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12: Complementary Cognitive Processes – Language

  • Page ID
    370999
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    Chapter Overview

    Our third chapter on complementary cognitive processes will involve a brief investigation of language and how it relates to learning (or is learned). We will first set a foundation for what language is and its structure. Then we will discuss how language is learned over childhood. Our discussion will end with learning another language, whether spoken or visual.

    Chapter Learning Objectives
    • Describe language and its structure.
    • Clarify how we learn language focusing on developments across childhood.

    • 12.1: Language and Its Structure
      This page defines language as a system of shared rules for word meaning and structure, introducing linguistics with its four aspects: phonology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. It covers speech elements like phonemes and morphemes, explores language peculiarities such as word frequency effect and lexical ambiguity, and emphasizes the role of inferences—instrumental, causal, and anaphoric—in deriving meaning beyond the text.
    • 12.2: Learning a Language
      This page details the stages of language development from infancy to middle childhood, starting with prelinguistic communication and advancing to vocabulary growth. Infants progress to babbling and holophrases, while preschoolers expand their vocabulary rapidly through fast mapping, reaching around 15,000 words by age six. In middle childhood, vocabulary can grow to nearly 60,000 words.
    • 12.3: Learning Another Language
      This page emphasizes the significance of learning a second language, specifically American Sign Language (ASL). It highlights that second language acquisition is possible at any age and is affected by personal motivation, practice opportunities, and community needs. The page details ASL's unique grammar and syntax, and suggests learning methods such as classes and community interaction.
    • 12.4: Chapter Recap
      This page covers language learning development from infancy to middle childhood, including second languages and sign language. It links cognitive processes such as sensation, perception, attention, and memory to language acquisition. The conclusion of Part VI discusses cognition—reasoning, problem-solving, and intelligence—and how these relate to learning, while also addressing challenges like intellectual and learning disabilities.


    This page titled 12: Complementary Cognitive Processes – Language is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lee W. Daffin Jr. via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.