Childs language development
"Two-and-a-half years seems to be the border line
for intelligence, when man is formed. After that,
development is no longer explosive, but the child
enriches his vocabulary if in a cultured environment,
and even in less favourable circumstances enlarges it.”
As the child grows, the structure of his language assumes more resemblance to the adult’s language. He starts following the same tonic expressions and the intonations of the adults. His communicative skills improve. The two aspects of spoken language, structure and function get more elaborated and defined. More complex inflections like idioms are being included. His sentences become longer with more than one idea finding place in it. The child also starts using sentences which have the subject, verb and the object. In other words, there is a clear work order in his sentences. These three centres in a sentence are further spruced up with appropriate words. With his vocabulary building up in quality and quantity the child is able to communicate becomes a ‘shared context’. He will also experience certain eagerness to listen to others and at times he projects others thoughts as his own. By the age of 4 to 4 ½ years, the gross differences between the adult’s and the child’s grammar disappears. Yet the child’s language development is not complete, as the vocabulary acquisition continues. Certain extent of imperfection in the structural aspect of the language also persists.
Gradually the child starts collecting ‘subject specific’ words. Gradually he starts understanding that certain subject specific words may also be used in other situations [Example – volume- sound level of the television and the cubic capacity of a container]. The same rule applies to the syntax. Its only by the end of the I plane the child has reliable and dependable rules. At this stage the child is eager to know the exceptions in contrast to the earlier stage of generalisation.
In addition to the structural point of view and the basic function of the means of communication, the child’s language starts fulfilling other functions too. It starts serving as an important means of expression his thoughts. It also serves as a tool for his cognitive development. It also reflects the extent to which he has comprehended the world around. Thus a child who would have begun his sentences with the phrase, “My mother said…,” would start saying, “I thought…..” This would mean that he has started valuing his own thoughts. His capacity to describe situations and objects also gets enhanced. At times the descriptions are so lengthy, that he does not find eager listeners.
This is a treasure prepared in the unconscious,
which is then handed over to consciousness,
and the child, in full possession of his new power,
talks and talks without cessation.”
He is still very inconsistent at times. He cannot withstand interruptions, but does not hesitate to interrupt others. At the same time he realises, with the help of language he is able to find solutions for many problems. Cause and effect, action reaction, which were earlier appreciated on a physical level, are now appreciated on the intellectual level with the help of language. When helped in a suitable manner, the child is able to arrive at a stage of maturation, where he is able to modify his expressions and language, depending on the situation. He also starts understanding the concept of time and is able to narrate what happened at another place, another time. Initially he may look up the incidents from other’s lives as his own, but gradually it narrows down to personal experiences. The richer his experiences, the improved are his expressions. He is also able to speak about imaginary incidents. After a lot of time spent around these stages, gradually the child moves towards creative speech.
Yet another aspect influences the child’s language, is the social situation. Yet another component which arrives a little late in the child’s life is that of humour. For a child of 4 years humour is closely related to the situation. He appreciates the situation even more than what is being said about it. Gradually as the semantic component increases, the child starts paying more attention to what’s being said. Around 5 years of age, children start appreciating verbal jokes. He is not only aware of the play with language, but also tries to utilise it as often as he can. However, children of this age still do not understand that a joke has to be fresh to be appreciated. They are not in a position to understand that after the first narration, the joke loses its potency. Therefore they tend to over use the verbal jokes. To an adult it would sound very stale. By the time they are 6 years of age, their jokes are now based on words which have more than one meaning. They also enjoy segmenting sentences in order to make them appear funny. The knowledge of the world adds more punch to their jokes. He also starts taking cues form the situations to build up humorous language. Around this time the child has to be introduced to writing and reading, poetry and prose. They may also be introduced to poems and stories which are humorous. The child’s social experience should be widened so that he improves upon his pragmatic language.
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