50 1st Words

Words such as 'Laa-Laa' and 'hiya' are representative of Skinner's theory. This is because they are likely to be imitations; the first is from a TV show the child probably watches on a regular basis and so they will imitate it. The parent may laugh or smile at this, which is a means of positive reinforcement, and so the child is likely to use it again to get the same result. The word 'hiya' is probably used by a parent or carer, and so the child will repeat it. Whoever this is directed to may then repeat the word back to them, which is another form of positive reinforcement.
    The word 'wassat' disputes Skinner's theories. It is a word the child has made up on their own; an abbreviation of 'what is that'. The child will find out for themselves if this is an effective means of communication (either because it is easier to say or people understand them despite the created word) and so is likely to use it again because of their own findings.

CLA Answer

From the evidence gathered, it seems that this particular child has been prioritising naming things or people. This is probably because children will point to things when using 'proto-words' so that they can establish an understanding more clearly. This makes it easier for the parent or carer to try and repeat the name after them. This also makes it easier for the child to convey needs such as thirst through single words, i.e. 'juice. The parent would probably encourage these attempts to convey needs, as it means that they can fulfill the child's requirements more efficiently.
  Language can then be built around these proper nouns to establish further meaning. The child could still be thirsty and ask for 'more juice'. The parent may then wish to take this development a step further, and encourage the child to say 'please' or 'ta' when asking for or accepting this juice. As this is probably a daily interaction, the parent may feel these social words are important, and the child may pick up on the fact that politeness is important. These content words, which are usually children's first words, are especially important because of the fact that the child can, to an extent, modify them and still convey meaning. An example of this would be if a child modifies the word 'please' to 'peas'. In the right context (can I have some juice peas) the child can still effectively convey meaning as well as incorporating their own modified content word.

How language changes depending on the situation.

   How language changes depending on the situation.


The nature of the emergency can dictate certain lexical choices or the pace of speech. Here, you can see how Liam's real emergency situation contasted against the false emergency of the anonymous caller determines how they use language.

Repetition

      Both speakers repeat at least one sentence. Liam, however, seems to be able to articulate himself with increasing competence as the call progresses. His repetitions are mainly at the beginning of the call, where he tells the ambulance worker "she's not - she's not doing anything". This is likely to be because Liam was hoping that his mum would wake up after the service's instructions, and the fact that she hasn't is starting to worry him.
      The slightly older gentleman calling about the 'mystery object' repeats the phrase "I don't know what the hell it is" several times during the course of the call. This is likely due to the fact that, although it turned out to be the moon, the man was probably panicking about what the object was and what it will do to him.
      The man is not the only person in this call that repeats himself, however; the woman recieving the call also repeats herself. When the caller is telling her that he has made a mistake, she repeats the phrase "do you know". This is most likely to be because she is confused - the man was being very elusive at the beginning of the second call as to what the object actually was, and so the reciever is probably speculating as to what could have scared him to the point of calling the emergency services.

Pauses

      The length of pauses in the calls can determine how confident a speaker is in their answer, or if their attention is divided elsewhere. The pauses is Liam's conversation range from brief to eight seconds. The pauses are usually due to the fact that Liam is doing as the worker asks, such as shaking his mum's shoulders to try and wake her up. The worker does try to keep Liam talking for as long as possible, however. After a pause of four seconds she calls "Hello:::::::" down the phone, in order to make sure that Liam is still there. This is because she needs to ensure his safety, as well as try to revive his mother as quickly as possible. Unlike the repetitions, the pauses are dispersed through-out the entire conversation because of the fact that she has different tasks for Liam.