Language Acquisition: Stages of Language Development

Question 1

What are 3 key features of language?

Answer 1

(1) It is a system of words that stand for something (symbolic)
(2) It is rule-governed.
(3) Within confines of rules, it is creative (words combined to create new meanings)

Question 2

Do children in different cultures progress through similar stages of language development?

Answer 2

Yes, duh.

Question 3

What is the sequence of language development including ages and types of language?

Answer 3

(1) Cooing; 1-2 mos; vowel-like sounds emitted when infant is content
(2) Babbling; 4-6 mos; repetition of consonant-vowel combinations (bababa & nanana); all babies start babbling around same age (even deaf babies) and produce similar repertoire of sounds then by 9 mos babbling narrows to those of language(s) child has been exposed to
(3) First words; 10-16 mos; usually refer to people or manipulable/moving objects and events that have salient properties of change
(4) Holophrastic speech; 12-18 mos; combining a single word w/gestures & intonation to express entire thought or sentence
(5) Telegraphic speech; 18-24 mos; 2 word sentences made up of most critical words (Tommy hit or my truck)
(6) Rapid vocab growth; 30-36 mos; by age 3 have vocab of about 1000 words and using simple 3 word sentences
(7) Development of complex grammatical forms; 3-6 y.o.; start to use verb “to be” correctly, master concept of negation, and ask questions; by age 6, start to connect whole sentences and verb phrases, produce embedded sentences, use direct & indirect objects, and construct sentences in passive voice