Language

Definition:
The communication of information through symbols arrange
according to systematic rules.

Explanation:
Language is Communication of thoughts and feelings through a
system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or
written symbols. It is a system for encoding and decoding
information. When you seek to convince, persuade or otherwise
change other people's minds, the language you use is extremely
important. Each word is a little packet of meaning from which the
other person infers understanding.
To understand how language develops and relates to the thought
we first need to review some of the formal element of language.

Grammar
Definition
The system of rules that determine how our thoughts can be
expressed.

Explanation
The principles and rules of grammar are the means by which the
forms of language are made to correspond with the universal
forms of thought. The structure of every sentence is a lesson in
logic. Grammar is the study of all the contrasts of meaning that it
is possible to make within sentences. The 'rules' of grammar tell
us how. By one count, there are some 3,500 such rules in English.
Grammar deals with three major components of language
Phonology
Syntax
Semantics

1.Phonology
Phonology is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any
spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this
use. It studies the smallest units of speech, called PHONEMES.
Phonemes are the smallest units of speech that affect meaning.
And we use those sounds to form words and produce meaning. For
instance, the a sound in FAT and a sound in FATE represents two
different phonemes in English. Linguists have identified more
than 800 different phonemes among all the worlds languages.
Although English speakers use only 52 phonemes.

2.Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for
constructing sentences in natural languages. In addition to
referring to the discipline, the term syntax is also used to refer
directly to the rules and principles that govern the sentence
structure of any individual language. Modern research in syntax
attempts to describe languages in terms of such rules. Many
professionals in this discipline attempt to find general rules that
apply to all natural languages.

3.Semantics
The Third major component of language is semantics. It is the
study of meaning is communication. These are the rules governing
the meaning of words and sentences. The word "semantics" itself
denotes a range of ideas, from the popular to the highly

technical. It is often used in ordinary language to denote a

problem of understanding that comes down to word selection or
connotation. For example we can easily distinguish between
Truck it Laura and Laura was hit by the truck.

Understanding Language
Babbling
Babbling is meaningless speech like sounds made by children from
around age of 3 months through 1 year. While babbling the
children may produce any sounds found in all languages, not just
the one to which they are exposed. An infants babbling
increasingly reflects the specific language being spoken in his
environment, initially in terms of pitch and tone and eventually in
terms of specific sounds. Young infants can distinguish among all
869 phonemes that have been identified across the worlds
languages. However after the age of 6 to 8 months, that ability
begins to decline. Infants begin to specialize in the language to
which they are exposed to.

Production of Language
By the time the children are approximately 1 year old, they stop
producing sounds that are not in language to which they have been
exposed. Its then a short step to the production of actual words.
After the age of one child begin to learn more complicated forms

of language. They produce two-word combinations, the building

blocks of sentences and sharply increase the number of different
words they are able to use. By the age of 2, a child has a memory
of more than 50 words. And the use telegraphic speech, which
are the sentences in which words not critical to the messages are
left out. Rather than saying I showed you a book they may say
I show a book.
By the age of 3, children learn to make plurals by adding S to
noun and to form the past tense by adding ED to verbs. This may
also lead to errors since they tend to apply the rules inflexibly
this is known as Over-generalization, in which children apply
rules even when doing so results in error. For example when walk
is used for a past tense a child may say he walked but for a
word like run he may use he runned which is incorrect.
By the age of 5, children have acquired the basic rules of
language. However they dont attain a full vocabulary and the
ability to comprehend and use subtle grammatical rules until later.

Biological Basis of Language

"Human knowledge is organized the fact by linguistic competence

through language performance, and our exploration of reality is
always mediated by language". Higher vertebrates possess
intuitive knowledge which occurs as the result of slow evolution of
species. However, the ability to create knowledge through
language is unique to humans. According to Benjamin Whorf:
"Language is not merely are producing instrument from voicing
ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas. We dissect nature
along lines laid down by language"

In addition, the development and acquisition of language seems to

be related to "complex sequential processing and the ability to
form concepts and to classify a single stimulus in a multiple
manner". Antoine Dan chin suggests that the knowledge we create
through language allows us distinguish ourselves from the rest of
the world to produce models of reality, which become more and
more adequate due to the "self-referent loop" which enables us
to understand ourselves as objects under study. This "path from
subject to object," which is common to all humans, Dan chin
claims, suggests the existence of a universal feature of language
Biological foundation of language may contribute significantly to
such universality. The issue here is not whether language is
innate, for, clearly, language must be learned. Nor is the issue
whether the aptitude for learning a language is inborn: it takes a
human being, with a functional brain to learn a tongue. The

question to explore is whether there is biological foundation at

the root of organization and internal structure of language.
The scholars considering spoken language acquisition have divided
over internal and external causation dichotomy. Two prototypical
models of language acquisition are "selectivist" and
"constructivist" models, respectively.

The selectivist model, which depends on internal causation

argument, can be associated with Noam Chomsky. The selectivist
model assumes that "language template is pre-organized in the
neuronal structure of the brain, so that the fact of being an
integral part of a given environment selects the borders of each
individual neuronal structure, without affecting its fine
organization, which pre-exists"

The constructivist model, which assumes external causation of

language acquisition, follows lines drawn by behaviorists such as
Piaget and Skinner. This model assumes that "language is built up
constantly from a continuous interaction with a well-structured
environment"

Roots of Language
Noam Chomskys View on Language

Noam Chomskys basic argument is that there exists an innate

language acquisition device, a neural program that prepares
children to learn language. Chomsky assumes the existence of a
genetically determined System of rules, which he refers to as
universal grammar, underlying all tongues. According to Chomsky,
a language template is set up by the special "language organ" of
the brain. Chomsky does not deny that the importance of
environmental factors in language acquisition. His claim is that
there exist strict biological invariants governing the function of
language. In explanation of his theory on the ontogenesis of
spoken language, Chomsky holds there pre-exists in humans, a
language structure that is one of the faculties of the mind,
common to the species, a faculty of language that serves the two
basic functions of rationalist theory: it provides a sensory system
for the preliminary analysis of linguistic data, and a schematics
that determines, quite narrowly, a certain class of grammars.
Each grammar is a theory of a particular language, specifying oral
and semantic properties of an infinite array of sentences. These
sentences, each with its particular structure, constitute the
language generated by the grammar. The languages so generated
are those that can be "learned" in the normal way. This knowledge
can then be used to understand what is heard and to produce
discourse as an expression of thought within the constraints of
the internalized principles, in a manner appropriate to situations
as these are conceived by other mental faculties, free of stimulus
control.

B.F Skinners Theory On language:

Skinner also has a theory on language. He believed that language
was learned after birth as a result of making sounds and imitating
those around us. As a child hear words, he will attempt to repeat
them, and with positive reinforcement, the infant will eventually
develop the correct pronunciation, which will therefore again
receive positive reinforcement. Sounds and words that are not
part of the accepted language will not be reinforced and will be
lost; this is a part of the process referred to as Operant
Conditioning.
Skinner's model of language learning is discussed in Behavior
analysis of child development. It has been quite controversial.
Skinner was one of the first psychologists to take the concept of
imitation (a concept he referred to as echoic behavior) as a
critical component in language development.

Jean Piagets Cognitive Constructivism Theory:

Cognitive constructivism is based on the work of Swiss

developmental psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget's theory has two
major parts: Ages and Stages, component that predicts what
children can and cannot understand at different ages, and a
theory of development that describes how children develop
cognitive abilities.
Piaget's central interest was children's cognitive development.
However, he theorized that language was simply one of children's

ways of representing their familiar worlds, a reflection of

thought, and that language did not contribute to the development
of thinking. Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes
that humans cannot be given information which they immediately
understand and use. Instead, humans must construct their own
knowledge. They build their knowledge through experience.
Experiences enable them to create mental models in their heads.

Vygotsky theory of social constructivism on language:

Unlike Chomsky and Piaget, Vygotsky's central concern was the

relationship between the development of thought and that of
language. He was interested in the ways in which different
languages might impact on how a person thinks. He suggested that
what Piaget saw as young children's egocentric speech was in fact
private speech, the child's way of using words to think about
something, a step on the road from social speech to thinking in
words. So Vygotsky's theory views language first as social
communication, gradually promoting both language itself and
cognition.

Recent theorizing: intentionality:

Some critics of earlier theories suggest that children, their
behaviors and their attempts to make sense are often lost when
the causes of language development are thought to be 'outside'
the child or else mechanistically 'in the child's brain.'

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These contemporary researchers and theorists recognize that

children have 'agency' - that they are active learners coconstructing their worlds. Their language development is part of
their holistic development, emerging from cognitive, emotional
and social interactions. The social and cultural environment, the
people in it and their interactions, and how children come to
represent all these in their minds, are absolutely fundamental to
language development. It is a child's agenda, and the interactions
generated by the child, that promote language learning.
However, this does not mean the adult's role; actions and speech
are considered of less importance. But adults need to be able to
'mind read' and adjust their side of the co-construction to relate
to an individual child's understanding and interpretation.
Intentionality theories have existed since Aristotle, and this
model of language development draws on Piaget, acknowledging
the importance of cognitive development. However,
'intentionality' emphasizes holistic development, so including
emotions and other aspects of growth and learning.
The intentionality model makes sense when we think about the
way in which most children's language accelerates between 18
months and four years of age, when increases in cognitive
capabilities give children a better understanding of both verbal
and non-verbal categories. They will also use 'over-extended
categories' less (such as babies and toddlers labeling all men
'daddy' or all animals 'dogs').

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Language Acquisition and Development

John Hugh lings Jackson wrote, No child would ever talk unless
he was taught; and no child could be taught unless he already
possessed, by inheritance, a particular series of nervous
arrangements ready for training. It is amazing how natural
language acquisition is for children: Language development does
not begin with the childs first efforts to learn material that is
linguistic. Children are ready to learn even before birth: some
acquisition of language, such as vocal learning, begins as early as
the final trimester of pregnancy Language development begins
with the infants inclination to attend and respond to certain
aspects of talking behavior. Genetic factors seem to play an
important role: the infants responsiveness to facial and vocal
activity is presumed to be heavily influenced by genetic factors.
Specific neural pre adaptations underlie such behavior: Clinical
and electrophysiological research reveals that humans have
mechanisms that are similarly dedicated to processing faces and
facial activity and to voices and vocal activity.

These examples of specialization in of social cognition are

important in language development. Tomasello and his colleagues
(1986, Locke 269) found a positive relationship between the
amount of time infants participated in joint attention episodes
with their mothers at 15 months and extent of expressive
vocabulary at 21 months. Snow (1989, Locke 269) found that vocal
imitation at 14 months was related to the number of nouns and
verbs produced, the total productive vocabulary, and the ratio of
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words produced to words comprehended at 20 months. Such

evidence supports Chomskys view of the existence of deep
internal structures associated with language acquisition. Another
fascinating fact is the fast rate at which children acquire
language.

(Adapted from Kandel) points out that:

In children 12-18 months old, the vocabulary is about 30 to 50.
In children 18-24 months, the vocabulary is about 50 to several
hundred (which means, in about six months the vocabulary more
than doubled).

When the child starts to walk at three years old, he has

vocabulary of around 1,000 words. This means that, in a little
more than a year, a child gains around nine hundred words about
25 words a day!

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TABLE:

Average Age

Language Milestones

6 months

Cooing, changes to distinct babbling by

introduction of consonants

1 year

Beginning of language understanding; oneword utterances

12-18 months

Words used singly; repertory of 30-50

words (simple nouns, adjectives, and action
words), which cannot as yet be joined in
phrases but are used on e at a time does not
use factors (the, and, can, be) necessary for
syntax, but makes good progress in
understanding

18-24 months

Two-word (telegraphic) phrases ordered

according to syntactic rules; vocabulary of
50 to several hundred words; understands
propositional rules

2-5 year

New words every day; three or more words

in many combinations; factors begin to
appear; many grammatical errors and
idiosyncratic expressions; good
understanding of language

3 years

Full sentences; few errors; vocabulary of

around 1,000 words

4 years

Close to adult speech competence

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Philosophical Disclosure on Language:

Language and philosophy have an intimate connection to one

another; without a philosophical examination of the meanings and
structure of language, we cannot easily ascertain the objective
truth of the statements we make, nor can we usefully discuss
abstract concepts. The philosophy of language seeks to
understand the concepts expressed by language and to find a
system by which it can effectively and accurately do so. This is
more difficult than it appears at first; philosophers are looking
for a theory of language which avoids the minute errors of
meaning and usage which occurs in all discussions of abstract
concepts and which tends to lead those discussions into
complicated dead-ends.

Since so much of philosophy is currently concerned with the

linguistic representation of reality, the bond between the
philosophical and the linguistic is growing stronger. Philosophers
can only write syntax for the languages they want to use in
expressing theory with some knowledge of linguistics; and
linguists can use philosophical principles to solve problems of
meaning and syntax. This strong link can be exploited to the
advantage of both sides.

In recent history philosophers have struggled with the question

of precision in language and have sought to construct a system
under which meanings can be discussed without danger of falling
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into circular or metaphysical traps. Two major approaches to this

question have arisen in scientific circles of the twentieth century.
Logical empiricism, also known as logical positivism, seeks to
produce a language which consists of symbols combined precisely
in accordance with specific rules; this would eliminate the
philosophical convolutions that arise from the use of imprecise
and confusingly ordered language. Ordinary language theory, on
the other hand, suggested that these philosophical problems
appear when language is used improperly; the language itself is
perfectly acceptable and can be easily applied to the discussion
of abstract and philosophical concepts without undue
modifications, as long as it is used and interpreted properly Each
of these movements in linguistic philosophy had its strengths and
weaknesses, and its supporters and detractors.

References:
Understanding psychology by Robert S. Fedman
www.encarta.com
http://www.duke.edu/~pk10/language/psych.htm

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