The%20Logical%20Problem%20of%20Language%20Acquisition

1
The Logical Problem of Language Acquisition

• Children acquire the grammar of their
  languagea SYSTEM of RULES for Syntax and
  Morphology and Phonology, etc. with input that is
• incomplete, noisy, and unstructured. The
  utterances include slips of the tongue, false
  starts, ungrammatical and incomplete sentences,
  and no information as to which utterances heard
  are well formed and which are not.

Fromkin, Victoria and Robert Rodman. An
Introduction to Language, sixth edition. Forth
Worth Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998,
p. 340.
2
Development of Grammar

• ? Acquisition of Phonology
• ? Acquisition of Word Meaning
• ? Acquisition of Morphology
• ? Acquisition of Syntax
• ? Acquisition of Pragmatics

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, pp. 339-350.
3
Sixteen month-old JPs Vocabulary

• ?aw not s aerosol spray
• b??/m?? up sju shoe
• da dog haj hi
• i?o/si?o Cheerios sr shirt / sweater
• sa sock s?/?s? whats
• that?/hey, look
• aj/?j light ma mommy
• baw/daw down d? daddy

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, p. 336.
4
Acquisition Order of Sounds

• Manner Place
• of Articulation of Articulation
• Nasals Labials
• Glides Velars
• Stops Alveolars
• Liquids Palatals
• Fricatives
• Affricates

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2003. An Introduction to Language, 7th ed.
Boston, MA Wadsworth, p. 356.
5
Perception and Production

• Linguist Neil Smith and his 2-year-old son
• Father What does maws mean?
• Amahl Like a cat.
• Father Yes, what else?
• Amahl Nothing else
• Father Its part of your head.
• Amahl fascinated
• Father touching Amahls mouth Whats this?
• Amahl maws

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, p. 340.
6
Simplifying the Sounds of a Language

• pun spoon
• peyn plane
• t?s kiss
• taw cow
• tin clean
• pol?r stroller
• majtl Michael
• dajt?r diaper
• pati Papi
• mani Mommy
• b?rt Bert
• b?rt (big) Bird

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, p. 341.
7
The Problem of Acquiring Meaning

• A child who observes a cat sitting on a
  mat also observesa mat supporting a cat, a mat
  under a cat, a floor supporting a mat and a cat,
  and so on. If the adult now says. The cat is on
  the mat even while pointing to the cat on the
  mat, how is the child to choose among these
  interpretations of the situation?

L.R. Gleitman and E. Wanner. 1982. Language
Acquisition The State of the State of the Art.
Cambridge Cambridge University Press, p. 10.
Reference not given in 2009, 9th ed. given in
2003. Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina
Hyams. 2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th
edition. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, p. 342.
8
Innate Bias in Acquiring Word Meaning

• 1. Whole object principle
• 2. Form over color principle
• 3. Everything has a name
• 4. Each thing has only one name

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2003. An Introduction to Language, 7th ed.
Boston, MA Wadsworth, p. 360.
9
Stages of Irregular Verb Acquisition

• Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
• broke breaked broke
• brought bringed brought
• went goed went

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, p. 344.
10
Acquisition of Morphology

• TOM Wheres Mommy?
• CHILD Mommy goed to the store.
• TOM Mommy goed to the store?
• CHILD NO! (annoyed) Daddy, I say it that way,
  not you.
• CHILD You readed some of it tooshe readed all
  the rest.
• DAN She read the whole thing to you, huh?
• CHILD Nu-uh, you read some.
• DAN Oh, thats right, yeah. I readed the
  beginning of it.
• CHILD Readed? (annoyed surprise) Read!
• (pronounced / r?d /)
• DAN Oh, yeah, read.
• CHILD Will you stop that, Papa?

Steven Pinker. Words and Rules. New York Basic
Books, 1999, pp. 199-200.
11
Morpheme Acquisition Order

• -ing
• in, on
• -s (REGULAR PLURAL)
• -s (1st PERS SINGULAR PRESENT)
• s (POSSESSIVE)

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2003. An Introduction to Language, 7th ed.
Boston, MA Wadsworth, p. 365.
12
Two-Word Sentences

• allgone sock hi Mommy
• bye bye boat allgone sticky
• more wet it ball
• Katherine sock dirty sock

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, p. 347.
13
Setting Parameters

• Head Parameter
• VP VO English
• OV Japanese
• PP Prep N English
• N Post Japanese
• Verb Movement Dutch, Italian
• Auxiliary Movement English
• Explicit Subject English, yes
• Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, no
• NOT in book?

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman Nina Hyams.
2011. An Introduction to Language, 9th edition.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, pp. 354-355.
14
Chapter 7 Homework(Exercise 5, pp. 370-371)

• 1. dont dot simplification ConCl
• 2. skip k??p simplify ConsClust
• 3. shoe su substitute
• 4. that d?t substitute
• 5. play p?e simplify ConsClust
• 6. thump d?p substitute simplify
• 7. bath b?t substitute
• 8. chop t?ap substitute/simplify
• 9. kitty k?di ??
• 10. light wajt substitute
• 11. dolly dawi substitute
• 12. grow go simplify ConsClust

15
Chapter 7 Homework(Exercise 7, p. 371)

• Adult Form Child form
• a. children childs
• b. went goed
• c. better gooder
• d. best goodest
• e. brought bringed
• f. sang singed
• g. geese gooses
• h. worst baddest
• i. knives knifes
• j. worse badder