Discovering Psychology: Language Development

Summary

The video explores how children acquire language, examining both innate abilities and the role of social interaction in language development. It highlights Noam Chomsky's theory of the language acquisition device and contrasts it with the influence of parental communication. Experts discuss how babies move from making sounds to forming words and sentences, guided by both biological maturation and social cues. The video delves into the universal stages of language learning, emphasizing the importance of interaction, context, and cultural factors in the process of mastering language.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Language acquisition is a fundamental process in human development, with psychologists exploring whether it is innate or learned through imitation.
• 👶 Babies start learning language from birth, moving from simple sounds to a vocabulary of over 14,000 words by the time they reach school age.
• 🔄 Both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment) play crucial roles in language development, as argued by Noam Chomsky and other researchers.
• 🗣️ Chomsky introduced the idea of a 'language acquisition device' in the brain, which allows humans to learn any language through innate principles.
• 🤱 Social interaction is essential for activating language development, as children need to engage with humans, not just hear speech, to acquire language.
• 🎶 Parent-child interactions, like using 'motherese' (slow, repetitive, and musical speech), help babies decode language and its meaning.
• 🌍 The process of language acquisition is universal across cultures, suggesting biological maturation, similar to learning how to walk or eat.
• 🔤 Children learn symbols and how to use words to represent objects, actions, and desires, marking key developmental stages such as the one-word and two-word phases.
• 📜 As children develop, they begin to understand grammar and syntax, forming simple sentences by age two and becoming more grammatically accurate over time.
• 🗨️ Language also facilitates social interactions, with children learning the rules of conversation—like taking turns and polite responses—through dialogue with parents.

Q & A

What is the central topic of the video transcript?

The central topic is language development in children, focusing on how they acquire language and the roles of nature and nurture in this process.

What are the key components of language acquisition mentioned in the transcript?

The key components of language acquisition include the potential for an innate biological mechanism (the language acquisition device), the role of social interaction, and the developmental stages children go through in learning language.

What is Noam Chomsky's contribution to the study of language, as mentioned in the video?

Noam Chomsky revolutionized the study of language by proposing the existence of a 'language acquisition device,' an innate neurological structure in humans that enables children to learn any language.

How does social interaction play a role in language development, according to the transcript?

Social interaction is crucial because babies learn language by interacting with others, especially their parents. Babies need to hear language spoken directly to them in social contexts to acquire language effectively.

What is 'motherese' or 'parentese,' and why is it important?

'Motherese' or 'parentese' refers to the special way parents speak to babies, using higher pitch, slower speech, and simpler sentences. This type of speech helps babies understand language by making it easier for them to decode sounds and meanings.

What is the role of biological maturation in language development?

Biological maturation regulates the brain and the development of muscles needed for communication. The development of language follows a developmental timetable, similar to other biological processes like walking.

What are the stages of language development mentioned in the transcript?

The stages include crying, cooing and gurgling, babbling, the one-word stage, the two-word stage, and the telegraphic stage, which is followed by more complex sentence formation as the child’s cognitive abilities develop.

What is 'universal adaptability' in language development?

'Universal adaptability' refers to a baby's ability to distinguish and reproduce sounds from any language in the world. However, this flexibility is lost by the time the child turns one year old, as they become specialized in their native language.

What is the significance of the two-word stage in language development?

The two-word stage is significant because it marks the child's ability to express common functions like locating and naming things, demanding, and describing actions. This stage helps children communicate more effectively with simple sentences.

How does the video describe the development of grammatical rules in children?

The video explains that children acquire grammatical rules by observing language patterns, even forming regular grammatical structures on their own, such as using 'braked' instead of 'broke.' This process occurs naturally as children develop their language skills.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Introduction to Language Development

The opening introduces the topic of language development, questioning whether language acquisition is an innate ability or learned through imitation. It highlights the fascinating journey from a child’s first sounds to complex language, framing language as central to human interaction and communication.

05:00

🧠 The Role of Nature and Nurture in Language Development

This section delves into the nature versus nurture debate. It discusses Noam Chomsky's theory of the 'language acquisition device,' a neurological structure believed to allow humans to learn any language. While the theory emphasizes biological readiness, the role of social interaction, particularly with parents, is acknowledged as crucial for language development.

10:03

👶 Social Interaction and Language Learning

Babies are born with a neurological capacity for language, but social interaction is essential for development. This section explains how infants learn language contextually, through daily interactions. Parents aid this process by speaking slowly, clearly, and with repetition, making it easier for babies to decode language and link words to meanings.

15:04

🎶 Universal Melodies in Parent-Child Communication

Parents around the world use melodic speech, known as 'motherese' or 'parentese,' to communicate with infants. These melodies convey emotions and intentions before words are understood. The research shows similar melodic patterns across different languages, suggesting a universal way of communicating with infants before they grasp actual language.

20:06

🗣️ Stages of Early Language Development

Language development progresses through identifiable stages, starting with crying, babbling, and then the 'one-word stage.' Children gradually learn to use symbols and words to represent objects and actions. Parents play a key role in helping children connect words with meanings, a process that is crucial for future language use.

25:14

💬 From Two-Word Phrases to Grammar

By 18 months, children begin using two-word phrases, expressing basic needs and actions. This marks the beginning of grammar acquisition, where they start forming simple sentences. Children naturally apply grammatical rules, such as correct word order, and attempt to regularize language, even when faced with irregular patterns like past tense verbs.

👥 Social Rules of Conversation

Children learn social rules of conversation, such as turn-taking and polite expressions like 'thank you.' These conversational skills are crucial for effective communication. Parents teach children these norms through everyday interactions, helping them use language in socially appropriate ways, preparing them for more complex social engagements.

🌍 The Fundamental Role of Language

Language is portrayed as essential to human life, connecting individuals to the world and each other. Without language, access to ideas and social interaction would be severely limited. The section previews the next focus on perception, emphasizing how language allows humans to interpret and reshape their understanding of the universe.

Keywords

💡Language Acquisition

Language acquisition refers to the process by which humans learn to perceive, produce, and use words to understand and communicate. In the video, this concept is explored in the context of how babies rapidly acquire language through both innate mechanisms and social interaction, as discussed by linguists such as Noam Chomsky. The 'language acquisition device' is presented as a key element in understanding this process.

💡Innate Ability

The innate ability for language refers to the natural, inborn capacity humans have for learning language. This is a core theme in the video, where Chomsky's theory of a 'language acquisition device' suggests that humans are biologically equipped to learn any language. It contrasts with the idea that language is learned purely through social interaction and imitation.

💡Nature vs. Nurture

This refers to the debate over whether genetic inheritance ('nature') or environmental factors ('nurture') play a larger role in human development, including language acquisition. The video addresses both aspects, with Chomsky's emphasis on biological predispositions (nature) and psychologists like Berko Gleason emphasizing the role of social interaction (nurture) in language learning.

💡Social Interaction

Social interaction is highlighted as a crucial element in language development. The video illustrates how babies need to engage with other humans to learn language effectively. Researchers like Berko Gleason stress that children learn language not just by hearing it, but by interacting with caregivers who help them decode meaning through context and shared attention.

💡Babbling

Babbling is a stage in early language development where babies produce syllable-like sounds. The video describes this as a critical phase where infants practice making sounds and begin to understand the rhythm and melody of language, even before they can speak actual words. This stage helps lay the foundation for later speech.

💡Motherese/Parentese

Motherese or parentese refers to the simplified, exaggerated way adults speak to babies. In the video, it is described as a universal phenomenon where parents use higher pitches, slower speech, and repetition to help infants grasp language. This form of communication helps babies connect sounds with meaning, aiding language development.

💡Universal Grammar

Universal grammar is a theory proposed by Noam Chomsky, suggesting that the ability to learn grammar is hardwired into the brain. The video references this concept as a biological foundation that all humans share, allowing children across different cultures to develop language similarly, regardless of the specific language they are exposed to.

💡Developmental Timetable

The developmental timetable refers to the biological schedule that regulates when certain abilities, such as language, emerge in children. The video explains how language acquisition follows a predictable sequence, from babbling to word use, showing that both neurological and physical maturation are necessary for communication to develop.

💡Symbolic Representation

Symbolic representation is the understanding that words are symbols that stand for objects, actions, or ideas. The video describes how, by the end of their first year, children begin to use words like 'ball' or 'fishy' to represent real-world objects, marking an important cognitive leap in their language development.

💡Grammar and Syntax

Grammar and syntax refer to the rules that govern how words are structured into sentences. The video discusses how children, as early as two years old, begin to apply grammatical rules on their own, even forming sentences like 'I want cookie.' This shows that children internalize and organize language in ways that go beyond simple imitation.

Highlights

Language development starts as soon as a baby is born, with children progressing from first sounds at birth to speaking their first words around their first birthday.

By the time they start school, children typically have a vocabulary of over 14,000 words and speak almost like adults.

Noam Chomsky's theory introduced the concept of a 'language acquisition device,' suggesting that humans are born with an innate ability to learn language.

Chomsky's idea that humans have a neurological structure dedicated to language revolutionized the study of language acquisition.

Social interaction plays a crucial role in activating the language acquisition device, highlighting the importance of parents in teaching communication.

Research shows that very young babies prefer human voices to other sounds and are upset when a familiar voice is paired with a stranger's face.

Babies don’t learn language just by hearing it; they need active engagement and interaction with others to develop language skills.

Parents modify their speech when talking to babies, using a higher pitch, simpler sentences, and repetition, which helps babies understand language.

Babbling in infants is essential as it allows them to practice making sounds and reproducing syllables, crucial for language development.

The 'universal adaptability' of infants allows them to distinguish and reproduce sounds of any language, but this flexibility is lost by their first year.

Children's first meaningful conversations often consist of one-word phrases and grow into two-word stages by 18 months.

By the age of two, children form simple sentences, often following the grammatical rules of their native language, even when they create new forms like 'braked' or 'falled.'

Regardless of the language spoken, children universally use action-object word orders, showing an innate sense of grammar.

Through social interactions, children learn conversational rules, such as turn-taking and responding correctly to others in dialogue.

Motherese, a special form of speech used with infants, involves melodic intonations that help convey emotions and intentions, transcending cultural and linguistic differences.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

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how do we learn to talk are we born with

some innate ability for acquiring

language okay

or do we imitate our parents did he fall

down how do we go from this to this

without ever taking a lesson language

development

this time on discovering psychology

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well I'm sure I'll be talking to you

over the next month doing peach your

modesty too much did you discuss the

diversion with director Casey no well it

is a huge huge contract and we have some

major differences essence of language is

human interaction as speakers of

language we share our own personal

reality with others as listeners we

share in their realities by studying how

children learn to use language in social

communication psychologists hope to

discover truths about the human mind and

about society and culture as well they

seek to understand how this special

ability has evolved in our species are

we born with a built-in readiness to use

language how do we learn how to use

words and structure sentences in

coherent ways what role do parents play

in teaching children how to communicate

what makes baby talk it's this as soon

as the baby is born an amazing process

begins a process which we all take for

granted the development of communication

and language with amazing speed children

go from making their first sound at

birth to speaking their first words

sometime around their first birthday and

by the time they start school children

speaking almost like adults with the

vocabulary of over 14,000 words

but how do they do it what is the

process by which language is acquired

how much do we owe to nature our genetic

inheritance and how much do we owe to

nurture the environment in which we

learn until recently it was assumed that

the process was all nurture a children

learned language by imitating others

mainly their parents that language was a

learned skill but in 1957 MIT linguist

Noam Chomsky revolutionized the study of

language by questioning this assumption

we look at the very difficult empirical

problem of explaining how it is that a

young child with very limited

information available to him acquires a

system of language and knowledge of

language that enables him to produce and

understand these this vast number of new

sentences gene Baur Co Gleeson a

psychologist at Boston University is an

expert in language development Chomsky

and his followers believe that human

beings come into the world with what

they call a language acquisition device

which is an actual neurological

structure in the brain they haven't

specified where it is but they they tell

us that the language acquisition device

makes it possible for children to learn

any language anywhere and that only

human beings have the language

acquisition device and that the language

acquisition device makes it possible for

infants and for young children acquiring

language to know what the deep structure

of the meaning is of language because

the principles are innate ideas about

the biological capacity for language

sparked the creation of an entirely new

field called developmental

psycholinguistics but many psychologists

believe that social interaction between

child and parent

also has a major role to play in the

development of language social

relationships may be necessary to

activate Chomsky's language acquisition

device research has shown that very

young babies prefer human voices to

other sounds and human faces to other

images even at only a few weeks of age

they get upset when their parents voice

is paired with the face of a stranger

the role of social interaction in

language development has been a major

focus of Berko Gleason's work who's that

mommy that mean we know that human

babies are born with special mechanisms

in their brain or special parts of their

brain that are dedicated to the

development of language that it has

special capacities that only humans seem

to have but having a special

neurological capacity does not guarantee

the acquisition of language in order for

language to develop babies have to

interact with other human beings they

have to hear language spoken to them

they can't just learn language hearing

it spoken around them or hear language

spoken on television and acquire it they

have to interact with other people

social interaction really isn't the

basis of language development in

children come on paddy-cake paddy-cake

babies typically learn language from

what's going on around them they don't

learn language abstractly that is a baby

will hear language embedded in context

and understand what the intention of the

speakers are partly because the baby

already knows what's happening in other

words if the mother holds up a bottle

and says here's your milk the baby

understands to begin with that the

mother is talking about the milk because

she's holding the milk up and showing it

to the baby the baby then begins to be

able to decode the intention of the

speaker's because the intentions are

embedded in the context of what's going

on in the baby's life

that's right if you watch mothers and

little babies together you see that

mothers do some very typical things that

help the baby to acquire language in

english-speaking households for instance

babies are spoken to by parents or by

mothers much more slowly than they would

speak to other people

parents enunciate very clearly when they

talk to little babies sentences are

short and simple

they're full of repetition people say

see the book that's the book it's a nice

book they make it much easier for the

baby to decode what the language is than

if the baby simply had to listen to

adults talking about politics at the

dinner table this was a perfect example

of a mother talking to a young child a

princess she's talking in a much higher

voice than she talks to other people

she's talking slowly she's talking about

the things that the baby is looking at

right at this moment she's doing a

really interesting thing which is she's

imputing meaning to the baby for

instance the baby points up in the air

and says baby and the mother is looking

around saying where's the baby as if the

baby is really talking about a baby as

the mother is really trying to make

clear to the baby that language has the

meaning if you say something people are

going to try to interpret it the mommy

so both nature and nurture are at work

in the development of language

competence but there's also another

critical process at work here research

has shown that every child in every

culture goes through some of the same

sequences the same stages of speaking

its native language this universal

process suggests that there is also some

form of biological maturation at work as

in walking or eating what a child can do

with language at any given time depends

on a developmental timetable this

timetable regulates the maturing of the

brain and certain muscles in the mouth

and throat that are needed for

communication the first stage in

acquiring language may be crying it's

our first act of communication babies

cry because they're hungry or tired or

cold or in pain and the sound they

produce usually provokes the desired

social response other comparable sounds

are coos and gurgles to begin around the

second month the second stage of

language development is the babbling of

syllable like sounds babbling is

important because it allows a baby to

practice making sounds to group them

together and to vary them by adding in

two nations at this point an infant can

distinguish sounds of any language and

can reproduce them this ability is

called universal adaptability but by the

time a child is one-year-old and has

lost this flexibility child becomes a

specialist in its own native language

distinguishing and reproducing only

those sounds which are common to that

language

children's first conversations however

our wordless they interact with their

parents by alternating and coordinating

sounds and intonation and in turn

parents use melodic intonation x'

usually reserved for soothing arousing

or warning the baby into nations that

are absent from ordinary adult

conversation this special kind of speech

is known as mother ease or parent ease

do you have a feeling that she's

communicating with you now already and

Fernald of stanford university has

studied this phenomenon in many cultures

around the world long before infants are

speaking a language or understanding a

language they're communicating very

actively with their parents their

understanding their parents in our

research were very interested in how

this pre verbal communication gets

established and what we're doing is

recording in cultures around the world

the kinds of daily episodes that are

very common in the life of an infant

okay let's see if we can get a big smile

now so far we've looked at a number of

European languages French Italian German

British English as well as American

English and we've also looked it at a

Nigerian language called house' as well

as a japanese oh yeah

what we're finding is that the melodies

of mothers and fathers speech in these

situations are very similar and we're

hypothesizing that it's the melody is a

message that the musical contour of the

voice is carrying the meaning to the

infant long before language is during

the work and babies are not yet

attending to words or to linguistic

units of information but they're reading

something about the mother's emotions

her intentions her feelings through

the kinds of melodies that she uses oh

my girl this device here is an

oscilloscope up to a pitch extractor

which will allow us to look at the

melodies or the intonation of pitch

contours that are used in the mother's

voice when she's speaking to a pre

verbal child let me give you a couple of

examples in American English if you

wanted to praise the baby to let the

baby know that you're happy about

something that he or she's done

you'd say good boy yeah good up-and-down

and this is the typical pattern we're

finding so you see the pitch starts low

goes up to a crescendo and down again in

Italian we find a very similar melody

bravissima bravissima and German you'd

say yeah sure though I'll go with Max to

das again we see here this rise fall

pattern the melody that goes up and then

down again up in the down again reaching

a very high pitch peak at the top we're

finding this rise fall pattern in every

European language we've looked at and

also in our recent recordings in

Japanese oh another thing that

frequently happens in a baby's life is

that the mother says no the child's

about to head for a light or a

electrical outlet where there's some

danger possible or to head over the

stairs and for the mother will say no no

stop that no using a short sharp and a

vocalization that's much lower in

frequency in French it would be no no cd

formed you again short and sharp and

staccato in quality in German the same

sort of thing 9 9 MUX to need short and

sharp and not smooth play the praise

contour was again here we're finding

universal melodies in Japanese as well

as the European languages in the kinds

of intonation or pitch contours that the

mothers are using to convey this message

to a baby who does not yet understand

the words

it's very important that we go beyond

this to look at at other kinds of

cultures with very different attitudes

toward babies toward the expression of

emotion in order to really test our

hypothesis about universality I have two

children have practiced the elemental

aspects of speech they're ready for the

third stage of language development

which comes toward the end of the first

year the one word stage how the earliest

words are part of a behavioral ritual

such as saying hi or bye the next set of

words are those that express

relationships of various kinds first

come relationships between objects and

actions such as saying ball to mean

throw it or get it then come

relationships between objects such as

saying fishy when pointing to an empty

tank with fish once swam and finally

come words that are meant to effect

events such as again or more when a

child wants another push again

what is this one what is that and the FA

that's an airplane

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[Applause]

when children learn to use words like

ball or fishy or again they're really

learning how to use symbols words after

all stand for something else the objects

or actions being described and symbols

can only be used with any degree of

proficiency when a number of mental

abilities have matured sufficiently

sometime in the second year of life to

use words and symbols the child's memory

must be able to store images or memory

codes of events and objects and be able

to retrieve them with the appropriate

words that symbolize them

at the same time the child must also

understand how to manipulate tools to

make things happen these tools can be

people as well as objects in fact

parents are the most significant tool

the child learns to manipulate to

achieve its goals and language is the

most effective way to manipulate them

next comes the two-word stage okay then

no matter what their native language all

normal children around the age of a

year-and-a-half begin to use two-word

phrases to express a number of common

function locating and naming things

demanding and desiring things describing

actions and situations questioning

modifying and qualifying finally in the

last formal stage of this early

development the telegraphic stage

two-year-olds form simple sentences

mostly of nouns and verbs thank you -

Brittany thank you the sentences like

laurels articles and tenses but they do

maintain the typical word order of actor

first action second and object last

after the age of two as a child's mental

abilities develop early restriction and

how much information he or she can get

into one coherent statement are lifted

by the age of four or five the child is

using language in much the same way as

an adult does its biggest task during

these early years has been to discover

the underlying regularities in the way

adults use language the rules of grammar

and syntax

dan slobin is a psycho linguist at the

University of California at Berkeley

slogan has studied how old children

acquire a system of grammatical rules on

their own without imitating the people

around them for the past twenty years or

so we've been sending teams of

researchers out all over the world to

jungles cities villages recording speech

of little children to see how it is that

children begin to acquire their native

languages and we found by now that

regardless of what kind of language it

is what kind of social setting the child

is learning under two-year-olds are

beginning to apply the grammatical

structures of the languages that they

hear a noise in your photos school and

what are you doing alright school I

think for example in English we follow

very strict word order

we always first talk about what we're

going to do and then what we're going to

do it too so we say give me a cookie

drink the milk show me your hand first

word is always the word about the action

the second word is the word about the

object now that division between action

and object word seems to be quite

Universal in languages and children pick

that up quite early in English they also

quite early in their own towards speech

pick up that word order pattern so even

if they're saying things that are quite

short and simple English children will

say things like I want cookie they won't

say cookie I want they'll say more milk

not milk more they'll first talk about

the action and then they'll talk about

the object so they're already speaking

dramatically now for you to ask your

ordinary parent in the street how their

child learned to talk they would

probably say he just imitated what's the

problem well one problem is if you

listen to what children say they often

say things that they couldn't have

imitated so the children might say a

child they might say something like I

break the glass or I fall down now the

adults don't say things like braked and

falled but the child does and if you

hear a child saying things like breath

and falled this means that the child has

worked out the pattern for forming the

past tense in English

English doesn't always follow that

pattern but the child has decided that

once you find a pattern it's neat to

stick with it so that even if one

doesn't say braked or falled the child

doesn't hear it for a long time the

child will use this pattern so for a

long period for about the ages of three

to five children are very persistent in

trying to build a regular kind of

grammar we see this across all languages

wherever languages show bits that are

irregular children try to make them fit

their own regular pattern they have an

uncanny sense of how a grammar should be

structured going forward you have

what is the name of your team so now

we're six years old and we've acquired a

highly sophisticated language to help us

navigate through all the complex

environments in which we have to

function well what happens when we bump

into other people who are also

navigating their way through social

situations how do we coordinate our

intentions with theirs to avoid

conflicts and to gain the ends we both

want how do we learn the rules of

conversation

[Music]

according to psycho linguists most

dialogues are highly structured forms of

social communication and they include

three essential features that must be

understood and shared by both parties

the first is opening conversations in

ways that signal the willingness to

converse the second is understanding the

unwritten rules for taking turns and the

third is closing conversations by mutual

agreement when these seemingly simple

acts are not carried out properly

the result is confusion and even

distress

[Music]

but that going to a city parents teach

their children the rules of dialogue in

a number of ways they engage them in

conversations they ask questions and

seek replies they teach them what to say

after someone has said or done something

such as thank you or yes please these

are early social activities not only

help children to use language to gain

their own ends but also enable them to

assist others in achieving their goals

talking to the banana lady huh your food

ready without a stable structure of

social verbal interaction they wouldn't

be able to use language in ways that are

conversationally correct children have

to be taught how to collaborate with

other conversational ism what would life

be like without language it would be

life without access to the world of

ideas without any connection to the

hearts and minds of other people

language is fundamental to our very

humanity

but before we communicate our sense of

the world we have to perceive it in our

next program we're going to focus on

perception as the critical link between

the solitary isolated organism and

everything else that exists perception

enables us to experience the universe as

it is and to redesign it as it might be

not to mention persuading others to see

it our way the many worlds our

perception next time I'm Philip Zimbardo

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