CLA Revision Questions

1. What is phonemic expansion and contraction? Explain why this happens.

Phonemic expansion - This is when a child starts to string a range of sounds together and use a variety of sounds.

Phonemic contractions - This is when sounds are put together meaningfully and are selective.

2. How is turn-taking encouraged in early speech development? Why is it important?

3. What is a phoneme and what is a grapheme?

4. Which phonemes develop later than others? Whose research (‘Fis’ phenomenon) suggests it is articulation rather than not knowing the difference?

5. What is a proto word?

6. What is a holophrase?

7. What are the four categories of first words according to Katherine Nelson (1973)?

8. What is positive reinforcement?

9. What is negative reinforcement?

10. Explain the following stages of children’s linguistic development according to Jean Aitcheson:

        a) Labelling

        b) Packaging

        c) Network-building

11. Explain the following stages of children’s linguistic development according to Piaget:

        a) Sensorimotor

        b) Pre-operational

        c) Concrete operational

        d) Formal operational

12. What is Mean Length Utterance (MLU) and what can it tell us about a child’s language proficiency?

13. Define the following stages in terms of a child’s grammatical development:

        a) One word/holophrastic

        b) Two-word

        c) Telegraphic

        b) Post-telegraphic

14. What three stages of negative formations did Ursula Bellugi discover in young children?

15. What does LAD stand for? Which theorist suggested we have a LAD? What is a LAD?

16. What is a virtuous error? Give examples.

17. What are overextension and underextension? How do they contradict Skinner’s ideas?

18. What is Universal Grammar?

19. How are Bruner and Vygotski’s theories similar and different? Give examples and use terminology.

20. How are Halliday and Dore’s categories similar and different?

21. What is egocentric speech?

22. Child-led discourse?

23. What are some useful features of CDS to discuss in an essay and why?

24. What does recast/reformulation mean?

25. What does LASS stand for and whose theory is it?

26. Define the following theories and say who the theorist(s) are for each:

        a) Nativist

        Chomsky -

        b) Behaviourist

        c) Social interactionist

        d) Cognitive

        e) Critical period

27. What are the main approaches to teaching children to read? What are the differences between top-down, bottom-up, and other approaches?

28. How might we relate Skinner’s ideas about reinforcement to literacy acquisition?

29. What cues do children use when reading?

30. List and note the key characteristics of Chall’s stages of reading development.

31. List and explain the key features of reading schemes. What are the arguments for and against reading schemes and a ‘synthetic phonics’ approach?

32. List some quality children’s books and why they are valuable.

33. What are some of the key miscues a young reader makes and what fundamental ideas do they have to learn about reading that they often have difficulty with at first?

34. Why is reading so hard in English? Give examples using terminology. 

World Englishes

Back formation - a word that is formed from an existing word, typically by removal of a suffix (e.g. edit from editor ).


Affixations -  the process of inflection or derivation that consists of adding an affix


Compounding -  the process of combining two words to create a new word (commonly a noun, verb, or adjective)


Conversion - the word formation process in which a word of one grammatical form becomes a word of another grammatical form without  any changes to spelling or pronunciation


Norm developing - people in the outer circle countries where English is not the native tongue but it serves as a useful lingua franca between ethnic groups


Norm dependent - relies on the standards set by native speakers in the inner circle e.g. UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand


Aboriginal -  the name given to the various kinds of English spoken by Aboriginal people throughout Australia

Varieties of English

Differences between American English and British English:

• Vocabulary. e.g. vacation (American) and holiday (British), bonnet (American) and hood (British)
• Collective nouns. American collective nouns are singular whereas English can be singular or plural. e.g. "The band is good" (American) and "The band are good" (British)
• Auxiliary verbs. e.g. "Shall", "Shall we go now?" (British) and "Should we go now?" (American). "Do not" (American), "Don't" or "Needn't" (British)
• Past Tense Verbs. Americans use both "got" and "gotten" in past participle, whereas English only use "got". e.g. "I have never gotten caught" (American) and "I have never got caught" (British)
• Tag Questions. English use a lot more tag questions than Americans, which turns a declarative into an interrogative. e.g. "It's a nice day, isn't it?"
• Spelling. e.g. "color" (American) and "colour" (British), "center" (American) and "centre" (British), "apologize" (American) and "apologise" (British), "traveled" (American) and "travelled" (British), "maneuver" (American) and "manoeuvre" (British) and "defense" (American) and "defence" (British)

Chicano English:

• Influenced by Spanish - Mexican immigrants went to California and other parts of the south west 
• Phonological features - "sheep" sounds like "ship", the "s" of "present" pronounced like the "c" in "decent", confusion over "ch" and "sh" e.g. "chip" pronounced like "ship" or "shicken" for "chicken"

English Timeline

1601

Shakespeare, Hamlet

   "When as himselfe might his Quietus make

   With a bare bodkin? who would fardels beare,"

"The faire Ophelia, Nimph in thy Orizons?

Be all my sins remembred?"

1608

English arrives in North America

English colony in America was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607

1665

A cure for the Plague

"Now followeth the MEDICINE.

The red Poweder. 1s. IF any one is infected, and finds themselves ill, then presently let them (without delay) take this powder, and then to bed and sweat carefully three hours; And if they are dry, make a Posset with Sage, or Sorrel, and Dandilion, and so drink freely in their sweat, or afterwards, and be sure after your sweat that you keep your self warm; And if any swelling appear, beware of drinking any Beer or Ale, hot or cold, but keep your selves to the above-said Posset-drink, or Beer, or Ale boyled with a crust of brown Bread, with one blade of Mace and two Cloves. Put the Powder in a Spoon, with a little Bear or Posset-drink, and so take it.

Also this Power is excellent good against Small-Pox, Fevers, Agues, and Surfeits; and if it be for a Child, then take but one half of this Powder.

Plague Water. 2s. Then when you are out of your sweat, and well rubbed and dryed, then take a spoonful of this cordial water, if the party be sick, take one spoonful every four hours, if well, do not wast it.

Plasters. 2d. And if you find any pain in your heads after your sweat, then presently apply two of these Plasters to your Temples, which will give you both ease and rest, and if your pain continues, then shift every twenty four hours.

Salve. 1s. And if you find any Risings in any part of your body, then take some of this Salve out of the Pot, and spread it on Ships-leather, and then lay it to the Sore or Swelling, which Plaster will both ripen, break it, and heal it; the first Plaster, keep it on as long as you can, and when the Sore is broken, then dress it twice every day.

Cordial Water for Griping. 2s. But in case the distemper break out into a Vomiting and Loosness, or Griping in the Belly, then take of this Cordial water every three hours two spoonful, untill you find ease, and in case you are dry, drink Mace-ale, not too sweet.

1s. Also here is a most excellent water for a sore mouth, either for Canker, Thursh, or a sore mouth by reason of a Feaver, being a little warmed, and with a cloth garble the mouth, and let one drop or two down.

1s. And infallible Powder for Men, Women, or Children, troubled with Convulsion-fits, Falling-sickness, or fits of the Mother, taken with a little Black Cherry water [fasting?] in a morning. If the Children are very young, then divide the Paper of Powder into three parts, and for middle aged Children take one half, and for Men and Women take the whole Paper."

1666

The London Gazette - Fire of London

"On Thursday by the blessing of God it was wholly beat down and extinguished. But so as that Evening it unhappily burnt out again a fresh at the Temple, by the falling of [some?] sparks (as is supposed) upon a Pile of Wooden buildings; but his Royal Highness, who watched there that whole night in Person, by the great labours and diligente [used?], and especially by applying Powder to blow up the Houses about it, before day most happily [?] it."

1781

Notices about runaway slaves

"RUN AWAY from the subscriber, about ten weeks ago, a short black felllow, of the Mundingo country, named CUPID. He is a Fisherman by trade, and is marked WB on his right shoulder; was formerly the property of Mr. Philip Reid of Kingston, and was employed by him at Port Morant in the fishing business,.....He has been feed within these ten days at Port Morant; working with some white people as a Freeman; at which place, or Morant-Bay, he is now supposed to be._____Any person recognising him in Port-Morant gaol, shall be entitled to a Half Job[Joe?] reward; or if they will deliver him to the subscriber in Kingston, FIVE POUNDS reward. And if they can inform by whom he is harboured, if a white person (on conviction), they shall receive the above reward, from

W. BAILEY."

1847

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

Pig Latin

Definition - "a secret language formed from English by transferring the initial consonant or consonant cluster of each word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable"



For words that begin with consonant sounds, all letters before the initial vowel are placed at the end of the word sequence. Then, "ay" (some people just add "a") is added, as in the following examples: "pig" = "igpay" "banana" = "ananabay"

Back Slang

Back Slang is a form of slang in which words are spoken and/or spelled backwards.



There were several versions of this unique form of communication, which some believe came from the Romany culture. For instance, "window" might become "indoway"; "dinner" = "innerday".

New Words In The Oxford English Dictionary - December 2016

•Bralette
•Brexit
•Brunchtime
•Gobby
•Teleconference
•Wobbleboard
•YouTuber