LINGUIS 51 Study Guide - Final Guide: Zipf'S Law, Perfect Sense, Pragmatics
Document Summary
Review questions: morphological & syntactic development (cited and stated directly from dr. B/c nonsense sentences can have clear syntax but be incomprehensible when the syntax is nonsense. On the opposite spectrum, ungrammatical sentences can make perfect sense so meaning is not solely determined byword order. Early sentences tend to be imperatives (commands) as well as affirmative, declarative statements and telegraphic speech. Typical grammatical categories included in children"s multi-word speech include nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Typical categories missing: determiners (the, a), prepositions (to, by, from) auxiliary verbs (am, are, was), bound morphes (-s plural marker) Basic division of meaning: more contentful vs. more grammatical. Morphologically rich languages are not necessarily more difficult for children to learn. Regular/predictable systems are easier for children to learn than languages that have multiple exceptions (like english often does). Development is gradual (though may have spurt-like parts), and there are large ranges not all bound morphemes come in at the same time.
