Grammar tutorial

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/index.htm

Analysis of a transcript- child langauge acqusition

Lou: shall we take your jacket off CONFIDENCE IN THE LANGUAGE, POLITNESS STARTEGY

Ruby: it's not a jacket it's a coat DECLARATIVE

Lou: oh (.) sorry (.) shall we take your COAT off then JUST COME IN FROM BEING OUTSIDE, EMPHISISING THE WORD FOR SARCASM, HYPERBOLIC LEXIS, LEXIS WE SHOWING COMMMUNICAL EFFORT, POLTNESS STARTGEY, POSTIVE FACVE, BROWN AND LEVINGSTON  

Ruby: mmm

Lou: are you going to be a bossy boots all morning RHETORICAL QUESTION

Ruby: [nods & laughs] (3.0) what's up wiv Felma HUMOR, PHONOLOGICAL FEAUTURES

Lou: Thelma [questioning intonation] (1.0) oh (.) she's been a silly girl (1.0) she's been

Fighting SIMPLIFYING LANGUAGE

Ruby: what did it (.) what what was it (.) em Simba bitted by a dog REPETITION

Lou: Simba got bitten by a do::g [questioning intonation] oh no is he all right CORRECTION FROM CAREGIVER MEANS THAT THE CHILDS LANGAUGE IS SUBTLY BEING CORRECTED AND THEREFORE IMPROVING, ELONGATION

Ruby: yeh

Lou: yes

Ruby: he's better now

Lou: is he better now (.) the vet looked after him [questioning intonation] (2.0) QUESTIONING RESPONSE BY REPEATING THE QUESTION

Ruby: no we took him to the bets two times but he's better

Lou: he's better SKINNERS REINFORCMENT THEORY [questioning intonation] oh that's good (.) Thelma's getting better

Ruby: Sim (.) Simba THE LEXIS DEVELOPS, AFTER AN ATTEMPT SHE CAN THEN SAY THE FULL PROPER NOUN AS OPPOSED TO A SHORTENED VERSION OF IT

slept on my (2.0) Fergal and Simba slept on my bed

Lou: oh (.) last night [questioning intonation]

Ruby: yeh

Lou: is there room on your bed for two pussy cats and you LEXICAL FIELDS

Ruby: yes

Lou: is there (.) do they not get (.) do you not get pushed out of bed every night by two big TAG QUESTION

pussy cats

Ruby: no SIMPLE SYNTAX, ONE LEXIS

Lou: they're almost as big as you your cats (1.0) shall we have some jam on toast POLITNESS STATGEY

Ruby: yes

Lou: would you like some apple juice as well INTERAGOTIVE , POLITNESS

Ruby: yes

Lou: what would you like first  INTERGTOTIVE

Ruby: apple juice

Lou: apple juice SKINNERS REINFORCEMENT  (.) a little glass [questioning intonation]

Ruby: yes

Lou: yes (1.0) SKINNERS REINFORCEMENT THEORY

Ruby: big girls have glass don't they

Lou: yes (.) big girls have glasses (.) it's all I've got (.) glasses (2.0) LEIXCAL FIELDS, CONCRETE NOUN

Ruby: grandma has glass and cups

Lou: grandma has glass and cups does she TAG QUESTION(.) and what do you have at grandma's (1.0)SUBCONSIOUSLY SIMPLIFYING LANGUAGE

Ruby: apple juice and orange CONJUNCTION- CREATING COMPLEX SYNTAX

Lou: apple juice and orange (.) there we go (.) where are you going to sit to have this (.) INTERAGOTIVE, COMPLEX SYNTAX USING THE CONJUCTION ‘AND’

do you want to sit at the table

Ruby: I'll sit (.) I want to sit in the room DEMANDING, DECLARATIVE SENTENCE

Lou: oo:: no (.) not with your apple juice

Ruby: only wiz my toast (2.0) INACCURATE PRONOUNCIANTION , TRYING TO SAY THE LEXIS ‘WITH’

Lou: sit here and I'll move my things out of the way

Ruby: only in (.) only wiz my toast

Lou: okay (.) there you go (1.0) can you manage INTERAGOTIVE

Ruby: Mummy got (3.0) Mummy's moved a bed               LEXICAL FIELDS

Lou: Mummy's moved her bed or your bed [questioning intonation] (2.0)

Ruby: her bed (.)

Lou: right (.) where's she moved it to

Ruby: (3.0) that (.) bit [pointing left] USING DETERMINERS

Lou: that bit [laughs]

Ruby: then the baby's mattress is (.) on that bit [pointing right]

Lou: a::h I see:: (1.0) so Mummy's moved her bed so she can fit the bed in for the baby (.)ELONGATION

you excited about the baby [questioning intonation]

Ruby: (2.0) it's coming after Christmas

Lou: after Christmas (.) is Father Christmas going to bring it

Ruby: no (.) Mummy's made it

Lou: [laughs] Mummy's made it has she (.) she's clever your Mummy isn't she

Ruby: we don't know how she made it cos the books shows us (.) how's it (.) she made it

Lou: oh right (.) has she read the book with you (1.0) or are you getting a book

Ruby: (2.0) we haven't got a book about the baby we getting a book GRAMMATICALLY INCORRECT, MISSING OUT LEXIS

Lou: are you looking forward to the baby (.) do you want a baby brother or a baby sister

Ruby: (3.0) I want a girl HESTITATION

Lou: a girl (2.0)

Ruby: I want to call it Dora GOOD SEMANTIC AWARNESS

Lou: [laughs] Dora (.) after Dora the Explorer HUMOUR

Ruby: and when she gets bigger (.) she (.) she can explorer [laughs]

Lou: [laughs] when she gets bigger she can be an explorer COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVE , SKINNERS REINFORCEMENT THEORY

Ruby: no (.) Mum said when we at Sun (.) Sunday dinner (.) she'll be adorable [laughs]

Lou: adorable (.) that's clever isn't it

 

 

AO1- LANGUAGE- 24 ACTUAL-24             

AO2-THEORY -6 ACTUAL-16

AO3- CONTEXT-6 ACTUAL-8

 

When the caregiver repeats the sentence ‘em Simba bitted by a dog’, she subtly alters  and changes the material verb to ‘got bitten by a dog’. This lexical choice has the effect of changing the child’s language and identifying the mistake however, the child’s confident is not altered. In another instance, the child makes a grammatical error when she does not put the concrete noun ‘glass’ as a plural. The primary caregiver then simplifies her language and repeats the childs sentence without making any alterations.

The rhetorical question used by the caregiver’ ‘are you going to be a bossy boots all morning’, suggests subtle control and that she is telling the child her actions were unacceptable, and she wants them to change immediately.

 

 

Steven Pinker- the 10 grammatical rules

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/15/steven-pinker-10-grammar-rules-break

This article emphasis how complex the English language is and is written in a very informative manner. It manages to combine expertise and common sense and structures it in a understandable way.

AQA website

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-language-b-2705

AO1-LANGUAGE- NEED 24 MARKS
A02-THEORY-NEED 16 MARKS
AO3-CONTEXT-8 MARKS

General CLA notes:

• 'Language defies you as being human'
• 'From birth, language is in our lives'
• Humans are the only individuals on the planet who can speak
• Expressing thought processes unique to yourselves
• Children use minimal effort when speaking
• We are still unsure as to how we speak
• Dr Deb Roy- speech home project
• Children use determiners when they are unsure how to label objects e.g 'dat'
• 2 word stage=syntax
• Adults unconsciously simplify lexis in order to converge
• Every child has a caregiver and this is normally the parents
• Semantic awareness outstrips phonological ability
• At five years old the child should know 5000 lexis
• Adults use 15,000 words a day
• Despite decades of research, we are no closer to discovering how we acquire language
• Children can often identify objects and nouns but not actions and verbs
• William Fifer- babies
• Noam Chomsky- LAD

http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/

• 'Language defies you as being human'
• Cognition theory-piaget
• We have an innate ability to speak
• The case of genie-the wild child
• Fox p-2 part of your DNA

Telegraphic stage: incomplete syntax/utterance, struggle with question structures, struggle with negatives, use the negative lexis 'no' for negatives


Caregiver: Skinners reinforcement theory, unconsciously guiding the child's language