Development of Language Cayla Gillam 7:00pm Wed

At birth an infant is able to communicate with others on what its needs may be. How an infant communicates with an adult is by crying and facial expressions for the first few weeks. Eventually the infant will develop a language and communicate with us that way. This will not happen till latter in this infants life. The ability and steps that it takes for an infant to develop a language is truly amazing. In order for an infant to reach full communication skills it will go though, early communication, first words, and developing grammar. These steps are just the beginning on what the infant will go through threw out his life. With early communication parents should use what scientists call child-directed speech. Childdirected speech is talking to the infant in a high pitched, simplified, and repetitive manner. This method will catch the infants attention, causing them to feel comforted and happy. At six to nine months the child will be babbling words such as ma-ma da-da and ba-ba responding to the baby when it is bailing encourages them to continue on causing them to develop words as they continue to babble. At age one the baby will speak few words. Once the baby has fifty words or so developed they will begin to develop fifty to one hundred words per month. At twenty one months the baby will start to connect words together. From this point on the child will begin to develop proper grammar. This knowledge of grammar will help them to put words in the right order. For example the baby will say watch television rather than television watch. With these three development stages scientists have formed 3 hypothesis on how language is developed at a young age. The first hypothesis is that in order to develop a language you must learn it step by step. B.E. Skinner in 1957 noticed that when a baby begins to babble and a nearby adult notices and pays attention to the baby it is encouraging the baby to continue on with this activity. When a baby says ma-ma the mother will notice the baby and smile at it repeating what the baby said to it. This causes for the infant to feel comfort and joy from the mother. By the infant feeling this from the mother the baby will continue on to babble so the baby can then again get the same response. The more the baby continues to babble on

Development of Language Cayla Gillam 7:00pm Wed

the further the baby will develop its own words. Skinner encourages the parents to talk to child often so the child will continue to babble to the parent. And threw babbling the baby will learn how to communicate through words. The second hypothesis is that infants teach themselves how to talk. That learning how to is irrelevant. Learning a language is human nature and the baby does not need and adult to teach the infant how to do it. Noam Chomsky believed that the process of learning a language is too complex for an infant to do step by step. Chomsky believed that universal grammar was the proof that all humans are born with traits of communication. That we are also born with a mental structure that helps the infant to incorporate elements of the human langue. This mental structure is called language acquisition device LAD for short. According to Chomsky LAD quickly develops neurons that are used to understand langue and that the brain is egger to communicate. Many others agree with Chomsky that children are egger to use their minds for communication, but how fast this is developed or how is still up to debate. Chomsky believe that it takes so long for the infant to talk because the infants dendrites need to grow, mouth muscles need to develop, and neurons need to connect. The third hypotheses is that as an infant we want to learn to communicate with others only socially. That langue is developed through social interaction. Being thought how to talk is not needed that as being a human being we strive to be able to communicate with others and to talk with one another. This hypothesis is supported by at a young age the infant will point and try to get attention of others in a social environment. A study was done that an infant watched a television show to see if they would develop any ability to speak. The infant didnt, but when the infant was talked to by an adult the infant would respond to the adult with babbling and hand gesture. This hypothesis is based on our strive as humans to be social with others from a young age.

Development of Language Cayla Gillam 7:00pm Wed

By putting all of these hypothesis together we will come to the conclusion that all three of them play a major roll on what it takes to develop a language. An infant will learn a langue when it is fully developed through all the stages it must go though. An infant knows how to communicate at a young age it is crying and then moves to full words by year one. Some researchers will believe that reinforcement of babbling is what develops the language. Others think that it is programed into us and it just takes time for the things to develop. Others will say communication is just for social acceptance. The development of a language is hard and can be a long process for this infant. But once this trait is achieved the infant will go though its whole life using the language they learned in their first year or life.