Various milestones language
The language development may be decided broadly as – pre linguistic and post linguistic stages. Each stage has sub stages with obvious manifestations. Each stage is marked with a certain degree of mastery preceded by an intensive period of preparation. The period of preparation is then followed by consolidation. Thus, each stage includes two complementary aspects very typical to the human life with the former being, differentiation of structure and the latter being the integration of function.
The various stages of language acquisition identified as milestones have a definite structure and function. At birth the human baby is only able to make certain sounds which are identified as crying. There is no specific expression. Gradually, within a short time these sounds become more acute and precise. The very close family members are able to identify these expressions. By the time he is 2 months old the sounds become more focused. It also brings out a certain response from the people around him. Gradually, the child starts getting used to the responses. The sound patterns are now classified into grunting, screaming, squeaking with joy etc. Around the same time, with the vision more focused, he is drawn towards the people who speak around him. The child is drawn towards the mouth of the speaker and intensely watches it. Simultaneously he is taking in the sounds [auditory input]. Gradually with the strengthening of the neck muscles, the child is able to follow the speaker as he moves around.
At this stage, this auditory input taken in is not exclusive. In other words, the child continues to take in the auditory input as related to any object. Gradually the speech organs start developing. As a result, as if suddenly, he starts making sounds. These are not only limited in number to begin with. But also purely vowel sounds. Gradually with development of the teeth, the child is able to make certain consonant sounds. If vowels precede the consonants, it’s for a good reason that vowel sounds can be uttered without any obstruction and for a considerable period of time, as pure consonants sounds [many of them] cannot be uttered in isolation. Sooner the child is combining a consonant with a vowel. These sounds are called syllables. At this stage, all the children worldwide are uttering the sounds in the same manner and this stage of uttering monosyllables is called mechanical babble.
These syllables do not have any meaning. However, every family and every cultural group assigns certain significant meanings to them. It is interesting to know that all babies, even those with hearing impaired make these sounds. When these sounds are made, the babies get an auditory input. This auditory input activated the speech organs. Owing to this, the children practice these sounds in an intense and repetitive manner. Around 9 months, gradually the child seems to focus his attention towards the typical sounds found in his environment. Even as he was practicing the syllables, he has been absorbing the typical sounds of the language spoken around him. The output of the sounds slowly narrows down towards these sounds as found in that language. Gradually around 12 months along with the capacity for imitation which is Nature’s gift to the child, the child utters the first intentional word.
At this stage the semantic potential for the words that he utters is being supplied by the people around him. However, this enables him to understand that the words that he utters are meaningful to the people around and in serving as means of communication. This is a turning point not only in his language development but also very closely associated with the development of cognition. He starts realising that the words have specific meaning and yet are sufficient for perfect communication. Therefore the utterance of these words is accompanied by certain typical gestures which are practiced by the people of his group. Another point to be noted would be that his articulation would still not be very refined. Gradually, he realises that with the help of more number of words he is able to communicate better as compared to one intentional word. Around 15-16 months, he starts using sentences which are structurally incomplete, yet serve him to communicate. He retains the nouns and verbs and ignores the other parts of speech such as articles, prepositions etc. simultaneously he learns new words.
Around 18 months with the cognitive capacity sufficiently developed, the child seems to understand that very object and person has a name. Around this period, he experiences a hunger for nouns.
"The child seems to have discovered that everything
about him has a name, takes special interest in
the things of his environment, particularly in their
names."
Dr Montessori calls it the ‘naming mania’. She also calls this period as the what period. He is eager to gather more and more names. The child’s vocabulary increases and this in turn also enables him towards mental order. Sooner he realises that two objects can be identified and also differentiated. Between 18 months and 24 months, the child starts using words following a format which is similar to the typical sentence structure as related to his language. There are lots of facial expressions and gestures accompanying these sentences. Gradually intonations are also added. Dr Montessori called this stage as the ‘holophrase’ stage. Dr Montessori also calls it the stage of ‘portmanteau’ [hold on]. At this stage only those words which are very important for the sentence structure are being used and still some of the words are being ignored. During this period the child starts actively participating in conversations. He also starts picking up the rules for conversation. It would also help him to understand that it is as much important to listen as must it is for him to speak. He is able to express himself clearly and also understand what others are saying. By about 2 ½ years of age, the acquisition of language in its spoken form is complete. Having passed through many milestones the child would have created another human function which is vital for his personality.
"Language is developed gradually, precisely
during that epoch of inertia and unconsciousness
of early infancy. At two years or two years and three
months, the child speaks distinctly and reproduces
precisely the child spoken in his environment".;
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