Flashcards · 9670 · A Level Topic 3

Unit 3 – Language Variation (A Level) flashcards

11 cards on A Level Topic 3, subtopics 3.3.1 to 3.3.2. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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What are the stages of children's speech development?: Pre-verbal (crying, cooing, babbling), holophrastic, two-word, telegraphic and post-telegraphic. Ages vary greatly between children.
What are overextension and underextension?: Overextension: using a word too widely (every four-legged animal is "dog"). Underextension: using it too narrowly (only the family pet is "dog").
What are expansion and recasting in child-directed speech?: Recasting repeats the child's utterance in correct adult form; expansion extends it ("Doggy run." / "Yes, the doggy is running fast"). Both model grammar without direct correction.
Why does overgeneralisation challenge behaviourism?: Forms such as "runned" or "mouses" apply a regular rule to irregular words. Adults do not say them, so they cannot be imitated.
How does children's writing develop?: From drawing and writing-like marks, to letters, to phonetic spelling, then conventional spelling and punctuation, then control of genres and audiences. Kroll's model runs from preparatory to integrated writing.
What is a five-step method for analysing child language data?: Note the age and context; pick three or four features; name and quote each; explain what the child can and cannot yet do; link to a theory and evaluate it.

What are Kachru's three circles?: Inner circle: English as a first language (UK, US, Australia). Outer circle: an official or institutional role, often after colonial history (India, Nigeria, Singapore). Expanding circle: English as a foreign language.
Pidgin or creole: what is the difference?: A pidgin is a simplified contact language with no native speakers. A creole develops when a pidgin becomes a first language, with expanded vocabulary and grammar.
What does the term World Englishes express?: That the many varieties of English around the world have equal linguistic validity, each with its own standard forms.
How has English spread around the world?: Through trade, colonisation and migration, and later through media, technology, education and business.
How should non-standard features of a variety be described?: As systematic features of that variety, explained by causes such as language contact or local culture, never as errors or "slang".