Skinners theory and child language

This list of 50 words does back up Skinner's theory as all of the words the child has learnt would most likely be rewarded with praise which shows positive reinforcement. For example, when the child says "cuddle" it is likely that they would be rewarded for saying the correct word with being cuddled, also saying "juice" would be rewarded with receiving the juice. This could prove Skinners theory as the child may have realised that those words are correct and therefore continues to use them as they know that this is the way to show what they want. 

All of the words that the child has learnt have probably been learnt through imitation; the child would listen to his carers saying specific words and being rewarded for it. For example, saying specific lexis like "please" is something that the child has learnt and associated with getting what they want. Politeness is harder concept to understand at a young age, therefore proving that the child knows words like "please" and "ta" from imitation and reinforcement. 

However, some words that the child has learnt would require more explanation and understanding that just simply imitation and reinforcement. This goes against Skinner's theory and shows that child language acquisition requires more depth than stated in this particular theory. For example, asking "wassat" requires a lot more knowledge and understanding as the child is asking a question, which is a concept more difficult to understand than simply imitating words that they have previously heard. 

Child Language Acquisition

What clues can you get from this list of 50 words on how a baby might acquire language?

This list of 50 words tells me that in the first year of a babies life the majority of words that they learn are naming words. The number of proper nouns that the child has learned gives an indication of the people that the child spends most of their time around, for example "mumma, dadda, grandad, nana". Also, the proper noun "Laa Laa" gives the impression that the child must watch the television programme the Teletubbies. The child has also learned many concrete nouns; these could be learned in many different situations and in different context. The words learned indicate the activities the child might do in the day, for example having a meal - "toast, marmite, jam, cup, bowl, biscuit". Furthermore, the child may recognise getting dressed as they can say "socks" and "shoes". These words could all have been learnt through routine, for example the child may always have toast for breakfast with either jam or marmite. 

The child has also learned a few words relating to actions or events. For example, "cuddle" and "jump". As the child is of a young age, the actions that they will be able to do will be limited and therefore the number of words they know in this section are of a smaller amount. The child can also say words which are personal/social. For example, "hello, bye-bye, please, ta". This symbolises routine; the child may be more familiar with these words as they probably recognise that they are said for greetings and to show politeness. As these words are likely to be used several time a day, they will be more familiar to the baby and therefore they would pick not only the word but the meaning more quickly.

Language and Gender

Peter Trudgill did research in the 1970's on Norwich speech. He wanted to find out why people's ways of speaking varied. One thing that he studied was the final consonant in words, for example walking, running, talking, etc. He found out that in Norwich, the pronunciation of these words is heard without the 'g'. For example, they say walkin', talkin', etc. 

However, Trudgill found that this pronunciation is not a unique thing and happens in more places that just Norwich. He states that "Nearly everywhere in the Eng-speaking world we find this alternation between higher-class/formal ng and lower class/informal n". 

From this study, Turdgill discovered that, in all social classes, correct pronunciation of words such as walking and talking are due to how careful the person is when speaking, he found that people in a higher social class can still pronounce it as walkin', too. However, he did find that this type of pronunciation was more common among the lower classes. 

He also found that this type on miss pronunciation occurs not only in social class division, but in gender, too. For example, he found that the non-standard pronunciation walkin' occurred a lot more in men's speech rather than in women's. This finding was true for all social classes. 

Robin Lackoff also did research on language and gender. She was one of the first linguists to look into the differences and social implications and men's and women's speech. She argued that language is fundamental to gender inequality and she believes this could contribute to the lack of women's power in two different areas - language used by women and language used about women. Lackoff believed that the language used by and about women gives people the impression that women are weaker and have less power and status than men. 

She stated that women's language was distinguished in several ways, for example: hedging, 'super' polite informs, hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation, tag questions, use of implication, sense of humour lacking, special lexicon, speaking less frequently, being apologetic, etc.  



Bibliography:

http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/research/norwich.html

Pantene Advert

In this advert, women are portrayed to be very inferior in comparison to men. For example, in the advert, the man is labelled as 'dedicated' for staying up late and doing work, whereas the women is labelled 'selfish' for the same reasons. This advert shows people how women can be labelled very differently than a man would, reflecting the gender differences in society. It also gives people the impression that men are seen as a lot more worthy than women, this reflects the higher status and power that men have compared to women. 

Analysis - Power

Analysis of Martin Luther King "I have a dream" speech: http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf

This speech begins with personal pronouns, for example 'I, you, our'. The use of personal pronouns makes the listener feel as though the speaker is speaking directly to them. This represents power and it makes the listener's feel as though they have to listen to the speaker. Power is shown through this piece as there is a clear dominant speaker, Martin Luther King; there is no turn taking and he has control over what is said throughout. This shows power as it is clear that the speaker has control over the speech and people respect the speaker so do not feel the need to speak. 

The use of the determiner 'my' in this speech shows power as Martin Luther King says 'my people' symbolising that he has power over the people; as if he owns and controls them. The use of the model verb 'we must' makes the listeners feel as though they have to do what they are being told to do. This shows power in the discourse as it seems as though people are willing to be told what to do and to take instructions from the speaker. The contraction 'cannot' shows power in the discourse in a similar way that the modal verbs do; it makes people feel as though they are obligated to follow the orders of the speaker.  

Repetition of the phrase 'I have a dream' is used throughout this speech. The use of repetition shows that Martin Luther King wants people to be able to recognise this quote. This shows power as the speaker wants to be recognised and respected by his listeners.