Power related to language
Language is the creation of the human mind. It is neither a product nor a gift of Nature. However, Nature plays an important role in the creation of language. It has given the human being, the potentialities and the absorbent mind for the acquisition of language. It has also bestowed upon the human being the tendencies. It has also allotted a special period when language can be acquired as a result of a natural process and yet the mystery of language creation is unfathomable.
Psychologists and pedagogists have realised that the earlier years of childhood are meant for creation of various human functions. In this context it should be noted that a language is created and not taught. During the formative years the language is created with the help of the absorbent mind. Comparing and new born baby to a new born animal, the young one of an animal is capable of making the sounds of its species, even if in a feeble manner. However, the human being does not have any such hereditary patterns. Dr Montessori realised that the human being at birth possesses a potentiality or a ‘nebula’ for language.
It is not found in a manifested form. It has to be realised or actualised. In favour of this, the various powers and the developmental factors support the human being. However, just possessing the potentialities and being gifted with the various powers would not enable the child to create a language. He needs a supranatural environment, wherein through a co-relative exchange with the environment, he is able to create a language for himself. However, in the earlier stages of language acquisition, there are certain universal phenomena occurring.
Gradually, the child starts absorbing the sounds as they are found in the environment. From among the many sounds that he absorbs from the environment, the human speech sounds of a particular language is distilled and utilised in the creation of a language. Gradually, the child starts identifying the semantic potential for a group of sounds decided by his race, the child also absorbs the syntactic structure as found in the environment. Along with it, the dialect, the accent and the typical characteristics of the group are taken in. The creation of language, which is the result of an inner mechanism, is not readily accessible to the adult.
However, in a period of 2-2 ½ years following birth, the child manifests a language with a considerable semantic and syntactic potential. A language given the status of a native language is permanently fixed within him. It also enables the child to belong to the group, in other words, in adaptation. Further, the language thus created becomes part and parcel of ones own identity. Dr Montessori realised that endowed with all the powers and potentialities, the child needs to be supported by offering him an environment where the language is alive. The environment would offer him the experiences with which a cumulative effect would enable the child to fix the language as a part of his personality.
Next...Other Articles
