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Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Language Acquisition

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Course Readings

The following readings have been posted to the Moodle course site:

◮ Contemporary Linguistics: Chapter 10 (pp. 351-358,

367-374)

◮ Language Files: Chapter 8 (pp. 319-332)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Language Acquisition

Key Idea from the First Week:

Learning a first language is a kind of human instinct.

One Piece of Evidence for this Idea:

First language acquisition follows a predicable series of ‘milestones’ (correlated with age).

◮ Language acquisition is guided an inner, biological clock ◮ Thus, it’s more like ‘maturation’ than purely social learning

(Chomsky)

In today’s lecture, we’ll learn more about what those stages of language acquisition are like...

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Language Learning in the Womb

Claim From First Week:

First language acquisition actually begins prior to birth.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Language Learning in the Womb

Claim From First Week:

First language acquisition actually begins prior to birth.

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Fact:

Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ an auditory stimulus.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Language Learning in the Womb

Claim From First Week:

First language acquisition actually begins prior to birth.

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Fact:

Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ an auditory stimulus.

◮ Technique:

◮ Developed a pacifier that could measure rate of sucking ◮ Played recordings of both French and English to English

and French 4 day olds

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Language Learning in the Womb

Claim From First Week:

First language acquisition actually begins prior to birth.

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Fact:

Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ an auditory stimulus.

◮ Technique:

◮ Developed a pacifier that could measure rate of sucking ◮ Played recordings of both French and English to English

and French 4 day olds

◮ Results:

◮ French babies ‘liked’ French more than English ◮ English babies ‘liked’ English more than French

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Language Learning in the Womb

Claim From First Week:

First language acquisition actually begins prior to birth.

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Fact:

Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ an auditory stimulus.

◮ Technique:

◮ Developed a pacifier that could measure rate of sucking ◮ Played recordings of both French and English to English

and French 4 day olds

◮ Results:

◮ French babies ‘liked’ French more than English ◮ English babies ‘liked’ English more than French

◮ Follow-Up Study:

◮ Preference stayed when all they could hear was intonation. ◮ Preference disappeared when intonation was taken out.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Language Learning in the Womb

Claim From First Week:

First language acquisition actually begins prior to birth.

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Fact:

Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ an auditory stimulus.

◮ Technique:

◮ Developed a pacifier that could measure rate of sucking ◮ Played recordings of both French and English to English

and French 4 day olds

◮ Results:

◮ French babies ‘liked’ French more than English ◮ English babies ‘liked’ English more than French

◮ Follow-Up Study:

◮ Preference stayed when all they could hear was intonation. ◮ Preference disappeared when intonation was taken out.

Overall Conclusion:

◮ When kids are in the womb, they begin learning intonation ◮ Since that’s all they can really hear in there, that makes sense

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

Obvious Fact:

Babies babble, and this is related to learning to talk.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

Obvious Fact:

Babies babble, and this is related to learning to talk.

Not-So Obvious Fact:

◮ Babbling is not just a simple, uniform behavior ◮ There are stages, made up of different kinds of babbling ◮ Kids go through these stages at roughly the same ages

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

Stage 1: Cooing (4-6 Months Old)

◮ Very basic, isolated vocalizations (single phones) ◮ Due to physiology, usually velar or palatal sounds ◮ [u], [gu], [ju]

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

Stage 1: Cooing (4-6 Months Old)

◮ Very basic, isolated vocalizations (single phones) ◮ Due to physiology, usually velar or palatal sounds ◮ [u], [gu], [ju]

Stage 2: Canonical Babbling (7-10 Months Old)

◮ Chains of identical syllables (usually CV)

[bAbAbAbAbAbA], [dududududu]

◮ Other names for this stage:

“Reduplicative Babbling”, “Syllable Babbling”

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

Stage 1: Cooing (4-6 Months Old)

◮ Very basic, isolated vocalizations (single phones) ◮ Due to physiology, usually velar or palatal sounds ◮ [u], [gu], [ju]

Stage 2: Canonical Babbling (7-10 Months Old)

◮ Chains of identical syllables (usually CV)

[bAbAbAbAbAbA], [dududududu]

◮ Other names for this stage:

“Reduplicative Babbling”, “Syllable Babbling”

Stage 3: Variegated Babbling (10-11 Months Old)

◮ Different syllables chained together

[bugAbimownAni], [mApAfowsAm]

◮ Sounds like kid is speaking ‘alien language’ ◮ Other names for this stage:

“Jargon Babbling”, “Gibberish Babbling”

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

The Mystery of Babbling Stages:

The order of the babbling stages makes sense, but...

◮ Why ‘canonical babbling’? (What does repeating syllables do?) ◮ Why do all kids hit the same stages at about the same age?

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

The Stages of Babbling

The Mystery of Babbling Stages:

The order of the babbling stages makes sense, but...

◮ Why ‘canonical babbling’? (What does repeating syllables do?) ◮ Why do all kids hit the same stages at about the same age?

Key Idea: Babbling follows an in-born maturational schedule. Some Evidence: (Eric Lenneberg; 1960s)

◮ Some infants need to have tubes put in their throats ◮ These tubes prevent babbling and other forms of vocalization ◮ Once the tubes are removed, the children rapidly catch up ◮ Before long, they babble at the right level for their physical age!

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Phonemic Learning

Key Fact About Learning Phomemes

Babies acquiring English learn phonemes in a uniform order:

• 1. Labials ([p], [b], [m])
• 2. Alveolars ([t], [d], [n], [s], [z])
• 3. Velars ([k], [g], [N])
• 4. Alveopalatals ([S], [Z], [Ù] [Ã])
• 5. Dentals ([T], [D])

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Phonemic Learning

Key Fact About Learning Phomemes

Babies acquiring English learn phonemes in a uniform order:

• 1. Labials ([p], [b], [m])
• 2. Alveolars ([t], [d], [n], [s], [z])
• 3. Velars ([k], [g], [N])
• 4. Alveopalatals ([S], [Z], [Ù] [Ã])
• 5. Dentals ([T], [D])

Question: Why this order?

◮ It’s not just ‘front of the mouth’ to ‘back of the mouth’ ◮ It’s not just about how common the sounds are in English

([T], [D] are very common in English)

◮ It’s not just about how ‘difficult’ the sounds are....

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Phonemic Learning

Order English Phonemes are Acquired

• 1. Labials ([p], [b], [m])
• 2. Alveolars ([t], [d], [n], [s], [z])
• 3. Velars ([k], [g], [N])
• 4. Alveopalatals ([S], [Z], [Ù] [Ã])
• 5. Dentals ([T], [D])

Fun Fact:

This order matches how rare the sounds are in the world.

◮ Labials are the most common sound in the world’s langauges ◮ The second most common are alveolars ◮ The third most common are velars ◮ The fourth most common are alveopalatals ◮ The fifth most common are dental fricatives

(rather rare in the world)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Phonemic Learning

Order English Phonemes are Acquired

• 1. Labials ([p], [b], [m])
• 2. Alveolars ([t], [d], [n], [s], [z])
• 3. Velars ([k], [g], [N])
• 4. Alveopalatals ([S], [Z], [Ù] [Ã])
• 5. Dentals ([T], [D])

Generalization:

The time it takes to learn phoneme X correlates with how common X is in the world’s languages.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Phonemic Learning

Order English Phonemes are Acquired

• 1. Labials ([p], [b], [m])
• 2. Alveolars ([t], [d], [n], [s], [z])
• 3. Velars ([k], [g], [N])
• 4. Alveopalatals ([S], [Z], [Ù] [Ã])
• 5. Dentals ([T], [D])

Generalization:

The time it takes to learn phoneme X correlates with how common X is in the world’s languages.

A Picture that Emerges:

For every phoneme X, kids are born knowing how likely X is going to be in their language:

◮ The more likely the sound is... ◮ The more confident the kid will be that their language has it... ◮ So, the more quickly they will learn X is in their language...

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Do Kids Learn Phonemes?

Key Fact from Phonology Unit:

Languages can differ in whether two phones are allophones of the same or different phonemes

◮ In English, [t] and [th] are allophones of the same phoneme (/t/). ◮ In Thai, [t] and [th] are allophones of the same phoneme.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Do Kids Learn Phonemes?

Key Fact from Phonology Unit:

Languages can differ in whether two phones are allophones of the same or different phonemes

◮ In English, [t] and [th] are allophones of the same phoneme (/t/). ◮ In Thai, [t] and [th] are allophones of the same phoneme.

Key Consequence:

One thing kids have to learn is whether certain phones are allophones of the same (or different) phonemes.

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Do Kids Learn Phonemes?

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

One Way That Sounds Plausible

◮ Kids are born unable to hear any distinctions between phones

(e.g. [t] and [th])

◮ When learning words, kids learn they must distinguish some

phones (the phonemes), but not others (the allophones).

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Do Kids Learn Phonemes?

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

One Way That Sounds Plausible

◮ Kids are born unable to hear any distinctions between phones

(e.g. [t] and [th])

◮ When learning words, kids learn they must distinguish some

phones (the phonemes), but not others (the allophones).

◮ Thai kids learn to hear the difference between [t] and [th] ◮ English kids don’t need to learn to hear the difference

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Do Kids Learn Phonemes?

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

One Way That Sounds Plausible

◮ Kids are born unable to hear any distinctions between phones

(e.g. [t] and [th])

◮ When learning words, kids learn they must distinguish some

phones (the phonemes), but not others (the allophones).

◮ Thai kids learn to hear the difference between [t] and [th] ◮ English kids don’t need to learn to hear the difference

Surprising Fact:

◮ This is not the way kids do it... ◮ The way kids do it is exactly the opposite...

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

The Way Kids Seem to Do It

◮ Kids are born perceiving the differences between all phones

◮ Both English and Thai kids start off hearing the difference

between [t] and [th]

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

The Way Kids Seem to Do It

◮ Kids are born perceiving the differences between all phones

◮ Both English and Thai kids start off hearing the difference

between [t] and [th]

◮ Kids learn to ignore the difference between some phones

◮ English kids learn to ignore the difference b/ [t] and [th] ◮ Thai kids don’t; they continue hearing the difference.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

Question:

How do kids learn two phones are allophones of same / different phonemes?

The Way Kids Seem to Do It

◮ Kids are born perceiving the differences between all phones

◮ Both English and Thai kids start off hearing the difference

between [t] and [th]

◮ Kids learn to ignore the difference between some phones

◮ English kids learn to ignore the difference b/ [t] and [th] ◮ Thai kids don’t; they continue hearing the difference.

◮ By learning to ignore the difference between X and Y, kids learn

to see them as allophones of the same phoneme.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Facts:

◮ Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ some sound ◮ When infants hear the same sound over-and-over, they get

bored (sucking rate declines)

◮ When infants hear a new sound, they get excited

(sucking rate increases)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Background Facts:

◮ Infants suckle faster when they ‘like’ some sound ◮ When infants hear the same sound over-and-over, they get

bored (sucking rate declines)

◮ When infants hear a new sound, they get excited

(sucking rate increases)

◮ Experimental Technique:

◮ Used a pacifier that could measure rate of sucking ◮ Played infants a long series of the same allophone ([t]) ◮ Once they were bored, changed the sound to another

allophone ([th])

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Results:

◮ Below 6 months, English kids suckle faster when [t] is

changed to [th]

◮ Above 6 months, English kids don’t react when [t] is

changed to [th]

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

The Experimental Evidence: (Peter Jusczyk, 1970s)

◮ Results:

◮ Below 6 months, English kids suckle faster when [t] is

changed to [th]

◮ Above 6 months, English kids don’t react when [t] is

changed to [th]

◮ Conclusions:

◮ Below 6 months, English kids perceive the difference

between [t] and [th]

◮ Above 6 months, they don’t

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

Major Conclusions:

◮ Newborns can perceive all the possible phones a human

language can have (Universal Grammar)

◮ Over time, kids learn to stop distinguishing some phones. ◮ Kids give up distinctions their language doesn’t use

(If kids don’t use the distinction, they eventually lose it...)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

Major Conclusions:

◮ Newborns can perceive all the possible phones a human

language can have (Universal Grammar)

◮ Over time, kids learn to stop distinguishing some phones. ◮ Kids give up distinctions their language doesn’t use

(If kids don’t use the distinction, they eventually lose it...)

One Final Question:

How do English kids learn to stop distinguishing [t] and [th]?

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Phonemes

Major Conclusions:

◮ Newborns can perceive all the possible phones a human

language can have (Universal Grammar)

◮ Over time, kids learn to stop distinguishing some phones. ◮ Kids give up distinctions their language doesn’t use

(If kids don’t use the distinction, they eventually lose it...)

One Final Question:

How do English kids learn to stop distinguishing [t] and [th]?

The Surprising Answer:

◮ Well, they must see the pattern for when /t/ is pronounced as [th] ◮ But, the rule is that [th] appears in the onset of a syllable. ◮ So, 6 month olds must be dividing words up into syllables ◮ So, 6 month olds already know the syllabification algorithm!

(Actually, that algorithm is probably innate...)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Morphological Learning

Curious Fact:

English children learn inflectional morphemes in a set, uniform order:

• 1. Suffix /-iN/ (jumping, kicking)
• 2. Plural /-z/ (dogs, cats)
• 3. Possessive /-z/ (Daddy’s, Mommy’s)
• 4. Determiners ‘the’, ‘a’
• 5. Past Tense /-d/ (jumped, kicked)
• 6. Agreement /-z/ (jumps, kicks)
• 7. Auxiliary Verb ‘be’ (He is kicking)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Morphological Learning

Curious Fact:

English children learn inflectional morphemes in a set, uniform order:

• 1. Suffix /-iN/ (jumping, kicking)
• 2. Plural /-z/ (dogs, cats)
• 3. Possessive /-z/ (Daddy’s, Mommy’s)
• 4. Determiners ‘the’, ‘a’
• 5. Past Tense /-d/ (jumped, kicked)
• 6. Agreement /-z/ (jumps, kicks)
• 7. Auxiliary Verb ‘be’ (He is kicking)

Question: Why this order?

◮ It’s not about how simple the pronunciation is

(2, 3, 6 are all homophones!)

◮ It’s not about how often the kid hears the morpheme

(‘the’ and ‘a’ are most frequent; /-d/ least frequent)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Morphological Learning

Curious Fact:

English children learn inflectional morphemes in a set, uniform order:

• 1. Suffix /-iN/ (jumping, kicking)
• 2. Plural /-z/ (dogs, cats)
• 3. Possessive /-z/ (Daddy’s, Mommy’s)
• 4. Determiners ‘the’, ‘a’
• 5. Past Tense /-d/ (jumped, kicked)
• 6. Agreement /-z/ (jumps, kicks)
• 7. Auxiliary Verb ‘be’ (He is kicking)

Question: Why this order?

◮ It’s not about how simple the pronunciation is

(2, 3, 6 are all homophones!)

◮ It’s not about how often the kid hears the morpheme

(‘the’ and ‘a’ are most frequent; /-d/ least frequent)

Answer: It’s still kind of a mystery!

◮ (see Contemporary Linguistics reading)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Key Fact About Acquisition of Syntax

Kids follow a uniform schedule in learning the rules of syntax.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Key Fact About Acquisition of Syntax

Kids follow a uniform schedule in learning the rules of syntax.

First Stage: ‘One-Word Stage’ (12-18 Months)

◮ Utterances are only single words. ◮ But, many multi-word utterances can be understood.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Key Fact About Acquisition of Syntax

Kids follow a uniform schedule in learning the rules of syntax.

First Stage: ‘One-Word Stage’ (12-18 Months)

◮ Utterances are only single words. ◮ But, many multi-word utterances can be understood.

Second Stage: ‘Two-Word Stage’ (A Few Months Later)

◮ Utterances are only single words or two-word phrases ◮ But, many multi-word utterances can be understood.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Key Fact About Acquisition of Syntax

Kids follow a uniform schedule in learning the rules of syntax.

First Stage: ‘One-Word Stage’ (12-18 Months)

◮ Utterances are only single words. ◮ But, many multi-word utterances can be understood.

Second Stage: ‘Two-Word Stage’ (A Few Months Later)

◮ Utterances are only single words or two-word phrases ◮ But, many multi-word utterances can be understood. ◮ Word-order is always correct (Brown 1973)

Subject Verb Object Location Daddy jump kick ball put table doggy table

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Interesting Fact:

Even at the ‘One-Word’ and ‘Two-Word’ stage, children understand complex sentences.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Interesting Fact:

Even at the ‘One-Word’ and ‘Two-Word’ stage, children understand complex sentences.

Experimental Evidence: (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff 1991)

◮ Technique

◮ Introduce children to Big Bird and Cookie Monster

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Interesting Fact:

Even at the ‘One-Word’ and ‘Two-Word’ stage, children understand complex sentences.

Experimental Evidence: (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff 1991)

◮ Technique

◮ Introduce children to Big Bird and Cookie Monster ◮ Then, two videos played simultaneously: ◮ One where BB tickles CM ◮ One where CM tickles BB

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Interesting Fact:

Even at the ‘One-Word’ and ‘Two-Word’ stage, children understand complex sentences.

Experimental Evidence: (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff 1991)

◮ Technique

◮ Introduce children to Big Bird and Cookie Monster ◮ Then, two videos played simultaneously: ◮ One where BB tickles CM ◮ One where CM tickles BB ◮ Then, two audio recordings, played alternately ◮ “Look at BB tickling CM!” ◮ “Look at CM tickling BB!”

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

Interesting Fact:

Even at the ‘One-Word’ and ‘Two-Word’ stage, children understand complex sentences.

Experimental Evidence: (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff 1991)

◮ Technique

◮ Introduce children to Big Bird and Cookie Monster ◮ Then, two videos played simultaneously: ◮ One where BB tickles CM ◮ One where CM tickles BB ◮ Then, two audio recordings, played alternately ◮ “Look at BB tickling CM!” ◮ “Look at CM tickling BB!”

◮ Key Result:

Even kids at One-Word Stage looked at the correct screen.

◮ Key Conclusion:

Even at 1-Word Stage, kids know English word-order is ‘S-V-O’

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

The Stages of Syntax Acquisition:

◮ One-Word Stage ◮ Two-Word Stage ◮ Three-Word Stage?

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

The Stages of Syntax Acquisition:

◮ One-Word Stage ◮ Two-Word Stage ◮ Three-Word Stage? NO!

Third Stage: ‘Telegraphic Stage’ (A Few Months Later)

◮ Utterances can be many words long (≥3) ◮ However many ‘small’ words are dropped (e.g. ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘is’...)

(Thus, their speech looks like old-timey telegraphs)

◮ Examples:

Daddy like book. Man ride bus today. Me wanna show Mommy.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

The Stages of Syntax Acquisition:

◮ One-Word Stage ◮ Two-Word Stage ◮ Telegraphic Stage

Interesting Observation:

There is no ‘Three-Word’ or ‘Four-Word’ stage. Why?

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

The Stages of Syntax Acquisition:

◮ One-Word Stage ◮ Two-Word Stage ◮ Telegraphic Stage

Interesting Observation:

There is no ‘Three-Word’ or ‘Four-Word’ stage. Why?

◮ At 2-Word Stage, kids know 2 words can go together in a phrase:

[ A B ]

◮ At 2-Word Stage, kids don’t know phrases can go together with

• ther words:

* [ [ A B ] C ]

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Stages of Syntactic Learning

The Stages of Syntax Acquisition:

◮ One-Word Stage ◮ Two-Word Stage ◮ Telegraphic Stage

Interesting Observation:

There is no ‘Three-Word’ or ‘Four-Word’ stage. Why?

◮ At 2-Word Stage, kids know 2 words can go together in a phrase:

[ A B ]

◮ At 2-Word Stage, kids don’t know phrases can go together with

• ther words:

* [ [ A B ] C ]

◮ Next, kids learn that phrases can go together with other words:

[ [ A B ] C ]

◮ But, once they know that, they (of course) know they can make

arbitrarily long structures: [ [ [ A B ] C ] D ]

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Linguistic Rules

Well Known Fact of Child Psychology:

With ‘general intelligence learning,’ different kids have different learning ‘styles’ and ‘strategies’

◮ Some are ‘visual learners’, other ‘tactile learners’... ◮ Some need ‘structure’, others need to ‘figure it out themselves’...

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Linguistic Rules

Well Known Fact of Child Psychology:

With ‘general intelligence learning,’ different kids have different learning ‘styles’ and ‘strategies’

◮ Some are ‘visual learners’, other ‘tactile learners’... ◮ Some need ‘structure’, others need to ‘figure it out themselves’...

First Language Acquisition is Different:

◮ With 1st language acquisition, all kids use the same strategy: ◮ All kids aim to make ‘maximal generalizations’

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Linguistic Rules

Well Known Fact of Child Psychology:

With ‘general intelligence learning,’ different kids have different learning ‘styles’ and ‘strategies’

◮ Some are ‘visual learners’, other ‘tactile learners’... ◮ Some need ‘structure’, others need to ‘figure it out themselves’...

First Language Acquisition is Different:

◮ With 1st language acquisition, all kids use the same strategy: ◮ All kids aim to make ‘maximal generalizations’

The Universal Strategy in First Language Acquisition:

◮ When kids see a pattern, they leap to as broad a rule as

possible

◮ They usually leap too far, and apply the rule in places where

they shouldn’t

◮ Then they gradually ‘back off’ and restrict the rule properly.

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

‘Overgeneralization’ in Language Acquisition

Example: Plural Morphophonemics

◮ The Adult Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Strident

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

‘Overgeneralization’ in Language Acquisition

Example: Plural Morphophonemics

◮ The Adult Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Strident ◮ Many kids temporarily use [-1z] before any fricative

(‘bathes’ [bæT1z] ‘laughes’ [læf1z])

◮ The Kid Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Fricative

◮ Over time, they restrict the environment for [-1z]

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

‘Overgeneralization’ in Language Acquisition

Example: Plural Morphophonemics

◮ The Adult Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Strident ◮ Many kids temporarily use [-1z] before any fricative

(‘bathes’ [bæT1z] ‘laughes’ [læf1z])

◮ The Kid Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Fricative

◮ Over time, they restrict the environment for [-1z]

Example: Past Tense Suffix /-d/

◮ The Adult Rule:

Past Tense = /-d/ except for: give, make, think, go...

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

‘Overgeneralization’ in Language Acquisition

Example: Plural Morphophonemics

◮ The Adult Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Strident ◮ Many kids temporarily use [-1z] before any fricative

(‘bathes’ [bæT1z] ‘laughes’ [læf1z])

◮ The Kid Rule: /-z/ → [-1z] / Fricative

◮ Over time, they restrict the environment for [-1z]

Example: Past Tense Suffix /-d/

◮ The Adult Rule:

Past Tense = /-d/ except for: give, make, think, go...

◮ All kids temporarily use /-d/ with every verb:

(‘goed’ [gowd], ‘maked’ [mejkt], ‘gived’ [gIvd], ...)

◮ The Kid Rule: Past Tense = /-d/ No Exceptions

◮ Over time, they learn to restrict the words where /-d/ goes

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

‘Overgeneralization’ in Language Acquisition

Example: ‘Causative’ Use of Verbs

◮ The Adult Rule:

A few verbs can be used according to the following pattern: The ice melted I melted the ice (= I made the ice melt) The towel dried I dried the towel (= I made the towel dry) The dish broke I broke the dish (= I made the dish break)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

‘Overgeneralization’ in Language Acquisition

Example: ‘Causative’ Use of Verbs

◮ The Adult Rule:

A few verbs can be used according to the following pattern: The ice melted I melted the ice (= I made the ice melt) The towel dried I dried the towel (= I made the towel dry) The dish broke I broke the dish (= I made the dish break)

◮ Many kids temporarily apply this pattern to all verbs:

◮ “Don’t giggle me!” (= ‘Don’t make me giggle’) ◮ “You can drink my doll.” (= ‘You can make my doll drink’)

◮ Over time, they learn to restrict the verbs that follow this pattern

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Rules

The Main Point:

◮ In learning a first language, all kids employ a very bold strategy:

◮ They first apply a rule as broadly as possible. ◮ Gradually, they ‘back off’, restrict where the rule applies

◮ That all kids do this suggests it’s ‘in-born’ in some way...

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

How Kids Learn Rules

The Main Point:

◮ In learning a first language, all kids employ a very bold strategy:

◮ They first apply a rule as broadly as possible. ◮ Gradually, they ‘back off’, restrict where the rule applies

◮ That all kids do this suggests it’s ‘in-born’ in some way...

A Deep, Puzzling Question:

How do kids learn not to apply a rule? (How do they learn not to say ‘goed’)

◮ After all, they aren’t told when they are wrong. ◮ It can’t be a simple matter of ‘if I don’t hear it, then it’s wrong’:

◮ There are lots of things people hardly ever say. ◮ How would kids distinguish between ‘wrong’ and just ‘rare’?

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Summary

Some Key Facts About the Way Kids Learn Language:

• 1. Kids begin learning language in the womb.

◮ All they really learn is intonation.

(After all, that’s all they can hear!)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Summary

Some Key Facts About the Way Kids Learn Language:

• 1. Kids begin learning language in the womb.

◮ All they really learn is intonation.

(After all, that’s all they can hear!)

• 2. Many parts of language acquisition follow a set

sequence of universal stages:

◮ Babbling (cooing, canonical babbling, variegated babbling) ◮ Phonemes (labials, alveolars, velars, ...) ◮ Morphemes (ing, plural, possessive, determiners...) ◮ Syntax (one-word, two-word, telegraphic)

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Summary

Some Key Facts About the Way Kids Learn Language:

• 1. Kids begin learning language in the womb.

◮ All they really learn is intonation.

(After all, that’s all they can hear!)

• 2. Many parts of language acquisition follow a set

sequence of universal stages:

◮ Babbling (cooing, canonical babbling, variegated babbling) ◮ Phonemes (labials, alveolars, velars, ...) ◮ Morphemes (ing, plural, possessive, determiners...) ◮ Syntax (one-word, two-word, telegraphic)

• 3. Kids learn phonemes by ‘forgetting’

◮ We’re born distinguishing between all phones. ◮ Over time, we learn to ignore certain distinctions:

(e.g. [t] and [th])

Stages of Language Acquisition Course Readings The Stages of Language Acquisition Language Learning In-Utero Stages of Babbling Stages of Phonemic Learning How Kids Learn Phonemes Stages of Morphological Learning Stages of Syntactic Learning How Kids Learn Rules Summary

Summary

Some Key Facts About the Way Kids Learn Language:

• 1. Kids begin learning language in the womb.

◮ All they really learn is intonation.

(After all, that’s all they can hear!)

• 2. Many parts of language acquisition follow a set

sequence of universal stages:

◮ Babbling (cooing, canonical babbling, variegated babbling) ◮ Phonemes (labials, alveolars, velars, ...) ◮ Morphemes (ing, plural, possessive, determiners...) ◮ Syntax (one-word, two-word, telegraphic)

• 3. Kids learn phonemes by ‘forgetting’

◮ We’re born distinguishing between all phones. ◮ Over time, we learn to ignore certain distinctions:

(e.g. [t] and [th])

• 4. Kids adopt a bold strategy in learning rules.

◮ Kids begin by applying a rule as broadly as possible. ◮ Over time, they learn to restrict where the rule applies.