Chapter 8.3 How does Language work
Language
A system of communication that combines symbols, such as words or gestural signs, in rule-based ways to create meaning
morphemes
The smallest units of meaning in a language. -semantics: meanings derived from words and sentences
bilingual
adept at speaking and comprehending two languages -metalinguistic: awareness of how language is structured and used
generative
allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in novel ways
over extension
apply words in a broader sense - children referring to all men as daddy
Wernicke's area
area of brain involved in speech comprhension
broca's area
area of brain involved in speech production
nativist
children are born with some basic knowledge of how nature works
general cognitive processing
children's ability to learn language results from general skills that children apply across a variety of activities
phonesthemes
clusters of semantically related words that share common sound sequences -"sn" = nose related activities: SNort, SNeeze, SNooze, SNot, SNicker
one-word stage
early period of language development when children use single-word phrases to convey an entire thought
extralinguistic information
elements of communication that aren't part of the content of language but are critical to interpreting its meaning -self explanatory -interpret meanings
syntax
grammatical rules that govern how words are composed into meaningful strings -morphological markers: morphemes that change the meaning of a word but they do so based on a grammatical rule
language acquisition device
hypothetical organ in the brain in which nativists believe knowledge of syntax resides
Babbling
intentional vocalization that lacks specific meaning
Dialect
language variation used by a group of people who share geographic proximity or ethnic background
social pragmatics
proposes that children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactions
phonemes
sounds of our language -influenced by our lips, teeth, tongue placement, and other manipulations of the mouth and throat
under extension
when children define words more narrowly than adults do -Children thinking that the word cat applies to only their cat
