to second-language learning.  The three variables that influence the order of morpheme acquisition are: Ease of Observability of Referent: A child's ability to observe or experience a referent (like seeing a dog or hearing a car) is crucial for learning. More observable events, such as a dog currently barking, are easier for the child to associate with corresponding speech sounds, making them easier to learn. Meaningfulness of Referent: Referents that are of interest or importance to the child are learned faster. For example, children are more likely to remember and use words related to meaningful objects or actions, like "car" or "doll," compared to less meaningful grammatical function words like articles or auxiliary verbs.  Distinctiveness of the Sound Signal: The clarity and distinctiveness of the sound that indicates a morpheme are essential for learning. Morphemes with more distinct sounds, such as the word "is" in "What is it?" (a separate, stressed word), are easier for children to identify and learn than less distinct morphemes like the contracted "-'s" in "Mary's playing," which is less prominent and harder to hear.  RATING THE MORPHEMES ON THESE VARIABLES In the analysis of morpheme acquisition, each morpheme can be rated on three variables: 1. Ease of Observability, 2. Meaningfulness, 3. Distinctiveness of the Sound Signal—using High (H), Medium (M), or Low (L) ratings. Morphemes that rate high on these variables are learned faster by children. Present Progressive ("-ing"): Rated High in Observability (easy to see ongoing actions), High in Meaningfulness (events of interest), and High in Sound Signal (distinct suffix). This morpheme receives an H–H–H pattern, indicating quick learning. Auxiliary "be" (Contractible): Rated Low in Observability (implied by other morphemes), Low in Meaningfulness (less interest to the child), and Low in Sound Signal (barely discernible). This morpheme receives an L–L–L pattern, indicating slower learning.  EXPLAINING THE ORDER OF SOME MORPHEMES BY THE THREE VARIABLES THEORY Why are the Progressive and Prepositions "in" and "on" learned earliest? Progressive (-ing): The Progressive morpheme is learned early because it involves actions of objects that are highly observable and meaningful to children. Children are naturally interested in ongoing actions (e.g., "playing," "running"), and these actions are easy to observe and relate to the child's immediate environment. This morpheme is also distinct in its sound, making it easier for children to recognize and learn. Prepositions "in" and "on": These prepositions are learned early because they indicate the physical location of objects, which are important and meaningful to children. The use of "in" and "on" is often associated with concrete nouns (e.g., "doll in box"), making them easy to observe and understand. Additionally, these objects and their locations tend to remain stationary, further enhancing observability and facilitating learning. Why is Plural learned before Third Person? The Plural morpheme ("-s") is associated with a simple concept—number—which is more easily understood and observed by children compared to the more abstract grammatical concept of Third Person agreement. The Plural morpheme also tends to appear in contexts where its meaning is clear, such as in counting objects, which makes it more meaningful and easier to learn. Why is Past Irregular learned before Past Regular? Past Irregular verbs are often learned earlier because they are more distinct in their sound and are frequently used in everyday language, making them more meaningful and easier to observe in context. The irregular forms are typically associated with common, high-frequency verbs (e.g., "went," "saw"), which children hear often and in meaningful contexts. In contrast, Past Regular verbs require the addition of the "-ed" suffix, which is less distinctive and may be less frequently encountered in the child's early language environment. 2-Why are Plural and Possessive learned before Third Person? The differential acquisition order of the Plural, Possessive, and Third Person Singular morphemes can be explained by their varying levels of Observability and Meaningfulness, despite all three having the same sound forms (/s/, /z/, /iz/). Plural and Possessive Morphemes: These are learned earlier because they involve observable and meaningful referents. For example, children can easily observe and distinguish between multiple objects (like "two cookies" vs. "one cookie") or possessions (like "my toys" vs. "another child's toys"). The Plural and Possessive morphemes are directly tied to physical, concrete experiences in the child's environment, making them more accessible and relevant. Third Person Singular Morpheme: This morpheme is learned later because it involves a more abstract concept. The Third Person Singular refers to someone not directly involved in the immediate interaction (e.g., "he" or "she") and requires the child to understand a more complex relationship that distinguishes between speaker, listener, and others. This abstract nature makes it less immediately observable and less meaningful compared to the concrete situations addressed by the Plural and Possessive morphemes.  3-WHY IS PAST IRREGULAR LEARNED BEFORE PAST REGULAR? The acquisition order of Past Irregular and Regular verb forms can be explained by the variables of Meaningfulness and Sound Signal, rather than Observability alone. Sound Signal: Irregular past forms, such as "come/came" and "go/went," have more noticeable sound changes compared to regular past forms like "jumped" (from "jump") or "jogged" (from "jog"). The sound changes in irregular verbs are more distinct and thus easier for children to notice and learn. For example, "come" changes to "came," and "go" changes to "went," which are more perceptible than the subtle changes in regular verbs where the past tense suffixes (/t/, /d/, /id/) are less distinct.  Meaningfulness: Irregular verbs often include high-frequency, essential verbs in daily life (e.g., "eat," "run," "sing"). These verbs are more meaningful and relevant to children’s everyday experiences, which aids in their learning. In contrast, regular verbs, though more numerous, may include less frequent or less impactful actions, making them slightly less meaningful in comparison. Frequency of Occurrence: Irregular verbs, being more common in daily language, are encountered more frequently, which further supports their earlier learning. For instance, children frequently hear and use verbs like "go" and "eat," which reinforces their acquisition. In summary, while both Irregular and Regular past forms involve the concept of the past, Irregular verbs are learned faster due to their more noticeable sound changes, greater meaningfulness, and higher frequency of use. Regular past forms, with subtler sound differences and less immediate relevance, are acquired more slowly.  1.1.3 LATER SPEECH STAGES: RULE FORMATION FOR NEGATIVES AND OTHER COMPLEX STRUCTURES Children develop more complex structures where these constructions evolve in a general order of acquisition: 1.Negations: Children first learn simple negation forms, such as "no" or "not," and gradually incorporate them into more complex sentences. E.g., they might initially say "No cookie," and later progress to "I do not want a cookie." 2.Questions: The formation of questions begins with simple structures, like "What is that?" and becomes more sophisticated over time. Children eventually learn to form various types of questions, including yes/no questions and wh-questions (e.g., "Why is he running?"). 3. Relative Clauses: These are used to provide additional information about a noun, such as in "The book that I read." Children start with simpler relative clauses and move to more complex ones as their language skills develop. 4. Passives: Passive constructions, like "The ball was thrown by the boy," are learned later. Children first understand and produce active sentences (e.g., "The boy throws the ball") before acquiring the passive voice. While these structures are acquired in a general order, there can be overlap. For instance, learning negation and question forms can share some grammatical features, leading to simultaneous development in these areas.  1.1.3.1 NEGATION FORMATION Negation development Before presenting some of the acquisition data concerning negation, it may be useful to review some of the features of the negation process. Let us consider some sentences and their negations. 1a. Affirmative: Kim is hungry. 1b. Negative: Kim is not hungry. 1c. Negative Contraction: Kim isn’t hungry. 2a. Affirmative: Kim wanted some candy. 2b. Negative: Kim did not want any candy. 2c. Negative Contraction: Kim didn’t want any candy. FEATURES OF NEGATION  Research by Klima and Bellugi (1966) and subsequent studies have identified a consistent pattern in the acquisition of negation, which unfolds in three main stages: 1. Initial Stage: Children begin with simple negations, using basic terms like "no" or "not" in their sentences. For instance, they might say "No eat" to indicate refusal. 2. Intermediate Stage: As children progress, they start to form more complex negative structures, such as "I don't want that" or "She isn't here." They begin integrating negation into more varied sentence forms. 3. Advanced Stage: In this final stage, children master more sophisticated negation constructions, including those involving auxiliary verbs and multiple layers of negation, such as "He didn't say that he wouldn't come." In the final stage of negation acquisition, children refine their use of negative structures, incorporating more complex elements such as the copula ‘be’ and modals like ‘will.’ Here’s a summary with examples: 1. Use of Copula ‘be’ and Modal ‘will’: Children begin to correctly use ‘am not’ and ‘won’t’ in their negative sentences. For instance, they will say "I am not a doctor" and "Donna won’t let go," showing they understand the role of these verbs in negation. 2. Imperative Negatives with ‘do’: Children start using ‘do’ correctly in imperative negative sentences, as in "Don’t touch the fish," rather than earlier forms like "Touch the snow no." 3-Errors and Mastery: While children make fewer errors and grasp the basic rules, they still occasionally produce mistakes, such as "You didn’t caught me" or "I didn’t did it," where tense is incorrectly marked on the verb instead of the auxiliary ‘do.’ 4-Resolution of Errors: Over the next few months to a year, most issues with negative marking are resolved, though occasional errors might persist into later years. This period reflects a near-complete mastery of negation, with only minor issues remaining as children fine-tune their understanding and usage of negative structures.  1.2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEECH COMPREHENSION 1.2.1 Fetuses and speech input Research into prenatal language development shows that fetuses can hear maternal speech sounds through the amniotic fluid, as evidenced by studies where speech was detectable above background noise and influenced fetal heart rates. However, whether the fetus’s auditory system can process these sounds effectively remains debated. Newborns have been shown to recognize their mother's voice over others shortly after birth.  1.2.2 SPEECH COMPREHENSION OCCURS WITHOUT SPEECH PRODUCTION: THE CASE OF MUTE-HEARING CHILDREN The ability to utter speech is not always indicative of language knowledge, as demonstrated by cases like Christopher Nolan. Despite severe physical disabilities and inability to produce recognizable speech due to brain damage, Nolan had intact intelligence and normal hearing. He comprehended spoken language from an early age. Using a stick to point to letters, he later wrote a book of poems and a memoir, showcasing his profound understanding and literary talent. His situation illustrates that comprehension can be fully developed even when speech production is not possible. Anne McDonald Anne McDonald, born in 1961 in Australia, also faced severe physical disabilities due to brain damage at birth, impairing her muscle control and speech articulation. Despite these challenges, her hearing was normal. At 16, she discovered a passion for art and was deeply inspired by it. Motivated by this newfound interest, she pursued studies in Philosophy of Science and Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne. McDonald uses a computer device to communicate and has published a book, demonstrating that significant intellectual and creative achievements are possible even without the ability to speak. Rie Rie, a Japanese girl studied by the author at Hiroshima University, was mute from birth and could only make weak sounds like /i/ and /a/, which were not used communicatively. Despite normal motor skills and the ability to perform physical activities like riding a tricycle, Rie’s exact cause of muteness was unclear, though it likely involved damage to the speech motor area. At age 3, Rie demonstrated a normal level of speech comprehension by following complex commands and even learned to read basic kanji, highlighting that she could develop strong comprehension skills despite her inability to produce speech.  CONCLUSION Mute individuals who are hearing can still develop a mental grammar that allows them to understand speech, provided their basic intelligence is intact. Despite their inability to produce speech, they develop an internalized grammar system, similar to that of normal children, which enables them to comprehend a wide range of grammatical sentences, recognize synonyms, and resolve ambiguities. This mental grammar is crucial for processing and understanding language, demonstrating that comprehension of speech involves an internalized grammatical framework.  1.2.3 IN NORMAL CHILDREN SPEECH COMPREHENSION DEVELOPS IN ADVANCE OF SPEECH PRODUCTION Children must first understand language before they can use it for communication. They learn how words and sentences relate to objects and events, such as understanding "cookie" before saying it. Language acquisition is gradual, with comprehension leading production; children integrate new words and grammatical rules into their speech over time. Comprehension and production develop together, as children apply newly learned grammatical rules to their own speech.  PRE-SPEECH NORMAL INFANTS Babies can recognize words as early as 6 months. In a study by Tincoff and Jusczyk (1999), 6-month-olds who watched two TV monitors with images of their mother and father and heard the corresponding names ("mommy" or "daddy") would turn to the correct picture when they heard the name. This finding shows that comprehension of language begins earlier than previously thought, challenging the earlier belief that understanding starts around 8 to 10 months. This underscores that comprehension and production of language develop together, with production gradually catching up to comprehension. 1.2.4 SPEECH PRODUCTION LAGS BEHIND SPEECH COMPREHENSION 1.2.4.1 The Huttenlocher study Huttenlocher (1974) found that children aged 10 to 13 months understood speech better than they could produce it. Over six months, these children could identify and respond to familiar objects like ‘bottle’ or ‘diaper’ when named, even though they did not use these words in their own speech. For instance, one boy could distinguish between ‘baby’s diaper’ and ‘your diaper,’ showing comprehension of complex possessive distinctions he hadn't yet used. This finding illustrates that comprehension of language can precede production, with children understanding more than they are able to express verbally. 1.2.4.2 The Sachs and Truswell study Sachs and Truswell (1978) discovered that children at the one-word stage of speech production could still understand multi-word syntactic structures. In their study, they used familiar words from the children’s own vocabularies, like 'kiss,' 'smell,' 'ball,' and 'truck,' and combined them into novel imperative phrases such as 'Kiss ball' and 'Smell truck.' Despite only being able to produce single-word utterances, the children correctly followed these multi-word commands, demonstrating that their comprehension of language was more advanced than their production abilities.  1.3 THE RELATIONSHIP OF SPEECH PRODUCTION, SPEECH COMPREHENSION, AND THOUGHT 1.3.1 Speech comprehension necessarily precedes speech production Comprehension Before Production: Children must understand the meaning of language before they can produce it meaningfully. They must grasp what words and phrases mean before they can use them correctly. Exposure to Meaningful Contexts: Simple exposure to speech is insufficient for language learning. Children need to hear language in contexts connected to objects, events, and subjective experiences. When hearing the word 'cat' repeatedly without seeing a cat or understanding what a cat is will not help a child learn the word. Meaningful Use of Words: Repeating words or phrases without understanding their meaning does not indicate true language learning. Children must use words appropriately in context to demonstrate real language comprehension. Imitation vs. Understanding: While some animals or individuals might imitate speech sounds, this does not equate to understanding or meaningful use. True language acquisition involves both comprehension and appropriate production of language.  1.3.2 THOUGHT AS THE BASIS OF SPEECH COMPREHENSION Concepts Precede Speech: The meanings behind speech comprehension are based on concepts and experiences in a person’s mind. Initially, speech sounds are just sounds without meaning until they are linked to concepts derived from the environment and personal experiences. Thought and Experience as Foundations: The content of thought comes from interactions with the environment (e.g., dogs, cats, food) and personal experiences (e.g., feelings, emotions). Language labels these thoughts but does not generate them. Thus, thought precedes language. Language as a Communication Tool: Language serves to label and communicate thoughts through physical sounds. While thoughts exist independently of language, language is a system for expressing these thoughts to others. Learning Syntactic Structures: Understanding syntax, such as the structure of sentences, requires more than knowing individual words. For instance, learning that "John chased Bill" involves not just recognizing the words but also connecting them to the event where John chases Bill, which helps the child grasp the Agent- Action-Object sequence in English.  1.4 PARENTESE AND BABY TALK 1.4.1 Parentese In the 1960s, Noam Chomsky's theories on innate language knowledge led to a diminished focus on the role of experiential input in language learning. Language acquisition was viewed as a mysterious, innate process rather than one influenced by external input. Later research demonstrated that the nature of language and environmental input is crucial for language development. Children exposed to limited and impersonal language sources, such as television or overheard adult conversations, often do not acquire substantial language skills.  Parentese, also known as 'Motherese,' 'caregiver speech,' 'Adult-to-Child Language' (ACL), or 'Child-Directed Speech' (CDS), refers to the specialized, engaging speech that children receive from caregivers. This type of speech, characterized by its distinct linguistic features, is essential for effective language learning. It involves input from various sources including parents, siblings, and others in the child's environment.  1. 4.2 Characteristics of Parentese 1. Immediacy and Concreteness: Adults typically talk to children about immediate, tangible objects and events rather than abstract or distant concepts. They might say "The dog wants water" rather than discussing abstract ideas. 2. Grammaticality of Input: Speech directed at children is usually highly grammatical and simplified. Studies show that ungrammatical sentences are rare in child-directed speech. This consistency helps children discern sentence structures and counters Chomsky’s claim that children learn language despite exposure to ‘degenerate’ sentences. 3. Short Sentences and Simple Structures: Adult speech to children often involves short, simple sentences such as "The dog wants water" is common, while more complex structures like "The dog which has been running a lot wants to drink some water" are less frequent. 4. Simple Vocabulary: The vocabulary used with children is generally simple and restricted. Words are often basic and phonetically simpler, such as "mama" instead of "mother" or "wawa" instead of "water." 5. Exaggerated Intonation, Pitch, and Stress: Adults use exaggerated intonation, higher pitch, and slower tempo when speaking to children. They also frequently repeat or rephrase sentences to aid understanding. For example, adults might use a higher pitch and clearer pauses, and place more emphasis on words when talking to young children compared to conversations with adults. Older children, too, adapt their speech Older children, like 4-year-olds, also adapt their speech to be simpler and more understandable when talking to younger children, such as 2-year-olds, regardless of whether they have younger siblings. This simplification is not limited to interactions with their own siblings or with parents; non-parents also use simplified language. This behavior appears to be a universal phenomenon, observed across various cultures, indicating a widespread pattern where both adults and children modify their speech to match the developmental level of their listeners.  1.4.3 BABY TALK Baby Talk vs. Parentese Definition and Characteristics: Parentese is simplified but still uses basic vocabulary and syntax. Baby Talk involves even more simplified vocabulary and syntax, often mimicking early speech patterns of children. 1.Vocabulary: 1. Modifications: Baby Talk uses overly simplified words. For instance: 1. English: ‘bow-wow’ (dog), ‘pee-pee’ (urine), ‘choo-choo’ (train). 2. Japanese: ‘wan-wan’ (dog), ‘shee-shee’ (urine), ‘bu-bu’ (car). 2. Sound Structure: Words often follow a Consonant + Vowel syllable pattern, sometimes reduplicated (e.g., ‘wan-wan’). 3. Onomatopoeia: Many Baby Talk words mimic the sounds associated with the objects they represent, like ‘choo-choo’ for a train or ‘bu-bu’ for a car engine. 2. Syntax: Simplified Structure: Syntax in Baby Talk is less complex than in Parentese. For example: Instead of "I will give you a banana," a parent might say "Mommy give Tony banana," omitting articles and modals. Use of Proper Names: Baby Talk often replaces personal pronouns with proper names (e.g., ‘Mommy’ and ‘Tony’), which are easier for children to understand. Similarities to Early Speech: The syntax in Baby Talk resembles the telegraphic stage of a child’s early speech, focusing more on word order and less on complete grammatical forms. 3. Cultural Transmission: Baby Talk vocabulary is standardized and culturally transmitted, reflecting common practices across generations rather than individual innovations.  1.4.4 THE EFFECT OF PARENTESE AND BABY TALK IN LANGUAGE LEARNING Research indicates that Parentese (Infant-Directed Speech) and Baby Talk have a positive but modest impact on language learning, with particularly beneficial effects for very young children. Studies suggest that these speech forms, commonly used by various caregivers, likely support language development, as evidenced by consistent findings across multiple research efforts.  1.5 IMITATION, RULE LEARNING, AND CORRECTION 1.5.1 What is learned by imitation While imitation plays a role in language learning, particularly in how children learn to pronounce sounds and words and enjoy mimicking what they hear, it has clear limitations. Imitation applies only to speech production, not to comprehension, which actually precedes production. Since comprehension involves understanding abstract rules of language, and these rules cannot be directly imitated, imitation cannot account for the learning of sentence construction. Thus, while imitation is valuable for developing articulation and sound patterns, it is not involved in the primary process of language comprehension or the formulation of abstract grammatical rules. 1.5.2 PRODUCTIVITY BY RULE  Children develop internal rules for language, such as those for forming plurals and past tenses, which they apply to new words. For regular cases, like "hat/hats" or "push/pushed," these rules work well. However, when faced with exceptions, like "sheep" or "mouse," children might overgeneralize and produce incorrect forms such as "sheeps" or "mouses." This tendency is also evident with past tense formation, where children might say "goed" or "comed" instead of "went" or "came," despite having learned some irregular forms earlier. The rules children form are powerful and influence their speech, sometimes leading to errors with previously learned irregular forms..  1.5.3 THE FREQUENT FUTILITY OF CORRECTION The Role of Correction in Language Learning: Ineffectiveness of Correction: It was once thought that correcting children's speech was crucial for improving their grammar. Studies have shown that parents rarely correct grammatical errors and when they do, the corrections often do not lead to significant improvements (Brown et al., 1969; Brown, 1973). Nature of Correction: Frequency: Corrections are infrequent compared to the number of incorrect utterances made by children. Method: Corrections usually involve repeating the child’s utterance correctly, which may not help the child understand their mistake. Burden on Children: For effective learning, children need to recognize differences, understand the nature of the error, and change their grammar accordingly. This process is often too complex for young children.  Parental Focus: Content over Grammar: Parents are generally more concerned with the truthfulness or social appropriateness of what their children say rather than grammatical correctness. Example of Scolding: A child who says “I no broked it” might be scolded for lying rather than for incorrect grammar. Similarly, a child who says “Mommy no like you” might be corrected for politeness rather than grammar. Conclusion: Self-Correction: Children often notice and correct their own grammatical errors over time, suggesting that formal correction by adults plays a minor role in language acquisition.  1.6 LEARNING ABSTRACT WORDS Learning Progression: Children start with concrete words for physical objects (e.g., "dog," "ball") and actions (e.g., "run," "jump") before moving to abstract concepts like states (e.g., "on," "sitting") and mental experiences (e.g., "hungry," "hurt"). Abstract Word Learning: Learning abstract words involves complex processes, as these concepts aren't directly observable. Children infer meanings from context and experience rather than simple association. Example of Learning Abstract Words: "Hungry": A child learns this word by associating it with feelings of hunger and hearing it used in contexts where they are hungry. "Hurt": Associated with pain through experiences like falling or receiving an injection, where caregivers use the term "hurt."  Complex Abstract Words: Words like "lie" and "guess" require children to understand discrepancies between their statements and reality or to make logical inferences from complex situations. Metaphor Usage: Metaphors help children grasp abstract ideas by relating new concepts to familiar experiences, such as interpreting "seeing the light" metaphorically as understanding or doing the right thing.  1.7 MEMORY AND LOGIC IN LANGUAGE LEARNING 1.7.1 Memory Memory is essential for language learning. Children must remember words, phrases, and sentences, along with their contexts, to understand and use language effectively.  Vocabulary and Rule Learning: Effective memory allows children to retain and recall numerous words and phrases, aiding in vocabulary expansion and rule formation.  Syntactic Structures: To learn and apply grammatical structures, such as negation, children rely on their memory of previous sentences and contexts to make comparisons and inferences.  Impact of Memory Deficits: Studies show that individuals with semantic short-term memory deficits struggle with understanding and producing multi-word structures, such as adjective- noun phrases and complex grammatical relations.  Idioms and Phrases: Children remember and learn idioms and phrases through repetition, storing them in memory for later analysis and use.  Early Memory Abilities: Even infants as young as 8 months show remarkable memory capabilities, such as preferentially listening to familiar words in stories.  Broad Memory Capacity: The child's extensive memory is not limited to language but extends to faces, objects, music, and other knowledge domains.  1.7.2 LOGIC Inductive Logic in Language Learning: Young children use inductive logic to analyze and understand language. For example, by observing that a suffix is added to words when referring to multiple objects, children generalize this as a rule for forming plurals. They develop and test this rule based on the patterns they observe in speech. Deductive Logic in Language Use: Children also apply deductive reasoning in language. For instance, a 4-year-old child might use a logical argument, such as stating "You have more than me" to imply that cookies should be shared equally. The child's statement implies that the other child should give some cookies to balance the amounts, demonstrating an understanding of fairness and equality.  Piaget's Theory vs. Actual Development: Piaget’s theory suggested that deductive logic develops later than observed in young children. The example of the children negotiating the cookie distribution shows that deductive reasoning can occur at a younger age, challenging Piaget's age norms for logical development. Revised Understanding of Intelligence and Language: Piaget’s view that intelligence is based on physical actions with objects is questioned. Evidence from cases where individuals, despite physical limitations, develop high levels of intelligence and language skills suggests that actions with objects are not essential for intellectual or linguistic development. Young children demonstrate considerable intellectual and linguistic abilities without such actions.