Language Development: Issues and Methods

January 13, 2010

Nature versus Nurture

Remains the biggest debate. Empiricism vs. nativism

How much is built in? Chomksy’s three arguments are used to

defend nativism. Most modern researchers hold to an

interactionist p.o.v. Not as effortless as Chomsky proposed. Input is key.

Constructivism (Piaget)

Opposes behaviourism as well. “Sharing the same enemy never obliged anyone to

share the same crusade.” Piaget stipulates that inborn mental abilities work

upon environmental input (e.g., speech to child), resulting in cognitive development.

Language intricately tied to other cognitive structures (e.g., learning about people and things leads to subjects and objects).

Brain learning, rather than brain maturation.

What is innate?

Knowledge of language Domain specificity Modularity: dedicated sub-system, “mental organ”

Process: Encapsulation, unconsciousness, speed, shallow outputs, and obligatory firing

Biology: Ontogenetic universals, localization, and pathological universals

Can be nativist and not subscribe to modularity (Bates argues against based on brain plasticity and variations in language).

What is innate? Computational processes knowledge

Domain general Rule learning

Apply statistical regularities to new input. ABA rule versus AAB rule.

Statistical learning Infants can detect statistical regularities in input (e.g., vision,

musical tones) Infants can use stat learning for: Word segmentation, sound

acquisition, grammar rules (see below) So can monkeys and rats.

Example of stat learning

Prettybaby

Golabupabikututibubabupugolabu

Other debates

Continuity Is change quantitative or qualitative?

Communication and language Formalists: rules and structure

Chomsky. Functionalists: social use

The why of language. Cultural convention. Social interactionist.

Research

Not going to cover design that much, assuming you know it.

Only focusing on procedures and techniques.

Research methods: Production

Speech samples. Can be spontaneous or structured (imitation). Min of 50 utterances. Limitation: context, act of observing Best to use AV Transcription

Depends of what you’re studying: phonetics, communicative competence, etc.

CHILDES MLU: normative

What is the MLU?

I have to eat. Um. Doggie’s hungry. Doggie eated. I hafta go eat.

Other measures

Elicitation Related to

structured speech samples

Interviews Piagetian Is horse a word?

Why?

Research Methods: Comprehension

Usually used for norms (atypical) MacArthur-Bates CDI Parental report Normed for age & sex Strong reliability and validity PPVT 4 simple, black-and-white illustrations arranged in a multiple-choice

format. Select best example of orally presented word 17 sets of 12; progressively difficult. High reliability and validity.

“Puppy”

A B

C D

“Cenotaph”

A

C

B

D

Other comprehension techniques

We will go into these in detail later in the course. Brain imaging techniques (can also be

production) High amplitude sucking: phonetics, language

preference Conditioned head turn: phonology Habituation: word learning Preferential looking: word comprehension