9 I Child language— learning to talk 9A The nature of child language acquisition Just as children develop physically at more or less the same rate, so all normal children will develop language at about the same time. Because of this parallel between physicil and mental growth, it could be suggested that language acquisition is a biologicall) determined process. This cannot provide the complete explanation, however, becau; e children deprived of normal social contact do not acquire language. This has been seen in cases where children have apparently been reared by wild animals away from a human environment. Equally, where children have been isolated and have received only minimal human contact, their language skills are non-existent. Even when reintroduced to society, children deprived of language during their early years fail to acquire much more than a very basic linguistic knowledge. If language acquisition was innate (natural to the mind) and linked only to biological factors, then, once the appropriate triggers were provided such children should have been able to acquire language in the usual way. Recorded cases of children who have experienced extreme social isolation have therefore led linguists to believe both that language acquisition is dependent on an appropriate linguistic input and that this lan guage experience must be gained before a certain age. In very general terms, it would seem that language acquisition is linked to: ° physical growth: the body has to be mature enough for the child to produce recognisable words by manipulating the speech organs effectively and consciously; * social factors: the environment and culture in which a child grows up will influence the kind of language input experienced - this will, in turn, affect the child's linguii -tic abilities; • a critical age: if input and language experience occur before a certain point in the child's physical and mental development, learning will be easy, quick, effortless and complete. Because so many children acquire language effortlessly, it is easy to underestimate the complexity of the process taking place. Research in this field, however, is comparatively new, and linguists still have much to learn about language acquisition. 9.2 The theories of language acquisition There are four key linguistic approaches that try to explain the ways in which children acquire language. Behaviourist approach ...The behaviourists believe that children leam to speak by imitating the language structures they hear. Parents automatically reinforce and correct children's utterances, and this forms the basis for a child's knowledge of language. There are, however, significant problems with this theory of language development. Although imitation is obviously important in learning pronunciation and in acquiring new vocabulary, children do not seem to automatically pick up 'correct' forms from imitation. With irregular verbs, for instance, children do not necessarily use the standard form because they hear adults use it. Instead, they over-extend the language patterns they already know. B steal -> stealed {stole) grow-> growed (grew) Equally, children seem unable to imitate adult 'corrections'. | child: my train is /beg/ mother: no (.) not 'by there' (.) just there' Ichild: my train is Jbeaf mother: no just there' child: oh (.) my train is just /bes/ Such evidence suggests that child language acquisition cannot be based on imitation and reinforcement alone. Although children may add new words to their repertoire by using labels (words with a naming function) an adult has just introduced, they rarely imitaie speech that is not directed at them. Equally, they do not appear to assimilate i syntactical structures by imitation. Above all, this approach fails to explain how children are able to produce structures that they have not heard before. Cognitive approach The cognitive approach links language acquisition directly to intellectual development. The research of Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a Swiss psychologist who did much work on the intellectual development of children, suggested that children can only use a certain linguistic structure when they understand the concept involved. For instance, children will only understand the past tense when they understand the concept of past time; they must have learnt to recognise and conceptualise visual and physical differences before they can talk about size and colour. This approach to language acquisition seems to be most effective in describing linguistic progress during the first one and a half years. Even at this stage, however, it is difficult to make precise connections between cognitive and lingrnstic developmental stages. Nativist approach The nattvistS believe that children are born with an innate capacity for language development When the brain is exposed to speech, it will automatically begin to receive and make sense of utterances because it has been 'programmed' to do so. Noam Chomsky, an American linguist (1928-), suggests that the human brain has a language acquisition device (LAd| which enables children to use the language around them to work out what is and wharis not linguistically acceptable. This device also provides young children with an innate understanding of the underlying grammatical rales that govern language usage. The programmed patterns are general, and the child then has to learn exact rules through trial and error. The nativists believe the presence of the LAD explains the facts that: • all normal children acquire language skills in the same kind of order and at the same kind of speed; • children are able to understand new sentences and constructions without having had any previous experience of them. The nativists, however, do not appear to pay sufficient attention to the importance of input, the critical age aspect, and the role of imitation and reinforcement. Interactive approach Recent studies have shown the importance of interaction. Adults alter the way they tali to children, giving them specific opportunities to take part in tie discourse. For instance, utterances are simplified; intonation patterns are distinctive; extra information is given for clarification; and questions invite direct participation. Adults will also often expand on a child's speech and research suggests that this can be one of the most positive ways to increase a child's awareness of grammatical structures. This kind of interaction is called 'motherese' or 'caretaker speech', and' it differs quite markedly from speech between two adults. Key features can be summarised as follows: • Vocabulary is simplified so that concrete objects are named in broad categories. dog rather than spaniel or labrador; ball rather than football, cricket ball or tennis ball. 'Baby words' like doggie or moo-cow do not help a child to learn language more efficiently. The reduplication of sounds in words like baba and dada, on the other hand, does enable babies to communicate because the words are easy to say. • Conversations tend to be based on concrete things that relate directly to the child's environment. • Sentence structures tend to be short and often use pauses to stress the end of grammatical units. Certain sentence patterns recur regularly: where is_do you want a_?; that's (pointing) a_. « Commands occur frequently and young children assimilate and use them in their own speech. • Tag questions - questions added to the end of a statement inviting a response from the listener: isn't it?, aren't we? - are used to invite direct participation and to encourage a child to ask for clarification if necessary. The high percentage of questions makes 'caretaker speech' distinctive. » Repetition reinforces new words or structures and clarifies meaning. ' 9 Parents often use a higher and wider pitch range when talking to small children. possibly because it keeps the child's attention. The singsong intonation and exaggerated stress on key words also make 'caretaker speech' .distinctive. • The pace is often slower than in conversations with other adults. Because the baby or young child receives attention as a direct result of any attempts to communicate, the process is rewarding. 'Caretaker speech' is therefore an important means of creating a positive relationship with the parent which will form the basis for future meaningful communication. Although the benefits of 'caretaker speech' are clear, it is not possible to identify precisely the links between the language structures parents use and their appearance in the child's language. Each of the four theoretical approaches highlights a particular element of child language acquisition, but none can provide a complete explanation on its own. More research is needed before linguists can be completely sure about the processes that take place, but it is possible to summarise the basic principles: to acquire language, children must be part of a social and linguistic community; physical development plays a part in children's ability to articulate the particular phonemes making up a language; children have some kind of instinctive awareness of language patterns which enables them to experiment with structures that they have not previously heard; in order to use language structures (like the comparative, for example), children must be able to intellectually conceptualise the world around them - language acquisition is therefore linked in some way to intellectual development; through imitation, children can acquire new vocabulary and may be introduced to new grammatical structures; parental reinforcement highlights non-standard usage and draws attention to 'correct' versions - although children often do not accept adult correction: especially adapted forms of speech create a positive speech environment in which children are encouraged to participate in a meaningful way. 9.3 The function of communication Interaction with other language users gives children a purpose - if they too acquire language, they will be able to participate in the communication processes-that are taking place around them. They may begin by using different kinds of cries to attract attention to their needs, but as they become more adept at using language, so their range of communication can become more complex. Through their use of language, they can: • establish relationships with the people around them; • express their feelings and opinions; • get others to do as they wish; • find out new information by asking questions; • get what they need by explaining exactly what they want; • communicate their ideas to other people; • tell stories and use language expressively. As children acquire language, they become active participants in society. They can suddenly communicate purposefully in a way that others can interpret easily and so can express their own individuahty. 9.4 Features of child language Children acquire language skills rapidly during the first three years of their life. Even before birth, babies have become accustomed to the sound of the human voice; at one day old, they can distinguish their mother's voice from others; and by their second week, they can distinguish between human voices and non-human sounds. This prepares the ground for the communication that will take place before recognisable words are uttered. / Mothers tend to instinctively encourage interaction from very early on by establishing the pattern for conversation. They will: • leave pauses where responses could be made; • use question structures frequently; • include the baby's own 'sounds' in a ninning dialogue. This intuitive behaviour prepares babies for language acquisition. It immerses them directly in a simplified version of the linguistic patterns of the adult world by establishing basic turn-taking structures. The process of language acquisition can be broken down into five main stages and linguists consider certain key areas within each one: pronunciation; prosodic features, lexis; grammar; and pragmatics (an understanding of the social factors affecting spoken interaction). 0-12 months In the first two months, the sounds babies make are linked to their physical conditions. They cry if they are hungry or wet; they gulp, burp and cough noisily; and they grizzle if they want to be held. They have to control the flow of air' to make these noises and this same control will be used in a more refined way as their ability to communicate becomes more sophisticated. Between 2 and 5 months, babies begin to experiment more and start to respond directly to parental smiles. At 6-8 weeks, babies will often begin to coo. This is a softer sound than crying, made up of velar sounds like \k] and [g] and high vowels like [i] and [u:]. As the baby realises that cooing will elicit a response from the mother, the first... interactive dialogues begin. Although cooing sounds like [gas] and [gm] are sometimes strung together, there are not yet any recognisable patterns. Between 2 and 4 months, the baby will begin to respond to the 'meaning' of different tones of voice - anger, pleasure, humour. At around 16 weeks, the first laugh will encourage even more varied . responses from the mother and this widens the scope of possible interaction. Physical developments at this stage also prepare the baby for greater communication: • as the child starts to look around and sit up, the mother will point to things and her intonation will become more exaggerated; ' simple games like peekaboo make interaction fun; o the tongue starts to move horizontally and vertically, enabling the baby to produce a wider range of sounds; ° the vocal cords are used in conjunction with the movements of the tongue; o the lips and the tongue play a greater part in sound production, helping the baby to make new sounds - it is possible that babies are begmning to imitate the mouth movements of adult speech at this stage. The parents will respond instinctively to these physiological developments, and interaction becomes more like a two-way communication. From 6 months, babies begin to relate their utterances to specific contexts. They seem to recognise some words, particularly names of family members. By the end of : the first year, they will probably be able to point to things in answer to a question; to respond in some way to situations requiring predictable feedback (say bye-bye; say night-night); and to understand several words even though they cannot yet say any recognisable words. Because the parents will now respond more to utterances that appear to be meaningful rather than random sounds, the baby's communication will begin to be more deliberate. Utterances in the 6-12 month period will become more varied. Segments will be longer and will consist of frequently repeated consonant and vowel-like patterns. The pitch level will usually be high, but will also be marked by glides from high to low as the baby experiments. From the baby's experimentation with a large range of sounds, a smaller, more frequently occurring set will emerge. This stage is known as babbling. The sounds are now less randomly selected and begin to adopt rhythms that are closer to that of adult speech. Reduplication of patterns, like [baebsebae], and sequences in which the consonants and vowels change in each segment, like [dseba;], are common. As the baby reaches 9 months, recognisable intonation patterns will be used for these consonant-vówel combinations. By 10-11 months, when babies can pull themselves into a standing position, they will use vocalisations to express emotions. The utterances at this stage are important because they will form the basis for the sounds of early speech. Imitations and sound play at this point in their linguistic development give babies a mucn wider experience of the social role of speech. Equally, by observing adults, they learn a great deal about conversation even though they cannot yet fully take part. Although many of the sounds of babbling, particularly in the earlier part of this period, not appear to have meaning, babies do seem to consciously use them to communicate with the people around them. This kind of language use is called jargon. 12-18 months Towards the end of the first year, children are able to indicate their intentions more' specifically. Intonation is used to mark different kinds of purpose: the meaning of particular utterances will probably still be unclear, but intonation patterns will enable parents to interpret them. At this stage, the first real steps towards language acquisition áre made as the first words are formed, often with the same intonation patterns each time. Language used at this stage will not really resemble adult speech, but parents familiar with the context in which proto-words appear will be able to understand many of the utterances. Up to this stage, almost all children develop in the same way and at more or less the same speed, but after this children's language becomes much more individual. >.:. From 12-18 months, children begin to produce a variety of recognisable single-word utterances based on everyday objects. These utterances are holophrastic - they aire grammatically unstructured and each consists of a single word. At this stage, pronunciation is often idiosyncratic. In general, children will tend to choose and avoid the same kinds of sounds, but each child will have marked preferences for some sounds rather than others. Equally, the same child might pronounce one word in different ways at different times: cheese might be articulated as /gi:/, /ki:s/ and /iis/. ;;■ Children at this stage will be acquiring between ten and twenty new words a month. The vast majority of these words will have a naming function, focusing on people, food, body parts, toys, clothing and household things. During the holophrastic stage, children use a limited vocabulary'to refer to a wide range of unrelated things. Over-extension is therefore common - children use the same word to refer to different objects because they see a similarity in size, shape, sound or movement Baby, for instance, may refer to all children; or flower to anything with leaves. It is common for the middle term of a set of hyponyms (groups of related words in which specific words are seen as sub-categories of a general word) to be used: for instance, dog instead of animal or spaniel As the child gains linguistic experience, over-extension is replaced by a narrowing of the field of reference - more words are learnt so references can be more precise. Other examples of a lack of linguistic sophistication at this stage can be seen in: •. under-extension, in which words are given a narrower range of reference than is ■: usual ~ car, for instance, may bp used to refer only to a family car; mismatch, in which words are|used to label objects with no apparent logic - doll, for instance, is used to label a child's trousers. Between 12 and 18 months, the first modifiers will be used to describe things; -action utterances (one word accompanied by gestures) like gosleep or allgone will form the basis for the first verbs; and social expressions like bye-bye will mark a growing awareness of cultural expectations. Although the utterances are holophrastic, intonation and gesture help the single word to convey the meaning and mood of a sentence. The conversational skills of a child at this stage are still limited. Adults continue to do most of the talking and much of the child's communication takes the form of a monologue. 18-24 months By the age of 2,, a child's vocabulary has probably reached two hundred or more words. Pronunciation continues to be erratic, but certain commonly occurring pronunciations can be identified: • words are often shortened, with unstressed syllables dropped: /terteu/ potato and /maitau/ tomato; • consonant clusters are avoided: /gai/ sky and /dei/ stay; ' consonants at the end of words are dropped: /be/ be.d and /je/ yes; 9 many words are simplified using reduplication of sounds: /daudau/ Joseph and /bkbk/ baby; • vowels often differ from adult pronunciation: /di:di:/ daddy and /nui/ no; e initial position consonants, particularly velars and fricatives, are often replaced: /dDp/ shop or stop, /du:lz/ tools and /det/ get The standardisation of pronunciation takes place over a long period. Some consonants will not be produced accurately until after the age of four. Between the ages of 1| and 2, for instance, children will begin to pronounce the voiced alveolar nasal [n], but it may take another twelve months for accurate pronunciation of: B the voiceless labiodental fricative [f ]; • the voiced bilabial approximant [w]; • the voiced velar nasal [rj]. Between 12 and 18 months, although two words are sometimes used they are spoken as a single unit. From 18 months, words are used as distinct rhythmic units and they can often be analysed as grammatical sequences. S P (baby) (go) S A (dummy) (there) ? o (eat) (apple) s c (sock) (red) These minimal structures mean that the child can describe: a person carrying out an action; the position of something; the effect of a process (verb) on a person or thing (object); and a person's or thing's condition. Adults respond to such utterances even when they are not grammatical or complete, and thus the child becomes a part of real communication. The adult can often determine the meaning from the context and from the child's intonation. For example, an utterance like Jo-Jo cup may mean: <» this is Jo-Jo's cup (possession); • give me my cup (command); • Jo-Jo has got his cup (statement); • where is Jo-Jo's cup? (question). During this period, children also begin to use some inflections. At 18 months, children will begin to experiment with the present participle although it will not be used correctly for several months. (Questions will appear at this stage, usually marked by ;i rising intonation: eat cheese now? Sometimes, however, wh- question words like where' and what? will be attached to the beginning of an utterance: where teddy?; what that? At the end of this stage, the first negative words emerge. No and not are used as one-word sentences or are tagged onto the begmning of any expression: no (in response to a -request); no sit; not car. The feedback children receive during this period of language acquisition is one of the most important elements in the learning process since it establishes them as participants in 'real' communication. Because parents respond to all utterances, even if they do not appear to be meaningful, children are encouraged to experiment and therefore f to work out what is and what is not acceptable. 2-3 years This stage is marked by what is called telegraphic talk. Only the most important lexical words are used to express ideas, and grammatical function words like prepositions, determiners, auxiliary verbs and inflections are often omitted. To understand children's telegraphic speech, it is important to know the context - particularly because children tend to talk about the present rather than the past or the future. .Vocabulary expands very quickly; by 2 years 6 months (2;6) children initiate talk rather than just responding to adults. They.become inventive, creating new words from patterns they have heard but do not remember-accurately. ffi buffalosaurus (buffalo + dinosaur) tipping bronco (bucking bronco) Pronunciation becomes closer to the standard adult form too.. (tractor: /taek-tek/ (2:6) ->./taekta/ (2;8) -»/traekta/ (2;9) - badger: /basbidy (2;5) -» /baed39/ (2;6) shirt: /S3rt/ (1;11) -> i\z-M (2;6) Immature pronunciations typical of the previous developmental stage often continue during the 24-36 month period. Some sounds, however, are standardised: • the bilabial plosives [p] and [b], the alveolar plosives [t] and [d], and the velar plosives [k] and [g]; • the voiced bilabial nasal [m]; • the voiceless glottal fricative [hj; • the voiced palatal approximant [j]. Three further sounds will begin to be pronounced correctly between the ages of 2;8 and 4;0: • the voiceless alveolar fricative [s]; • the voiced alveolar lateral [1]; • the voiced post-alveolar approximant [r]. The age at which children accurately produce these sounds will vary, but most will be using them correctly by the age of 4. The pronunciation of many words is still idiosyncratic, but adult correction is not effective in encouraging children to change their pronunciations. Because they do not seem to hear their own mispronunciations, children do not recognise the mispro-i.nounced word the parent tries to change. If a child says /asliisem/ for animal she will not recognise the difference between her/ own and the standard version. Therefore if an adult tries to persuade her to say the Word differently, she will be unable to do so. I child: full /dirm 9d3in/ k mother: is your boat going full /di:m 3d3:n/? i child: no h] mother: how is your boat going? f,j child: full /dhm actem/ :.| mother: oh (.) full steam astern j child: yes Utterances become longer. Combinations of three and four words are used in a variety of ways, and clause elements are less likely to be deleted. 1 (Need) (potty) (2:4) S F O (Mummy) (give) (chair) (2;4) SPA. ;i (I) (going) (to your house). (2;7) m S t O A i (Little pigs) (want) (a ride) (in the boat). (2;7) S P o (We) {'ve got) (bricks that you can use like heavy' boxes to.pile up for your SCl-MCI SQ-NFCI presents and things). (2;10) Utterances are often quite sophisticated because of the embedding of subordinate clauses, and children are often using structures that are far more complicated than the simple sentences of early reading books. Inflections are used more frequently and more accurately during this period. Initially suffixes will be overused before standardisation occurs. h -s suffix to mark plural nouns: sheep -> sheeps; information ~-» informations 'J -ed suffix to mark regular past tense: steal -» stealed; go -» goed; build -» builded Auxiliary verbs are still often omitted, but usage becomes more accurate towards the age of 3. I Little pigs always having fun. (2;7) It be chugging in the tunnel. (2;10) Modal auxiliaries are used more frequently to convey variations in attitude. 3 Frog might have a swim. (2;7) We'// need a ladder. (2;10) Present participles are more likely to be used with the primary verb be, although this will still often have an unmarked form. At the age of 2 wh- question words will be tagged on to the beginning of utterances. What? and where? will be used first, followed by why? and later how? and who? n Where baby? (2;4) „■ Where's the carriage? (2;10) What the name? (2;10) Throughout the period, question structures become more complex, although the use of rising intonation to mark a question is still common. 'H Daddy put it o'n. You need a big box. _i Why did Daddy put it on? (2;10) Do you need a big box? (2;10) Negatives are used with more subtlety too. Additional forms like can't and won't appear alongside no and not, which are now placed in front of the appropriate verb rather than at the beginning of the utterance. No books there. (2;4) I nor tell story. (2;6) I can't know. (2;8) I don't know. ! didn't say anything. If s not Lixie's. (2;10) if Pronouns are used with more variety during this developmental stage, but children are often inaccurate. Because they hear themselves referred to as you, they tend to use the second person pronoun to talk about themselves. Equally, the first person singular I is used to refer to other people. This shows that imitation does play a part in language acquisition. Although children may copy the pronoun referencing they hear, they seem instinctively to sense that their meaning is unclear - their words are therefore often accompanied by gestures to clarify the reference. A similar confusion occurs with possessive determiners. ■child: I mending /mais/chair mother: are you mending your chair? .child: no (.) I mending /mats/ chair (pointing to mother) jmother: oh (.) you're mending mummy's chair child: yes (.) Mummy's chair (2;5) As they become more familiar with the different pronouns and determiners, however, children will correct their own mistakes. By the age of 3;0 they will often repair a breakdown in understanding by repeating the utterance with the key word changed. ;É this toast is for you (1) toast is for mg Children continue to experiment with language patterns and although they do not always get them right, they clearly begin to initiate and practise new structures. "M. wiiln't satting pavementless (no pavements) sickless (not ill) Between the ages of 2 and 3, children develop language, skills at a remarkable speed. Grammar and pronunciation become steadily more consistent and standard; conversa-.; iional skills become more sophisticated; and children actively develop their vocabulary by asking for new names and labels. From 3 years After the age of 3, telegraphic speech is replaced by more fluent and sophisticated lan-guage use. Vocabulary continues to expand and diversify and pronunciation continues to become more standard. The last consonantal sounds to be produced accurately are: , • the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative [f]; • the palato-alveolar affricates [tj] (voiceless) and [Ů5] (voiced); the voiced labiodental fricative [vj; the voiced alveolar fricative [z]; • the dental fricatives [5] (voiced) and [6] (voiceless). The first sounds listed above may be standard before the age of 3|, but others may not be pronounced in a mature way until after the age of 4. \. The structure of utterances become more varied. Co-ordination is common by the ; age of 3, but now subordination is increasingly used. Conjunctions like because (/kos/), so, if, after and when help children to create longer sentences - sentences are often made up of four or five clause elements. The utterances are not always grammatical and are often marked by normal non-fluency features. For a time, regular and irregular ■pást tense verbs will be confused and a child may use both a standard and a nonstandard variant: brokedlbreaked and broke; sitted and sat, bringed and brought, and yblewedlblowed and blew. By the age/of 4, however, most children have worked out the "appropriate patterns. It is usually during the early part of this stage that children begin ■to use the third person singular inflection -s more consistently. It appears first with lexi-;::z/house /lili/ while seeing luil in /a/ pond (.) and peered and peered and peered and peered over fence and /bi:bi:/ Bear (.) and and /a/ frog went to (.) went to find pool (.) /lili lili fre/ (.) /SiSi ae!i:aems/ (10) in (2) in /a/ in hi pool (.) /golcs/ (.) /gDtos goloks/ saying 15 hello all (.) somebody else in /a/ pond (.) somebody else in /a/ pond (.) all /a/ trees (.) all /lelau/ trees all /leteu/ trees COMMENTARY The second transcript is longer and Joseph is more able to sustain his discourse. He is becoming more standard in both his pronunciation and grammar, and uses a more varied range of prosodic features. His monologue is now much closer to a recognisable form of narrative which most listeners could understand. Focusing more closely, it is possible to list the following points about Joseph's developmental stage. lexis The vocabulary used in this example is far more diverse. Although it is still dominated by concrete nouns like trees (1.16) and house (1. 3), abstract nouns Eke peace and quiet (1.10) are beginning to appear. Dynamic verbs like playing (1.5) and going (1.1) occur more frequently, but stative verbs like want (1.1) and have (1.2) are more common than in the earlier extract. Equally, having understood the concept of position, a range of prepositions like under (1.4), over (1.8) and in (1.1) are used to describe 'place' precisely. Linguistic features Examples m Words are still often linked to familiar stories As Joseph's vocabulary widens, he begins to use synonyms By listening to adults, Joseph is able to identify and later use collocations Modifiers are used more often and are more varied Inevitably much of the vocabulary is still linked to Joseph's own experiences The verbs are far more varied Mil pigs (1.1); Mummy Bear and Daddy Bear and /bi:bi/ Bear (11. 6-7); /gDlDks/ (1.10) pool (1.10); pond (1.12) /pi:pin/(1.9);peered(1.12) - peace and quiet (1.10) wee wee frog - Adj (1.7) girl's house - possessive NP (1.3) /lelau/ trees - Adj (1.16) park (1.0); trees (1.16); houses (1.3) want (1.1); have (1.2); playing (1.5); /wrmirj/ (1. 6) pronunciation In just three months, there is a noticeable difference in Joseph's pronunciation: most words are now pronounced standardly; words that are still pronounced in an immature way are usually close enough to the adult form to be quite easily recognisable. Linguistic features Examples Immature vocabulary (reduplication) Consonant clusters still avoided: • [sw] is simplified Initial position fricatives are absent: • . the voiced dental fricative [5] • the voiceless glottal fricative [h] Vowels differ from the 'caretaker speech' (Modified RP), but self-correction eventually results in a standard pronunciation of the vowel: • [i:a] instead of [i:i] • [i:] instead of [ei], adult = /beibi:/ The diphthong in the first syllable is simplified and Joseph reduplicates a pure vowel instead [d] instead of [su], adult = /ggoldiikiks/ The voiced palatal approximant [j] is absent Some pronunciations are still idiosyncratic. Certain words are pronounced inconsistently - sometimes they will have an adult form and sometimes not /lili/(l. 1) /wim/ (1. 9),/wimirj/ (1.6) /ea/there(I.4);/a/the (1.4) /ui/who (1.11) /biiArjs/, /binrjs/ beings (11.3-4) /biibii/baby (1.7) /gDlDS/(l. 10) hrzl yours (1.11) /aeliisems/ animals (1.14) /gDtos/, /gDÜDks/, /gDloks/ Goldilocks (E 9-10,14) /sAmbi:/ somebody (1.10) grammar Joseph's language is now more grammatically complete. Determiners are usually included; inflections appear more consistently; and sentences include both co-ordination and subordination. Co-ordination: (/gotoks/) (go) (and) (cook) (11.10-11) conj Subordination: —- g p A A A I i (1) (/kAiran/ going) (to bizJ house) (/lili/ while) (seeing /u:/ in /a/ pond) (and) 1 Sd-NFCl 1 ' (peered...) (overfence) (and) (/bi:bi:/...) (went) (to find poo!) (11.11-13) i Sd-NFCI second person possessive pronoun used as a possessive determiner b\zl house (L11) Linguistic features Examples Clause elements are used in a variety of ways to make the narrative interesting. Clause sites are rarely left empty now: • SPO » SPA • SPOA The narrative uses the declarative mood The verb to be is still elided Quoting and quoted clauses are used, adding to the effective creation of a narrative atmosphere There are still many unmarked verbs, but some verb forms are marked for tense Inflections are used more standardly: • present participle inflection -ing • regular past tense inflection -ed • possessive noun suffix inflection's « plural noun suffix -5 There is still no evidence of third person singular -5 inflection Modal auxiliaries are used correctly Pronouns are now more accurate: o first person subject pronouns • compound indefinite pronouns s p o (frog) (might have) (a swim) (1.5) (/grjtos/) (hang) (on) (1.10) S ■ t OA (/biibii/Bear) (might have) (look) (over /ea/) (1.8) frog might have a swim (1.5) somebody else in the pond (1.15) frog playing /inrt/ (L 5) QUOTED QUOTING ('We might visit...', (say MB and DB and /biibii/) (11.6-7) hang (1.10); cook (1.11) - unmarked verb forms went (1.13) - irregular simple past tense having (1.3), playing (1.5), going (1.2) peered (1.12) girl's house (1.3) /bi:Arjs/ (L 3) /gotoks/ go[es] and cook[s] (11.10-11) might visit (1.6) //kAmin/ (1.11); we might visit (1.6) anybody (1.4); nobody (1.5); somebody (1.10) IP j Negatives are used here - Joseph consciously not anybody...(.) no (.) anybody...(.) works through a pattern until he finds the no (1) body (11.4-5) structure he believes is right : sustaining an extended turn In this example, telegraphic speech is being replaced by discourse that is closer to the patterns of adult speech. Although Joseph's monologue is still marked by many micro pauses, the overall rhythm is far less disjointed than in the transcript made at the age of 2;4. Longer pauses reflect Joseph's ability to concentrate for longer on his play activity and this increased concentration results in the creation of a more sophisticated narrative. Utterances are still sometimes grammatically incomplete but the meaning of each is now usually clear. For instance, Joseph uses the compound noun phrase peace and quiet as a grammatical utterance - although this is grammatically incomplete, a listener can more or less understand the meaning from the context. Prosodic features are used with more sophistication now. Stress is used to highlight important words and the pitch range is quite varied. Joseph often adopts the singsong intonation patterns that are common in the speech of young children. Normal non-fluency features like repetition of words (and and) and false starts (mijnight, ha. hang) are typical of all spoken language. Another interesting development can be seen in the way Joseph is starting to correct himself. Often he uses repetition to work through a range of alternatives until he finds what he thinks is the correct pronunciation or grammatical form. The extract here is far more developed than the previous example - Joseph can now sustain an extended turn quite successfully. The narrative is linked directly to his play and although it is often repetitive, there is a sense that he is teling a chronological story. summary The extracts clearly show the ways in which Joseph's language has developed within a three-month period. His lexis has become more varied; his grammar is more accurate; and he uses prosodic features more explicitly to highlight key words and to draw attention to important parts of his monologue. At the age of 2;7, he still does not pronounce all his words in an adult form and his utterances are still sometimes grammatically incomplete. However, it would no longer be difficult for an adult who does not know him to understand what he is saying. Dialogues Parents engage children in conversations from very early on. Even before speech acquisition begins, babies are learning about corrmiunication from the smiles and sounds which they begin to recognise as responses to their cries and gurgles. After 6 months, mothers tend not to respond to every vocalisation, but pay special attention to utterances that appear to be mearungful. By 8 months, babies will try to attract attention by pom ting. It is at this stage that they also become fascinated by adult conversations, watching each speaker and thus learning implicitly about turn-taking. In the early stages of language acquisition, children rarely initiate dialogue and they cannot easily sustain a conversation. Parents help them by: • asking direct questions; • repeating words and phrases spoken by the child; • basing dialogue on the immediate activities and context. ACTIVITY 9.2a The following extracts were recorded over a period of six months: the first was made when Joseph was 2;4 and the second when he was 2; 10. Each transcript reveals the same kinds oi lexical and grammatical features discussed in Activity 9.1, but the examples are now dialogues rather than monologues. In each case, Joseph is at home talking to his parents. Read through the transcripts and comment on Joseph's ability to sustain a conversation. Joseph (J), aged 2;4, talking to his father (F) l j: need potty f: okay (8) how many clocks have we got? j: Mummy point(.) Daddy point (.) one (.) one {.) one f: so how many clocks have we got, Joseph? 5 j'. two (5) pointing f: point at what (.) what do you want Daddy to point at? j: clock f: clock (.) where's the other clock (2) over there (.) right j: on /self/ 10 f: on shelf (.) yes on the shelf j: by books f: by the books and where's the other clock? j: /ea/ (.) no books f: no books 15 j: mm f: what's it near? j: /pikpiks/ f: the picture and what's underneath the clock? j: /nirf/ 20 f: underneath (.) what's underneath the clock? j: /nirf/ (4) /cbidi:/ (.) /do:di:/ (.) Daddy get f: you want Georgie j: woof woof woof woof (.) furry/d3:dii/{.) woof woof/iiiiiii:/ f: what are you doing to Georgie? 25 j: grab f: you've grabbed him j: grab him (.) /drauk/ him f: where are you putting him? j: /beekrt/ 30 f: he's in the basket j: give /baekit/ (2) pi. (5) Daddy Daddy (2) /daidii/ f: where's Georgie now? j: on (.) /ea/ f: where? 35 j: /tea/ f: chair (.) on the chair j: one /ea/ (.) one /tea/ f: one chair j: /lili tea/ (.} give 40 f: little chair (.) so that's a little chair (.) what's this chair? j: Mummy's f: Mummy's chair 45 j: f: j: f: j: f: j: give you want Georgie do you? give (.) give {.) give {.) where is Mummy? give Mummy give /dea/ Mummy gave you the chair /tea/ COMMENTARY There are signs that Joseph is becoming a more active participant in dialogue. The turn-taking is quite smooth, although there is one instance in which he starts his utterance before his father's is grammatically complete: you've grabbed II him (11.26-7). Everything that he says follows on logically from what has gone before, and in each utterance his meaning and intentions are quite clear. The conversation, however, is typical of a child between the ages of 2;0 and 2;6 - Joseph's father initiates the topics (II. 2, 24,40) and sustains the dialogue with a series of questions (11.2, 8,16). Joseph answers the questions appropriately, providing the necessary information: on /self (1.9). Sometimes, his answer clearly does not give the information his father expects. In the exchange about the size of the chair, the father takes up the idea of a little chair (1.40), expecting Joseph to describe the 'big' chair. He instead describes it as Mummy's (1.41) - his response is appropriate although unexpected and shows that he has the vocabulary and necessary grammatical knowledge to construct a range of meaningful answers. In another instance, Joseph actually completes the utterance simultaneously with his father, showing his intuitive knowledge of grammar and his ability to use a word from the appropriate word class: grab him (1.27). There are points at which Joseph changes the direction of the conversation by indicating that he wants something: Daddy get (1.21). He uses imperatives to get things done: Daddy point (1.3). The father tries to correct Joseph's pronunciation by reiterating key words: /self/ -on shelf (.) yes on the shelf (U. 9-10); /nirf/ - underneath (11.' 19-20). The father's reiterations also make Joseph's utterances grammatically complete by including the function words that Joseph omits: /pikpiks/ the picture (11.17-18). Despite the father's attempts to 'educate' him explicitly, Joseph continues to pronounce words idiosyncratically and omit words like determiners. He can, however, recognise when understanding has ;,become a problem and he can repair the dialogue in a very basic way. For instance, the father fails to understand that Joseph is saying his mother gave him the chair. To clarify the meaning of his utterance, Joseph stresses the lexical verb give (1.45) and repeats it until his father has understood. He then provides the grammatically standard version to which Joseph adds the norm /teg/ (I. 49) in the object site. In some places, Joseph tries to correct his own pronunciation by repeating a word in slightly different forms until it sounds more like the adult version: one /ea/ (.) one /tea/ (1.37). The pause marks Joseph's awareness that his first version is not a recognisable word and that there might be problems in communicating his meaning. ACTIVITY 9.2b Joseph (JJ, aged 2; 10, talking to his mother (MJ l j: /a/ train is taking /im/ to his II wedding M: il watch your knees 5 m: j: m: j: m: 10 j: m: j: m: j: 15 m: j: m: j: m: 20 j: m: j: m: j: m: j: 25 30 m: j: m: j: m: j: m: j: m: j: m: j: m: j: m: 45 j: 50 35 40 his wedding (.) /a/train taking Ixm/ to his wedding (3) where's /a/ carriages II oh ha. It watch your knees Joseph (.) thaf s a good boy /ei/ meant to have carriages if/ei/taking Lixie to church mm /ei/ meant to have carriages yes they are (.) meant || to II careful /maok/ (.) /aetf be near /a/ track mm (.) smoke /set/ is /a/ station (.) runaway train went over /a/ hill (.) /a/ church is /aet/ way the church is that way (indistinct) /a/ Lixie's sitting in /a kauwAl/ carriage not /kauwAl/ (.) can you say coal in a bit of /kauwAl/ coa! bit of /kauwai/^ can you say coal coal (shouted) thaf s it in a bit of coal (quiet) lovely (.) lovely Lixie don't go {.) and he was slowly (1) and he slept in a bed (2) for ages and ages and he fell out (.) he fe. (.) wait he says Ikos/1 not want to have it he says and /a/ train puffs away (.) and it puffs slowly away to take /im/ home where is he going some people call /a/ house homes some people call them homes (.) a house 55 or a home what's Lixie going to call it a cottage (4) /a/ train is coming out of /a/ tunnel here it comes out of the tunnel mm it {.) it coming out soft of a tunnel ifs coming out soft (.) what does that mean /a/ track is soft the track is soft? mm what does that mean (2) what happens if the track is soft one bit is bending in the tAjnnei mm oo£ see (train noises) the runaway train went over the hill (2) and he came onto the track track track (1} he's going into the tunnel now now now (2) where's /a/ (.) where's /a/ train (.) it just went into/a/ tunnel (2) IV.! it chuffs (train noises) out of/a/ tunnel Lixie (.) out of /a/ tunnel {.) well (.) Lixie heard it go slow (7) and then /a/ signal went down (.) and /a/ signal banged down (.) and /a/ signal banged down (2) clack (4) look out (indistinct) for/a tau/ town (.}/tao7 m: j: m: town look out for what no what did you say i didn't say anything COMMENTARY Joseph is clearly more in charge in the second transcript and is far more able to sustain a conversation in his own right. He still drifts between monologue and dialogue, but he is now much more aware of his audience. He is able to question (1.3) as well as respond (11. 34-5) and the rhythms of his speech are far less disjointed. Both participants are actively involved and Joseph is clearly hstening to the utterances in detail. He initiates the topics (11.1, 6, 31) and his mother merely helps to develop them with her spoken contributions to the game that he is playing (11. 35-41). He is more aware of grammatically complete utterances and there are few examples of overlapping speech - except where his mother is telling Joseph to be more careful with his toys (11.4-5). Everything that Joseph says is recognisable except where he talks about /tau/ town (1.50). His mother asks him to reiterate the word in order to clarify what he has said. Joseph, however, refuses to explain, instead opting for an escape - / didn't say anything (1. 57). Joseph can now also respond to adult correction. When his mother draws his attention to a mature pronunciation of coal (1.17), he is able to replace /kauwAl/ with coal (11.18-24). The second transcript shows the speed at which children acquire linguistic skills. Williin six months, Joseph has acquired a much more diverse vocabulary; he is able to recognise and use complete grammatical structures and he is able to control the conversation and deal with rurn-taldng effectively. As well as learning about language structures, children have to understand the patterns that underpin spoken communication. They must learn about turn-taking and repairs; they must recognise when a situation demands an apology or when it is necessary to ask for clarification. Children are never taught these skills, but assimilate them both from participating in and observing spoken interaction in different contexts. The study of the things that influence our choice of language in social contexts is called pragmatics. Young children often make mistakes as they learn about the 'rules'. A child answering a telephone might be asked 'Is your mother in?' - if she replies 'Yes' and puts the receiver down, she has failed to understand the pragmatics of the interaction. Pragmatic 'mistakes' do not prevent understanding and cannot be classed as 'wrong', but they are seen as 'socially inappropriate*. Children inevitably make such mistakes, but by school age they have acquired a subconscious knowledge of many of society's expectations. At the age of 2;10, Joseph is well aware of the pragmatics or social rules of conversation. He has already learnt when to speak and how to use language to get the desired result, and he knows the kind of utterance which is expected in a range of contexts. He has assimilated the 'rules' that prevent spoken language exchanges being anarchic and he recognises in an unsophisticated way how to choose the appropriate tone. He can repair simple breakdowns, repeat things when required to do so and respond directly to his mother's utterances. [tau] town what s that? 9.6 What to look for In examples of child _language_ The following checklist can be used to identify key features in examples of different stages of child language acquisition. There will not be examples of all the features listed in every transcript, but the list can be used as a guide. The points made are general so discussion of specific examples will need to be adapted to take account of the particular context. The following are helpful questions to ask. Register 1 What is the mode? - spoken. 2 What is the manner? - the relationship between the participants: monologue? dialogue? the extent of the interaction? the function of the communication? 3 What is the field? - the subject matter will indicate the kind of discourse taking place: usually, it will be directly related to the context and activity going on at the time. Lexis 0;6-l;0 1 Is the child using reduplicated sound patterns to represent mearmigful words? 2 Are there any examples of proto-words? 1;0-1;6 1 Are there any recognisable single-word utterances used to name things directly related to the child (people, food, body parts, toys, etc.)? 2 Are there any examples of over-extension? under-extensson? a narrowing of the field of reference? or mismatch? 3 Are there any examples of the first modifiers? 4 Are there any action utterances accompanied by gestures which will form the basis for the first verbs? 5 Are there any examples of social expressions that are typical of the child's cultural background? 1;6~2;0 1 Are there any examples of a wider range of vocabulary reflecting the child's growing understanding of the world? 2;0~3;0 1 Does any of the lexis relate to familiar stories or the child's personal experience? 3;0+ 1 Is there any evidence of the child's growing word stock? V Pronunciation 0;2-l;0 1 Are there any examples of cooing using the first recognisable English sounds based on the high vowels [i:] and [u:] or the velar sounds like [k] and [g]? 2 What kinds of reduplicated sounds are used in any examples of babbling? 1;0-1;6 Is the pronunciation of holophrastic utterances idiosyncratic? Are the same words pronounced in a variety of ways? l;6-2;0 1 Are there any examples of words that are shortened by dropping unstressed syllables? 2 Are consonant clusters avoided? 3 Are final consonants dropped? ■4 Are there any examples of words that have been simplified? what kinds of reduplicated sounds are used? 5 Do any of the vowels differ from the 'caretaker' accent? 6 Are any initial position velars or fricatives replaced? 2;0-3;0 .1 Are there still examples of immature pronunciation from the previous developmental stage? 2 Has the child standardised: • the plosives [p] and [b], [t] and [d], [k] and [g]? • the voiced bilabial nasal [m]? • the voiceless glottal fricative [h]? • the voiced palatal approximant [j]? 3 Are some of the consonantal sounds still immature: • the voiceless alveolar fricative [s] and the voiced alveolar lateral [1]? • the voiced post-alveolar approximant [r]? 3;0+ 1 Are pronunciations now closer to adult forms? 2 Have the last consonantal sounds to be produced accurately yet become standard: • the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative [J]? • the palato-alveolar affricates [tj] (voiceless) and [d3] (voiced)? • the voiced labio-dental fricative [v]? • the voiced alveolar fricative [z]? • the dental fricatives [5] (voiced) and [0] (voiceless)? Grammar 1;0-1;6 1 Are single words used to represent a grammatically complete utterance? J;6-2;0 1 Are there any grammatical sequences in the rhythmic units? 2 What different kinds of meaning do these minimal structures convey? 3 Are any present participle -ing inflections used? 4 Are questions framed using wh- words at the beginning of a sentence (usually where or what}! 5 Are the negatives no and not used in one-word sentences or at the beginning of a variety of expressions? 2;0-3;0 1 Are there any combinations of three or four words in which different clause elements (usually in standard positions) are used to construct a range of clause types? 2 Is the discourse an example of telegraphic talk in which many of the grammatical function words are omitted? 3 Are a wider range of inflections used? -s to mark plural nouns? -ed to mark the past tense of regular verbs? 4 Are any of the inflections overused as the child experiments? 5 Are any auxiliary verbs (primary or modal) used or are they still omitted? 6 Is the primary verb to be used with present participles: is it marked for person/number or is it still used in the base form? 7 Are question structures becorning more complex? does the child use why? and how? as well as where? and when? 8 Are negatives used in a more sophisticated way with no and not placed before the relevant verb? 9 Are pronouns used in a range of contexts, but without a complete understanding of the different forms? are second person pronouns used for first person references? 3;0+ 1 Has telegraphic speech been replaced with more sophisticated sentence structures? 2 Are there examples of co-ordination and subordination? 3 Are inflections now used standardly? - regular past tense verbs with -edl third person singular present tense with -s? 4 Are the subject and verb inverted in questions using wh- words? 5 Is the dummy auxiliary do used to frame questions and negatives? 6 Are contractions like don't, won't and isn't used? Prosodic features 0-l;0 1 Is there any evidence that the baby is responding to the meaning of different tones of voice? 2 Does the parent use exaggerated intonation patterns to attract and hold the child's attention? 3 Does the baby use a high pitch level for the repeated consonant and vowel-like segments? 4 Are any intonation patterns repeated for consonant-vowel combinations? 1;0-1;6 1 Is there any evidence that the child is using intonation to mark different kinds of purpose? 2 Does the variation of intonation contribute to the meaning of utterances? 1;6-2;Q 1 Are questions marked by a rising intonation? 2 Are the rhythms of two-word grammatical units distinctive? 3 Are pauses used frequently in unusual positions? 2;0-3;0 1 Does the child still use rising intonation to mark questions? 2 Are any syllables or key words stressed? 3 Are rising-falling or falling-rising intonations used to make utterances more distinctive? 4 Do pauses mark the end of a grammatically complete utterance instead of creating the disjointed rhythms of telegraphic speech? 3;0+ 1 Is the child now using pitch, pace, pause, rhythm and stress in more sophisticated ways to enhance the meaning of utterances? Conversation skills 0;6-l;0 1 Do the utterances seem to be related directly to specific contexts? 2 Are there examples in any of the exchanges in which the child and parent(s) take recognisable turns? 1;0-1;6 1 Does the adult take the role of initiating and sustaining conversation? 2 Does the child produce a monologue-like string of utterances with no real sense of audience? l;6-2;0 1 Is there any evidence that the child is taking part in real conversations despite the fact that utterances are still grammatically incomplete? 2 Is the context crucial to an understanding of any utterances? 3 Does the child seem to be experimenting with turn-taking with an adult who makes all utterances meaningful? 2;0-3;0 1 Is it still important to know the context of the talk at this telegraphic stage? 2 Is the child more actively involved in conversations? - asking for names of objects, people and places? relating responses directly to earlier utterances? initiating topics? 3 Are there any examples of normal non-fluency features? 3;0+ 1 Is the child skilful in controlling turn-taking? 2 Are responses to other speakers appropriate? 3 Is the register altered for different contexts, audiences and topics? 4 Is there any evidence that simple breakdowns in cornmiinication are repaired? - is there repetition of key words or phrases? are there requests for clarification? Summary Once children have acquired language, they can become active participants in all kinds of communication: they can establish relationships; express their feelings; get others to do things for them; ask for information or explanations; or use language creatively. The more experience they have, the more skilful they will become in adapting their language use to suit their context, audience and purpose. Apparently effortless language acquisition will take place if the child can consciously manipulate the speech organs; if the child lives in a developed social and cultural environment, experiencing an appropriate range of language input; and if the language experience is gained before a critical age. If all these conditions are met language acquisition will usually take place without any formal language teaching. . There are four main theories which try to explain the nature of language acquisition: the behaviourists believe that children learn by imitating the language structures that they hear; the cognitive approach suggests that children must have an intellectual understanding of a concept before they can use linguistic structures; the nativists believe that all children have an innate capacity for language acquisition; and more recent studies suggest that interaction is the key. More research needs to be carried out before language acquisition is really understood, but current thinking would suggest that each theory throws some light on the complex processes involved. 0 PART III Varieties - English few in use