Psycholinguistics

“Acquisition: When I was

a Child, I Spoke as a
Child
 No Language but a Cry

1. Autonomic Response (first few weeks)

It is triggered by the autonomic nervous system as
a primary reflex.
2. Iconic (1 months)
There is a direct and transparent link between the
physical sound and its communicative intent.
3. Symbolic (1 – 2 months)
It is not directly related to the child’s sense of
discomfort, rather, the cries are subtly, indirectly,
and almost randomly associated with its needs.
4. Cooing (2 – 6 months of age)
Express satisfaction

5. Babbling (6 – 8 months of age)

It is a natural tendency of children to burst out in
strings of consonant-vowel syllable clusters
There are two kinds of babbling:
a. Marginal babbling (Infants produce a few
consonants)
b. Canonical babbling (the child’s vocalizations
narrow down to syllable)
First Words

 When does the first words coo by a child ?

When a children at about one year old

 What words will be spoken?

Idiomorphs, that refers simplifying of a conversation or the sound of
something.

 Why those words? How that first words can be spoken?

Familiar, Easy, and Arround.

 Where from do the babies get the first word? Who gets the role?
Parrents
The Birth of Grammar

 Prelinguistics stage ( birth – 11 months )

• Cooing
• Babbling
 Holophrastic stage ( one word stage )
• Children use single words to express a whole
sentences like a meaning
• 12-14 months old
• 3 major functions (child's own action or desire for an
action, convey meaning, naming function)
• Common word ( mama/dada, yes/no, go, car )
Children have their own progress through different stages of
grammatical development.

 Two words stage ( after a few months of holophrastic stage – until

2 years )
Example : two words utterance
• “ doggie bark “ = the dog is barking
• “Mom sock” = that is mom’s sock
 Telegraphic speech ( 2 – 3 years )
• Example : “ doggie bark me “ = the dog barked at me
• “ Where Mummy ? “ = where is Mummy ?
 Multi word ( 3 years )

 The differences brain of very young age and animal who taught
human language
Evidence for
Innateness
Evidence  signs
Innateness  born with
 Evidence for
Innateness
 The acquisition of human language is not based on
external influence of children’s environment.

 WHY human children receive an enormous of linguistic

input?
 speaking up  reward

 HOW about statement “To be seen but not heard”?

Humans have innate areas of their
brain.

Chomsky argued: just as humans

have some kind of genetically
determined ability to ‘learn’ to
stand upright or to walk, so too do
their possess