First Sentences & First Sentences & ConversationsConversations

““I’m talking now!”I’m talking now!”

Syntactic DevelopmentSyntactic DevelopmentAdd LengthAdd Length Measured in Mean Length of Utterance

(MLU) in words or in morphemesAdd Sentence StructureAdd Sentence Structure Word order more closely approximates

that of adult language Order & components reflect the type of

sentence in addition to intonation Questions, imperatives, statements,

negatives

Add Length: MorphologyAdd Length: MorphologyDEF: A morpheme is the smallest

meaningful unit of language.cat = 1 cats = 2zip = 1 zipped = 2 unzipped = 3run = 1 ran = 1

See Handout

PracticeSentence Morphemes No1.There daddy’s shoes poss, plur 52. Go night-night 23. Allgone juice 24. Two doggies plu 35. Big choo-choo train 3 6. He fell down irreg past 3 7. He likes trains 3rd sing, plu 58. I don’t like trains plu 59. I kicked the ball reg past 510.Is he gonna catch it aux 5

Add Length: Words & Syntax Noun Phrase Structure:Initiator+Determiner+Adjective+Noun+Modifier...(+VP)Only half of daddy’s dog in thereEven the big city next doorEspecially old baseball caps which fadeNearly both her feet on thatMerely seven of your cars that brokeWell the last trial on the tv

Verb Phrase StructureAuxiliaries + BE + Negative + Passive + Verb...+

is jumping were not eating

does not readcan never seewill never be drivenshould be wornmight not have been fixed

Verb Phrases Take objects or not

Transitive (one or more direct or indirect objects) Close the window (direct) Give the cake (direct) to Joe (indirect)

Intransitive (no object) Jump

Stative (take a complement) Linda is a smart woman.

Verb Phrases Can be active or passive

The dog bit the boy; The boy was bitten by the dog

Indicate time (through tense) Present (studies, is studying, can study) Past (studied, was studying, did study) Future (will study, will be studying)

Four main sentence types

Sentence Types Declarative

She drives fast. Interrogative

Does she drive fast? Imperative

Drive fast! Negative

She doesn’t drive fast.

PracticeSentence Sentence Type1.There daddy’s shoes Declarative2. Go night-night Imperative3. Allgone juice Declarative 4. Two doggies Declarative 5. Big choo-choo train Declarative 6. He fell down Declarative7. He likes trains Declarative8. I don’t like trains Negative9. I kicked the ball Declarative 10.Is he gonna catch it Interrogative

Semantic DevelopmentSemantic Development

Vocabulary is growing incredibly fast Measured using a Type-token ratio

Type = number of different words Token = total number of words

See handout

PracticeSentence # Words # “New” words

(Tokens) (Types)1.There daddy’s shoes 3 32. Go night-night 2 23. Allgone juice 2 24. Two doggies 2 25. Big choo-choo train 3 3 6. He fell down 3 3 7. He likes trains 3 18. I don’t like trains 4 29. I kicked the ball 4 310.Is he gonna catch it 5 4

Strategies

Fast Mapping N3C: novel name nameless category Contrast and conventionality rules

Forming Definitions Develop through linguistic & nonlinguistic

contexts Noun definitions/representations include:

Physical, functional & locational properties,

Verb definitions/representation include: Who or what does the action, the

receiver of the action, & where, when, and with what the action is done

Categorization is based on environmental contexts and frequently heard word associations rather than superordinate category development

Relational Terms

Interrogatives (Question Words): yes/no, what, where, who, whose, which,

when, how, why If you know the wh-word in the question,

answer with an appropriate subject (e.g., what vs what doing)

If you don’t know it, answer based on your representation of the verb (e.g., When are you going to eat – cookie)

Temporal Relations Order (after, before) Duration (since, until + verbing) Simultaneity (while, at the same time) 2-3 year olds have trouble with this.

If not understood the child will rely

on: The order of mention in the clauses or What seems logical

Before you go to bed, read a book After you go to bed, read a book Brush your teeth before you go to

bed After you go to bed, brush your

teeth

Physical Relations Concept words: one pole is typically

learned first (all temperatures are hot) Opposites (big-little; lots-none) before

gradations (medium; more-less) Concrete generalizable terms are learned

first (big-little before deep-shallow) Number of dimensions that must be

considered affects learning (same-different)

Locational PrepositionsLocational Prepositions Some are learned really early (in, on,

under) If there is a container something goes in;

if there is a surface, something goes on Learn in reference to:

themselves first then people and objects with definite fronts

(e.g., chair) then non-fronted objects (e.g., box)

Movement prepositionsMovement prepositions

to vs. from; into vs. out of; onto vs. off

things should touch if they are related into the box; into trouble Out of the fridge; out of time Off the table; off his medication

Kinship terms Mother father sister brother Son daughter, grandfather, grandmother,

parent Uncle, cousin, nephew, niece.