Deck 11: Development of Language and Communication Skills

Question 1

The sentence "The speeding the raced city through streets car" would be difficult for an English speaker to understand because it violates a basic set of rules of the English language.What rules are violated?

A) syntax
B) morphology
C) semantics
D) pragmatics

Answer 1

syntax

Question 2

If an English-speaking child shows a preference for the nonsense word blek over bkel,of which component of language has he or she acquired knowledge?

A) phonology
B) semantics
C) syntax
D) pragmatics

Answer 2

phonology

Question 3

When a child advances from utterances such as "No he going" to "He's not going," what aspect of language knowledge has he or she acquired?

A) morphology
B) syntax
C) semantics
D) pragmatics

Answer 3

syntax

Question 4

Which type of sentences are parents most likely to respond to and reinforce when a child is first learning to speak?

A) those that are grammatically correct, even if those same sentences are factually incorrect
B) those that are both grammatically and factually correct
C) those that are factually correct, even if those same sentences are grammatically incorrect
D) those that are pronounced clearly and accurately

Question 5

In one popular science-fiction movie,the Jedi master uses sentences such as,"When 900 years old you are,look so good you will not." When he speaks in this way,the Jedi master is able to convey meaning,but his sentences do not conform to which of the following rules of the English language?

A) syntax
B) phonology
C) morphology
D) pragmatics

Question 6

What type of language knowledge is a child demonstrating when he or she engages in word play and says such things as stop,bop,rop,dop,clop,mop but never says sgap,tpir,or sbum?

A) phonology
B) semantics
C) morphology
D) pragmatics

Question 7

Suppose that you overhear a 5-year-old child talking to her 2-year-old brother and then a bit later to her mother.You notice that she spoke to her 2-year-old brother more slowly and with a less sophisticated vocabulary.What aspect of language knowledge does her change in speech style reflect?

A) phonology
B) semantics
C) syntax
D) pragmatics

Question 8

When Petrov told his 3-year-old sister that "I hit the bat that flew into the attic with my baseball bat," his sister was very confused and wondered how the long wooden stick that her brother often carried could possibly fly.When Petrov's sister is able to recognize that the word bat can have two different meanings,what aspect of language knowledge will she have acquired?

A) phonology
B) syntax
C) pragmatics
D) semantics

Question 9

Keionda plays with words and says sis,miss,nis but never says scli,pslek,or nslo.What part of language does Keionda seem to understand?

A) pragmatics
B) semantics
C) syntax
D) phonology

Question 10

Which type of language knowledge has been acquired when a child knows how to take turns in a conversation and adjusts his or her vocabulary to fit the listener's needs?

A) phonological
B) semantic
C) syntactic
D) pragmatic

Question 11

When a child learns that saying "please" to grandma with a smile will get him a cookie,what aspect of language knowledge has the child acquired?

A) phonology
B) syntax
C) semantics
D) pragmatics

Question 12

What type of English-language knowledge has a child acquired when he or she learns the difference between the words give and take?

A) phonological
B) semantic
C) syntactic
D) pragmatic

Question 13

According to the learning perspective,what accounts for a child's increased vocabulary?

A) He or she possesses a language acquisition device.
B) His or her parents insist on close approximations of the correct word.
C) His or her frontal lobes mature.
D) He or she has mastered the basic syntax of his or her native language.

Question 14

What does the morphology of a language refer to?

A) the basic sounds that make up a language
B) the expression of meaning
C) the rules that specify how words are combined to form meaningful phrases
D) the rules governing the formation of meaningful words from sounds

Question 15

Which theory of language development emphasizes the processes of imitation and reinforcement?

A) learning theory
B) Chomsky's theory
C) nativist theory
D) interactionist theory

Question 16

According to the empiricist perspective,how do children develop language skills?

A) through reinforcement, shaping, and imitation
B) from the maturation of their language acquisition device
C) as their information-processing skills improve
D) only after myelinization is complete in the temporal lobes of the brain

Question 17

Learning theorists believe that language acquisition is dependent on shaping and reinforcement.What does the research evidence suggest about role of reinforcement in language acquisition?

A) It is important for the acquisition of new vocabulary.
B) It is important for the acquisition of syntax.
C) It is not important for the acquisition of either vocabulary or morphology.
D) It is not important for the acquisition of pragmatics.

Question 18

Moira understands that if she wants to talk about something in the past,she adds ed to the verb.The acquisition of which type of language knowledge accounts for Moira's understanding?

A) phonology
B) semantics
C) morphology
D) pragmatics

Question 19

Heinz is just learning to talk and he already says "please" and "thanks" and waits his turn in a conversation.What aspect of language knowledge has Heinz acquired?

A) morphology
B) syntax
C) semantics
D) pragmatics

Question 20

What does the morphology of language refer to?

A) the basic units of sound
B) the principles of governing the formation of meaningful words from sounds
C) the basic meaningful units of morphology
D) the meaning of whole words and sentences

Question 21

In addition to several other pieces of evidence,Lenneberg and others have cited commonalities in structure of Creolized languages as evidence for which theory of language acquisition?

A) interactionist
B) learning
C) nativist
D) empiricist

Question 22

Why do parents of young children use child-directed speech,recasts,and expansions?

A) to deliberately attempt to facilitate acquisition of grammar
B) to provide simple language models for their children to imitate
C) to optimize effectiveness of communication with their child at that moment
D) to provide negative evidence of ungrammatical speech

Question 23

Which of the following observations has been interpreted as providing compelling support for a nativist perspective of language development?

A) the emergence and use of pidgin languages by adults in multicultural communities
B) the ability of chimpanzees to acquire as many as 100 American Sign Language gestures
C) the ability for young animals of a variety of mammalian species to make subtle auditory discriminations
D) the use of linguistic universals that are evident in early language development

Question 24

According to recent research,what is required for an infant's acquisition of proficient language skills?

A) adults' use of motherese
B) reinforcement of infant's correct use of syntax
C) lengthy contact with an adult who converses with the child
D) exposure to adults who use grammatically correct forms

Question 25

Which of the following pieces of evidence best supports the sensitive-period hypothesis for language development?

A) Children the world over reach certain linguistic milestones at about the same age, despite cultural differences in the structure of their languages.
B) Children with aphasia often recover their lost language functions without special therapy, whereas adults with aphasia usually require extensive therapeutic interventions.
C) When pidgin languages arise, they are usually transformed into creoles within a single generation.
D) Apes who learn language display little, if any, knowledge of syntax.

Question 26

In addition to several other pieces of evidence,Lenneberg and others have cited cross-cultural findings of a commonality in structure of early spoken and signed language as evidence for which theory of language acquisition?

A) interactionist
B) learning
C) nativist
D) empiricist

Question 27

What would an interactionist theorist place the most emphasis on in guiding language development?

A) cognitive development and the language acquisition device
B) the language acquisition device and biological maturation
C) cognitive development and biological maturation
D) cognitive development, biological maturation, and the language environment

Question 28

In addition to several other pieces of evidence,Lenneberg and others have cited early specialization of the brain's hemispheres as evidence for which theory of language acquisition?

A) interactionist
B) learning
C) nativist
D) empiricist

Question 29

Linguistic universals are a joint product of which processes?

A) biological maturation, the language acquisition device, cognitive development, and the linguistic environment
B) biological maturation, cognitive development, and the linguistic environment
C) the language acquisition device and cognitive development
D) biological maturation and the language acquisition device

Question 30

Which of the following is the most accurate description of the nativist approach with respect to language development?

A) The nativist approach is incomplete and it describes, rather than explains, language learning.
B) The nativist approach focuses too heavily on the environment while ignoring the biological mechanisms that underlie language development.
C) The nativist approach is the most complete description of language acquisition available at the present time.
D) The nativist approach can explain the development of phonology and semantics but cannot account for the emergence of syntax or pragmatics.

Question 31

According to most psycholinguists,what is the effect of the use of child-directed speech?

A) It provides the child with an optimal model that may facilitate language acquisition.
B) It interferes with language acquisition, and does not provide the child with correct models of language.
C) It is essential for normal language acquisition.
D) It is an important way of communicating with children that may facilitate acquisition.

Question 32

Why do adults simplify the vocabulary,structure,and length of their utterances when speaking to children?

A) so that their speech matches the level of the utterances produced by the child
B) so that their speech is just below the level of the utterances produced by the child
C) so that their speech is just above the level of the utterances produced by the child
D) so that their speech is characteristic of the order of the words in a child's utterances

Question 33

Which of the following best summarizes Noam Chomsky's view of language acquisition?

A) It is heavily dependent on imitation and social interaction.
B) Biological factors play a relatively minor role.
C) An inborn linguist processor guides the process.
D) Reinforcement of correct language structure is crucial.

Question 34

Which theory best accounts for the apparent ease of language acquisition in infancy and early childhood?

A) nativist
B) sociocultural
C) learning
D) information-processing

Question 35

Which theory of language development emphasizes the notions of "sensitive periods" and "linguistic universals"?

A) learning
B) nativist
C) interactionist
D) empiricist

Question 36

Which of the following observations about language did Bickerton claim that only the nativist model could account for?

A) Pidgin languages develop among adults when individuals from different language groups must suddenly coexist.
B) Creolized languages are not easily understood by adolescents or adults.
C) The syntactic rules of Creolized languages are remarkably similar the world over.
D) Pidgin languages and Creolized languages may both be evident within a single cultural group.

Question 37

According to the empiricist perspective,children's progress in language acquisition occurs in response to adults reinforcing their children's grammatically correct speech and failing to respond to grammatically incorrect or uninterpretable speech.Does current research evidence support this view?

A) partially, as reinforcement may influence vocabulary acquisition but not the acquisition of syntax
B) partially, as reinforcement may influence the acquisition of syntax but not the development of vocabulary
C) yes, reinforcement influences both vocabulary or syntax acquisition
D) no, reinforcement does not influence either vocabulary or syntax acquisition

Question 38

Which of the following has been found to be most predictive of language proficiency in early childhood?

A) the extent to which a mother and child converse about objects and events to which they were jointly attending
B) the total amount of speech that a mother directs toward her child
C) the complexity of the speech a mother directs toward her child
D) the total amount of language a child is exposed to as a passive listener

Question 39

Some parents frequently expand,recast,or otherwise extend their children's speech while others rarely do so.What effect does the frequent use of expansions and recasts have on language acquisition?

A) no apparent effect on language acquisition
B) Inhibition of language acquisition
C) earlier acquisition of syntactic principles
D) facilitation of vocabulary acquisition, but not syntax

Question 40

Which of the following best summarizes current research findings regarding the role of imitation in syntax acquisition?

A) It is central for the acquisition of syntactic knowledge.
B) It facilitates acquisition of syntactic knowledge, but it is not essential.
C) The more imitation a child displays, the more advanced his or her syntactic structures will be.
D) Imitation is not as important to the development of syntax as reinforcement .

Question 41

Which of the following best summarizes the research evidence regarding the acquisition of a first language?

A) It is hindered by one-to-one conversations that contain simplified grammatical constructions.
B) It may be facilitated by one-to-one interaction but does not require it.
C) It can be facilitated by listening to TV programs or the conversations of adults.
D) It requires one-to-one conversations.

Question 42

How does the babbling of children in families using only sign language differ from the babbling of children in families that use spoken language?

A) It is similar, but slower to develop.
B) It is different, and faster to develop.
C) It is manual and characteristic of signing.
D) It is verbal and more persistent.

Question 43

What is suggested by the fact that coos sound the same,regardless of whether or not the infant can hear?

A) They arise from the infant's mutual exclusivity constraint.
B) They are a reflection of the parents' recasts and extensions.
C) They convey self-generated meanings for adult listeners.
D) They develop with maturation of the brain and vocal organs.

Question 44

Caretakers will often respond to their infant's vocalizations and smiles with similar behaviours.What is the function of such interchanges?

A) They are playful responses that have no other function than to strengthen the caretaker-infant bond.
B) They are informal "lessons" on conversational turn-taking .
C) They are playful interchanges that serve no other function than to reinforce vocalization.
D) They are entertaining, incidental interactions that play no particular role in language development.

Question 45

You are in an airport and hear three 9-month-old babies babbling,each from a different racial/ethnic background.Based on current research evidence will the babbling of these babies be different?

A) no, because maturation is the major determinant of language acquisition during the first year
B) no, because consonant sounds do not usually emerge until 12 months of age
C) yes, and will consist of mainly of two-word phrases
D) yes, with each child's babbles sounding similar to his or her native language

Question 46

Larissa is babysitting her 3-month-old nephew.She is trying to interest him in one of his toys,but he keeps looking away from her.Based on the results from Fernald's research,how should Larissa speak to him to recapture his attention?

A) with short sentences that have a falling intonation
B) with short sentences that have a rising intonation
C) with an even tone with little inflection
D) with babbling and cooing sounds

Question 47

Infant babbling often sounds as if the child has learned the "tune" before the words.What aspect of language is being referred to by the word "tune"?

A) syntax
B) intonation
C) semantics
D) pragmatics

Question 48

Suppose the mother of a young infant claimed that she could keep her baby in a happy mood just by maintaining one kind of rhythmic intonation.Based upon research evidence,how likely is this mother's claim?

A) It is not very likely, because intonation is one of the last aspects of language to be acquired.
B) It is not very likely, because infants show no differential response to adult intonation until they are capable of producing a variety of intonational patterns themselves.
C) It is very likely, because infants show discrimination of intonational patterns very early and seem to recognize that they carry different meanings.
D) It is very likely, because infants show remarkably adult intonation patterns themselves within the first week of life.

Question 49

When do infants first show a preference for the sound pattern of the language that their mother speaks?

A) prenatally
B) within a few days of birth
C) at about 2 months of age, when they begin to make cooing sounds
D) at about 10 months of age, when foreign phonemes disappear from their babbling

Question 50

Jerome's 4-month-old daughter was upset and fussy,but after listening to her father talk to her for a few minutes she is now calm.Based on the results from Fernald's research,how did Jerome speak to her?

A) with short sentences that had a rising intonation
B) with humming or soft cooing sounds
C) with short sentences that had a falling intonation
D) with an even voice, with little intonation or inflection

Question 51

When do infants first show a preference for speech that contains natural breaks and pauses?

A) birth
B) 2 months of age
C) 7 months of age
D) 15 months of age

Question 52

According to the textbook,which view of language acquisition is most supported by research evidence?

A) nativist theory
B) learning theory
C) the interactionist perspective
D) the maturational perspective

Question 53

At what age do most typically developing infants begin to babble?

A) in the first few hours after they are born
B) during the first month
C) between the ages of 2 and 3 months
D) between the ages of 4 and 6 months

Question 54

What does the neonates' ability to discriminate speech sounds and to recognize their mothers' voices imply about their language capabilities?

A) They have a language-acquisition device as Chomsky maintained.
B) They are using intonation as a basis for sound discrimination.
C) They will begin babbling within the first few days after birth.
D) They have innate capabilities needed to begin the language learning process.

Question 55

Which of the following observations supports the view that prelinguistic vocalizations are heavily influenced by maturation of the brain and the muscles controlling verbal articulation?

A) Infants frequently produce vocalizations that match the intonation of what they have just heard.
B) Newborns prefer the sound pattern of the language their mother speaks to that of a foreign language.
C) Infants rarely use terms such as "all gone" until after they have mastered object permanence.
D) All infants vocalize in a similar fashion during the first six months after birth.

Question 56

What is cooing?

A) producing combinations of vowel sounds
B) producing different cries to signify different kinds of discomfort
C) producing consonant and vowel combinations
D) producing first words, but with incorrect semantic structure

Question 57

Which of the following has been found to be essential,and sufficient,if the acquisition of syntax is to proceed normally?

A) exposure to other people conversing
B) a high rate of imitation of adult language
C) one-to-one conversations with a proficient speaker
D) parental reinforcement of correct grammatical usage

Question 58

Stephan's parents are very articulate and provide an environment that is rich in verbal stimuli.Stephan's mother states that because of this environment,he began to use telegraphic speech when he was only 6 months old.Would a developmentalist accept the mother's statement as plausible?

A) no, but only if he or she supports the nativist view of language development
B) yes, but only if he or she supports the learning view of language development
C) no, regardless of his or her view of language development
D) yes, but only if he or she supports the interactionist view of language development

Question 59

What does evidence indicate about the timing of language turn-taking?

A) It emerges gradually during the first week of life.
B) It is acquired over the first year of life.
C) It emerges during the preschool years.
D) It is acquired when children start school and are taught language turn-taking.

Question 60

Babbling refers to which type of vocalization?

A) changes of intonation to signify different kinds of discomfort
B) consonant and vowel combinations
C) first words, but with incorrect pronunciation
D) combinations of vowel sounds

Question 61

According to Nelson,which of the following would most likely be among an infant's first words?

A) go, up, bye-bye
B) stove, table, door
C) big, hot, mine
D) car, bus, doggie

Question 62

Which of the following best summarizes the research findings of Nelson regarding the type of words that infants were first to use?

A) action words
B) question words
C) object words
D) a random mixture of action words and questions

Question 63

Which of the following best describes an underextension of word meaning?

A) A child uses a word incorrectly to describe a wide variety of objects or events.
B) A child knows more than one word for the same object or event.
C) A child uses a general word to refer to a small range of objects or events.
D) A child attempts to describe an object or event that he or she has never seen.

Question 64

How does the referential style of early speech compare to the expressive style?

A) It is more common, and consists mainly of words that refer to people or objects.
B) It is less common, and consists mainly of words that refer to people or objects.
C) It is more common, and contains a large number of personal or social words.
D) It is less common, and contains a large number of personal or social words.

Question 65

Suppose that a researcher placed several objects in front of preverbal infants aged 11 to 13 months,and asked their mothers to tell the infant to look at different objects.Which of the following best summarizes how the infants will perform?

A) None of the infants will comprehend specific words.
B) Only the 13-month-olds will comprehend specific words.
C) Both age groups will comprehend specific words if they can imitate those words.
D) Both age groups will comprehend specific words if they are monosyllabic.

Question 66

Laura is a 2-year-old living in Vancouver.She has two older brothers and one older sister.Based on research conducted by Nelson,what type of language style is Laura most likely to have?

A) imperative
B) referential
C) declarative
D) expressive

Question 67

Jennessa is a toddler and embarrasses her parents by referring to any man with dark hair as daddy.What is the term for Jennessa's semantic error?

A) overextension
B) underextension
C) verbal limitation
D) production constraint

Question 68

Which of the following best characterizes vocabulary development after infants speak their first word?

A) Vocabulary growth is slow for several months and then speeds up dramatically.
B) Vocabulary immediately grows at an extremely rapid rate.
C) No further vocabulary growth takes place until the child is nearly 18 months of age.
D) Further increases in vocabulary occur at a slow, steady pace.

Question 69

Mario,age 5,understands that the word mouse applies to the critter on the floor and also to mouse cartoon figures,because they share perceptual features.Which constraint to a word's meaning does his understanding illustrate?

A) object scope
B) lexical contrast
C) taxonomic
D) mutual exclusivity

Question 70

Which of the following best defines an object scope constraint?

A) Words refer to whole objects rather than to parts of objects or to object attributes.
B) Each object has one label, and different words refer to separate, nonoverlapping categories.
C) Each word has a unique meaning.
D) Novel words refer to previously unnamed referents.

Question 71

Which of the following best describes an overextension of word meaning?

A) A child uses a general word to refer to a small range of objects or events.
B) A child knows more than one word for the same object or event.
C) A child attempts to describe an object or event that he or she has never seen.
D) A child uses a word incorrectly to describe a wide variety of objects or events.

Question 72

Which Piagetian concept is illustrated by a toddler's overextension of words to describe new objects and events that he or she encounters?

A) organization
B) assimilation
C) egocentric speech
D) accommodation

Question 73

On average,how many new words do infants add to their vocabulary between the ages of 18 and 24 months?

A) approximately one per week
B) up to 10 words per day
C) between 10 to 20 per week
D) approximately 100 per week

Question 74

Which of the following best defines a lexical contrast constraint?

A) Words refer to whole objects rather than to parts of objects or to object attributes.
B) Each object has one label, and different words refer to separate, nonoverlapping categories.
C) Novel words refer to previously unnamed referents.
D) Each word has a unique meaning.

Question 75

Margrete holds up her arms to indicate that she wants her dad to pick her up,and her dad lifts her onto his shoulders.Margrete's behaviour is an example of which of the following processes?

A) imperative gestures
B) contextual turn-taking
C) declarative gestures
D) metalinguistic communication

Question 76

Based on Janet Werker's research,how is vocabulary size related to an infant's ability to discriminate similar-sounding words?

A) It is less important than age for predicting performance.
B) It is more important than age for predicting performance.
C) It is less important than phonological awareness for predicting performance.
D) It is more important than phonological awareness for predicting performance.

Question 77

When comparing language production and language comprehension,what general pattern of development has been revealed?

A) none, because it depends on the particular item or syntactic structure being considered
B) production and comprehension generally proceed at about the same rate
C) production is typically ahead of comprehension
D) comprehension is typically ahead of production

Question 78

Which of the following best summarizes the conclusions of researchers that have examined toddlers' acquisition of words?

A) They are quite slow to acquire new vocabulary, requiring many repetitions over several days before they acquire and retain new words.
B) They acquire expressive words through fast-mapping and referential words through overextension.
C) They often acquire new words after hearing them applied to their referents only once or twice.
D) They acquire referential words through fast-mapping and expressive words through overextension.

Question 79

Yuko and Teresa are both 3-year-olds who have no older siblings.Yuko lives in Tokyo,Japan,and Teresa lives in Calgary,Alberta.Based on Nelson's research findings,what type of language style would you expect each girl to develop?

A) Yuko would have an expressive language style, whereas Teresa would have a referential language style.
B) Both girls would have an expressive language style.
C) Both girls would have a referential language style.
D) Yuko would have a referential language style, whereas Teresa would have an expressive language style.

Question 80

Quentin is a 2-year-old living in Toronto.He is an only child.Based on research conducted by Nelson,what language style is Quentin likely to have?

A) expressive
B) imperative
C) referential
D) declarative