I.  Speech Production Structures

A. Respiration: the air we use to speak (diaphragm)

B. Phonation: The respiratory muscles allow air to be forced under pressure through structures in the larynx. They obstruct the airflow from the lungs, causing the vibrations necessary for speech.

C. Resonation: The tone of the sound is affected by the size and shape of the resonating structures into which the air is expelled. The larger the resonating cavity, the lower the tone.

D. Articulation: The production of sound (how you pronounce it)

a. Place of articulation (where is sound is formed

b. Manner of articulation (how a sound is formed)

c. Voicing (whether the vocal cords are vibrated)

II. Central Nervous System

A. Peripheral Nervous System: Made up of the cranial and spinal nerves that carry sensory information to the brain while relaying motor information form the brain to the muscles of the body.

B.  Central Nervous System: Includes the brain and spinal cord. 

a. The hindbrain (consists of the structures of the brain stem)

b. The midbrain (consists of the structures that assist in relaying information to and from the brain and the visual and auditory nerves.

c. The forebrain/Cerebrum (largest part; divided into two hemispheres connected by the corpus collosum; Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area)

III. Cognitive Bases of Language Development

A. Distancing: involves the gradual movement away form actual physical experiences to symbolic or representational behavior

B. Object permanence: the idea that objects exit even when they are not being touched, tasted, or seen.

Chapter 4

I. Language Acquisition

A. Surface Structure: the starts and stops, the ungrammatical sentences, and the colloquial and slang expressions that are a part of the language and normal conversation.

B. 5 factors that influence language acquisition: linguistic environment, inherited abilities, individual’s experiences and opportunities for interaction, and child’s developing linguistic and cognitive abilities.

II. 5 Models

A. The Behavioral Model: This places a great deal of emphasis on the role of the environment in language acquisition. The child is seen as a relatively passive recipient of external influences- from parents, siblings, and others. Language is associated with learning a behavior (reward, punishment,)

B. The Linguistic (Nativist) Model: The child must be exposed to language. Children were doing more than memorizing chunks of language- they were also learning language rules.

a. Language Acquisition Device (LAD): consists of basic grammatical categories and rules that are common to all languages.

C. The Semantic-Cognitive Model: Children develop syntax because they already have something to talk about rather than because they have the grammar to express themselves.

D. The Pragmatic-Interactionist Model: The model places greatest emphasis on the communicative function of the language. Language development takes place as children learn to choose the linguistic form that will best express their communicative intent.

a. Information processing: provides a more complete picture of what happens during language interaction

b. Parallel/Simultaneous Processing: in the model there is a hierarchy of steps but with parallel processing. Several levels of analysis may take place simultaneously, this speeding up the system
E. The Information-Processing Model: Attempts to explain how learning takes place. They were originated as a way to develop machine-based learning. Later then were adapted to be applied to human learning.