ILoveYouMarzyd

Ch.9
Language: working to make sense of things
caror the indeterminate nature of sounds and concepts

1 ) Language: When, How, Why

When?

From birth we cry… why?

In time caretakers can detect different cries
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
w/i 2-3 months: cooing, responding to experiences
w/I 3-6 months: babbling, spontaneous attempts at practicing sound, not imitating anyone
vocal tract muscles still immature
4 months can separate meaningful sound from noise
Beginning to use receptive language
(match sounds and facial changes)(hypothesis – foundation of gender identity?)
6 months – break up sound, can hear phonemes sound units
(ex: m k p st ch th)…
10 months – selective phoneme detection
(neural pruning at work): detection of phonemes of non-native languages, w

By 1 year: 1 word stage (1 word = means both noun+verb)

They are reproducing meaningful sounds (morphemes)
1 word sentences: MILK!! DOGGIE!! BLANKET!!

AND are expressing social eperiences/connections

(ie BELONGING in though, feeling and action

By 18 months acquiring a new word daily

Producing two word sentences

By two yers using/ abusing soial speech rules

Semantics
Syntaxno
Grammer
While, at the same time:
Developing intonation, rhythyms, patterns of speech that they hear
co
No 3 word stage

By 3-4 years develop “theory of mind”

 (eg “I know what you’re thinking”
Can see this as the beginnings of recursive thoughts

(eg “I know you are thinking about what I am thinking!”)

By 7 yrs beginning to be hard to fluently learn 2nd language

Again: all this happens within social interactions AND become internalized, spontaneous,
“intuitive”
(an example of automaticity)

How?
1950’s competing views
a) Learning theory (operant conditioning)
- Bf skinner
Language learned by way of reinforcement
Environmentally driven

PROBLEM: can I account for producing novel words/ ideas

b) Linguist -Noam Chomsky

Hypothesized “wired” for language / grammar, wiring not modifiable by -9 yrs
Language Acquisiton Device
Universal patterns of grammar development differences in grammatical forms result of
specific cultural linguistic experiences

PROBLEM: no neurological evidence for LAD structure

c) Bio-Social Perspective
Innate capacity for language acquisition (we are wired)
But, language dev and brain structure changes are produced in social interactions and
by neaural pruning

PROBLEM: to be determined – research relatively new and ongoing

NOW: introduce yourself to the person on your left

Why?
Living ix confusing / ambiguous without it
- Knowing is reassuring
Survival requires others sharing its use

Senses ( sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) needs organization / integration

Socially need to communicate, coordinate, collaborate, educate, entertain, anticipate, feelings,
thoughts, jntentions, between self and others

Imagination cannot be expressed / retained

We are wired to tryu to make sense of sensory and social experiences
We are wired to involve others in thoughts and language