Adjacency pairs#card
a simple structure of two (three) turns. In conversation analysis, an adjacency pair is a two-part exchange in which the second utterance is functionally dependent on the first, as exhibited in conventional greetings, invitations, and requests. Example: Hi Garv, how are you? Good thanks, what about you?
Alliteration#card
repeated phonemes at the beginnings of words
Alphabetic principle#card
the understanding that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds
Amelioration#card
the process by which words or phrases become more positive in meaning over time. A type of Semantic Change.
Babbling#card
vocal play that involves forming vowel and consonant sounds
Behaviourism#card
a learning theory that focuses on the idea that actions are generally a response to external factors
Child-directed speech#card
the particular variation of language used by a caregiver when interacting with young children (other terminology includes motherese, parentese, caretaker speech)
Code switching#card
switching from one language or dialect to another, depending on the speakers intended interlocutor or what they wish to accomplish
Communicative competency#card
the ability to understand the utterances of others and to be able to make oneself understood (Esp SLA)
Constructive approach#card
the approach to language acquisition based on the idea that learners construct new ideas based on existing knowledge
Content words#card
a word within an utterance that is vital to convey meaning
Cooing#card
When the baby is making single vowel sounds like ‘ooh’ or ‘ahh’. Distinct from crying but not yet forming recognisable vowels and consonants
Dialect#card
variation in words and structures associated with a geographical region
Diagraphs#card
two letters making one sound. E.g. ch as in ‘chip’, sh as in ‘shop’ (consonant diagraphs), ea as in ‘eat’ oo as in ‘boot’ (vowel diagraphs)
Discourse markers#card
words and phrases or clauses that help to organise information flow. E.g. ok, so, as I was saying, anyway
Egocentric#card
thinking of (considering) only of oneself, without understanding or regard for the feelings of others.
Grammatical words#card
words within a sentence that are needed to indicate the relationship between content words (function words)
High-frequency words#card
words which occur frequently in a language
Holophrastic stage#card
the point in a child’s language development in which the child uses individual words to communicate more than that single word’s meaning
Homophones#card
sword that sounds the same (maybe spelt differently) but have difference meanings. E.g. saw, sore, soar
Inflection#card
A change in the form of a word by an affix to express a grammatical function, such as a change in tense, mood, number or gender rather than changing the meaning of the word. Linked to Inflectional Morphemes.
Idiolect#card
The unique combination of words, expressions and constructions that an individual habitually uses. If you have ever mimicked a teacher’s habitual way of speaking to a class, you have noticed features of their idiolect. variation in language use associated by an individual’s personalised ‘speech style’
Inflectional functions#card
the way that an affix shows grammatical category such as a verb tense or plural form of a noun
Mean length of utterance (MLU)#card
the way a typical utterance is calculated. The number of words in a transcript divided by the number of ideas. This will be much lower in children and language learners.
Mismatch#card
a label that is applied to an object or concept without a clear link. E.g. calling a dog ‘a tea’
More Knowledgeable Other#card
(MKO) the often older and always more knowledgeable participant in an interaction who might offer support to further the child’s (or language learner’s) language development or learning
Morphology#card
You should know this one!
Nativist theory#card
a language learning theory that suggests an in-built capacity to acquire and make sense of language. Chomsky’s theory of innateness fits into this category (L.A.D.)
Negative reinforcement#card
correction, negative feedback, or the lack of feedback, which might prevent the child (or language learner) from making the same error repeatedly
Nonce words#card
Also known as an occasionalism, nonce words are lexemes created for a single occasion to solve an immediate problem of communication. For example, the word “wug” is a nonce word as it was only used for the occasion of the experiment.
Object permanence#card
an understanding the objects continue to exist even when the cannot be seen or touched
Operant conditioning#card
the idea that either a positive of a negative response given by a caregiver can influences the way in which a child talks on future occasions
Oracy#card
the use of speaking and listening skills
Over-extension#card
when a word is used more broadly to describe things other than the specific item to which the word actually applied
Pejoration#card
the process by which words of phrases become more negative over time
Phonetic spelling#card
words that are spelt as they sound
Poverty of stimulus#card
theory attributed to Chomsky that suggests the language to which a child is exposed is insufficient to support the development of language that occurs
Proto-words#card
‘made up’ words that a child will use to represent words they can not yet pronounce. E.g. ‘ray-ray’ for raisins
Recast#card
the grammatically incorrect utterance is spoken back to the child, but in the corrected form. The term ‘Rephrase’ is used interchangeably here.
Scaffolding#card
the support provided by caregivers through modelling how speech ought to take place in order to help the child’s language development.
Tricky words#card
words that do not give a perfect or regular guide to pronunciation
Trigraph#card
a cluster of three letters that represent one sound e.g. igh
Under-extension#card
the use of a word in a limited way which does not recognise its full meaning e.g. use ball to describe one type of ball (e.g. tennis ball but not football)
Virtuous error#card
grammatical errors that are understandable and logical through an incorrect assumption being made about grammar rules (there is a good excuse for the error)