1. Overextension
1.1. Analogical
1.1.1. Child makes links between different objects according to similar properties.
1.2. Categorical
1.2.1. Refers to all objects of same category with same name.
2. Pre-telegraphic
2.1. 15-30 months
2.2. No bound morphemes.
2.3. MLU of 1.75
3. One word stage
3.1. First words at 1.
3.2. Single word utterances between 12-18 months.
3.3. Holophrases
3.3.1. Single words convey complex meanings
3.3.1.1. E.g. “juice” could mean, “I’ve spilt some juice”.
3.4. Gestures and intonation
3.4.1. Help parents understand.
3.5. Understanding of syntax more advanced than own utterances.
4. Two word stage
4.1. Two words sentences begin around 18 months
4.1.1. Often subject + verb (grammatically correct)
4.2. Other common constructions:
4.2.1. Verb + object (‘Draw doggie’)
4.2.2. Subject + object (‘Suzy juice’)
4.2.3. Subject + complement (‘Daddy busy’)
4.3. Utterances focus on key words.
5. The Wug Test
5.1. Jean Berko (1958)
5.2. Shows children have a better understanding of morphology than explicitly taught.
5.3. Used pseudo words
5.3.1. Avoids previous exposure to words
5.3.1.1. E.g. ‘wug’ rather than ‘bird’.
5.4. Conclusions:
5.4.1. Children know the regular way in which adjectives are formed from the noun
5.4.1.1. Dog with quirks = quirky dog.
5.4.2. Children often able to deduce what the plural of a noun would be
5.4.2.1. (76% 4-5 year olds) said more than one wug makes several wugs.
6. Morphemes
6.1. Units of meaning
6.2. Free
6.2.1. Makes sense on its own
6.2.1.1. E.g. ‘small’
6.3. Bound
6.3.1. Relies on other elements
6.3.1.1. E.g. ‘-est’
7. Over and underextension
8. First word
8.1. Katherine Nelson (1973)
8.1.1. Approximately 60% nouns