1. How does language develop?
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2. What Are the Developmental Tasks of Childhood?
To become a healthy adult children face especially important developmental tasks in the areas of language, thought processes, and social relationships.
Children Excel In language skills!
Innateness theory of language
Children learn language mainly by following an inborn program for acquiring vocabulary and grammar.
Language acquisition device (LAD)
According to Chomsky, a structure exists in the brain innately programmed with some of the fundamental rules of grammar. This device drives us to assimilate language.
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3. How we Acquire Language
Noam Chomsky ( present (MIT)) said that there is a biologically organized structure in the brain that facilitates the learning of language (the LAD). This device has not been found.
Children are just as capable of learning any spoken language on Earth as they are of learning sign languages.
Although some animals can learn language skills they need to be laboriously taught how to communicate. Humans pick it up automatically (when they have examples to follow).
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4. The Naming explosion
At approximately age 18 months the “naming explosion” phase begins.
It is interesting to note that children between the ages of 1.5 and 6 years of age learn an average of nine new words every single day of their life. By 6 years of age the average child has learned over 14,000 new words. Nouns are easier for them to learn than verbs.
This is an extraordinary amount of memory acquisition and has led to the acceptance of the existence of Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device even though the structure of the brain where the LAD exists has not been located.
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5. Terms for language Phonemes Morphemes Grammar or Syntax Semantics
are the basic sounds of the consonants and vowels
Morphemes
are the meaningful units of language that make up words.
Grammar or Syntax
is defined as the rules of language.
How a language combines words to form meaningful sentences.
Semantics
The meaning of a word or a phrase based on where it appears in a specific sentence. Did you Read it? Yes a Read it.
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6. Stage one Babbling stage Parentese or Motherese
Starts around six months of age
The time during the first year when an infant produces sounds but not words.
These vocalizations include the sounds of nearly every known language on earth.
The sounds that they do not hear in their environment gradually fade as they duplicate the sounds that they hear.
Parentese or Motherese
The method adults use to communicate with infants
We slow our speech and raise the pitch of our voices
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7. Stages two One word stage
is the first true stage of language where children communicate with single words.
“Milk”, “Ball”, “Cat”
However, it is not always clear from the words what the child means.
Adults take other information into consideration such as body posture and tone of voice and facial expressions.
“CAT”
“I want to play with the pretty cat”
“The cat is not supposed to be on the counter”
“Get that cat out of here!!!”
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8. Stages three and four Two-word stage
Children form rudimentary sentences with two words and start to develop the rules of grammar. “Want milk” – but not “Milk want”
Telegraphic speech (3+ words at a time)
(short, simple sentences)
Short simple sentences are formed without all the proper grammatical syntax. “Me want milk”
Further development in the rules of grammar.
Critical (sensitive) period
There is a point in life (around 12 years) where speech must be learned or it will never be fully functioning. See the case of Genie
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9. Other language skills Overregularization Overgeneralization
using “drinked”, “foots”, “runed” and “catched”
Children follow the normal rules of grammar without considering the irregular rules.
Later in this stage they will purposefully use the wrong word to test adults. You can see them glancing at you while using the wrong verb tense.
Overgeneralization
Learning that the four legged creature in your house is a dog and then calling all four legged creatures everywhere “dog”.
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10. Other language skills Social rules of conversation
How to join a conversation
How to take turns talking and listening
Body language
Intonation
Facial expressions
Feedback
How to take the perspective of the listener
Abstract words (e.g. hope, truth)
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11. Research
The human Speechome project at MIT (started in 2006) is attempting to determine the specific aspects of human speech development.
Click on the link to check it out!
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