|| DEB ROY: THE BIRTH OF A WORD ||

Here is footage from the 2011 TED talk by Deb Roy, on his studies into child language acquisition , and his beliefs on the topic.
<<See the video here>>

|| LANGUAGE CHANGE: INTRODUCTION ||

This topic area explores historical and contemporary changes in the English Language from Late Modern English (1700+) to the present day, alongside explanations of their causes and impact. This module will focus on the following areas for study:

attitudes towards language change and the impact of language standardisation
changes in orthography, grammar, lexis and punctuation
changes in written and spoken style
the impact of social and political forces upon language usage and changechanges in layout and text design in written texts.
(AQA official site)

For the second part of my language exam, I will be looking at Language Change. Before I begin posting my notes though, I first want to post a link to an interesting article on BBC news. What is interesting about it is that it has the layout of a language change exam response, which will be good to consider when revising.

Click for link.

|| CLA: EARLY PHONOLOGICAL ERRORS ||

Deletion: Ommitting the final consonant in words.
               E.g Do(g), Cu(p)

Substitution: Substituting one sound for another (especially the harder sounds that develop later, such as 'sh').
                   E.g 'Pip' for 'Ship'

Addition: Adding an extra vowel sound to the ends of words, creating a Consonant - Vowel pattern.
               E.g 'Doggie'

Assimilation: Changing one consonant or vowel for another (As in the early plosive sounds 'd' & 'b').
                    E.g 'Gog' for 'Dog'

Reduplication: Repeating a whole syllable.
                       E.g 'Dada', 'Mama'
Consonant Cluster Reductions: Consonant clusters can be difficult to articulate so children reduce them.
                                                E.g 'Pider' for 'Spider'
Deletion of Unstressed Syllables: Omitting the opening syllable in polysyllabic words.
                                                   'Nana' for 'Banana'