Language and the brain
The left hemisphere of the brain contains two areas that are central to langauge: Broca's area, which is involved in the production of speech and Wernicke's area, which has to do with understanding and creating the meaning in speech. The capabilities of these two regions do not develop at the same time. Infants understand words before they can say them. This differential between receptive and expressive language continues throughout life.
Stages of language development
Prenatal Development
Language learning appears to begin before birth. During the last trimester of prenatal development the fetus can hear its mother's voice as shown by changes in fetal heart rate and motor activity when the mother is speaking, and this affects the infant's preferences for language after birth in a number of ways.
Infants' preverbal communication
Crying
Babies cry as soon as they are born. At first this is a reflexive behavior. The process of communication begins when babies begin to learn that crying can act as a signal that brings relief from hunger, discomfort, and loneliness because it motivates adults to do what it takes to make them stop.
Cooing
Between 2 and 4 months after birth, babies begin to make more pleasant sounds. The first sounds that infants are able to produce are soft vowel sounds. At this stage they also begin to laugh, which is a great reward to parents. The baby coos; the parent talks back; the baby looks and laughs; the parent smiles and talks. In this way, babies being to learn how to use language even before they can speak.
Babbling
Babies typically begin to make one-syllable sounds, such as ba and da, when they are 4 to 6 months old and begin to combine those sounds repetitively when they are 6 to 8 months old.
Toddlers' Development of Words and Sentences
Babbling sometimes leads directly to babies' first words. The sounds they play with may be the sounds they use for the first words they say.
Growth of Vocabulary
At 1 year, babies typically have only a few words, but by 2 years of age they generally have between 200 and 500 words. After children have acquired a number of words in their vocabulary, they enter a stage of language development in which there is enormous growth in understanding of word meanings and in use of more sophisticated grammatical construction.
Language Development of Preschoolers and School-Age Children
By age three, most children are putting together multiword sentences. Although their use of language is rapidly increasing, preschoolers still have some limitations to their ability to communicate with others. Children gradually come to understand that words are not the same as what they stand for. School-age children develop the ability to use words to mean something beyond their literal meaning. For example: "School is a ball!" They also begin to use irony or sarcasm, in which the speaker means the opposite of what he is really saying. With regard to written language, children begin to acquire the skills of conventional literacy as they move from kindergarten to first grade.
The Language of Teenagers
The language of teenagers can sound quite a bit different from that of many adults. In one sense adolescent speech becomes more adult-like in that it becomes increasingly complex. Sentences are longer, and the grammar is more complex. However, adolescents are also more likely to use slang or made-up words, especially when talking among themselves.
Language learning appears to begin before birth. During the last trimester of prenatal development the fetus can hear its mother's voice as shown by changes in fetal heart rate and motor activity when the mother is speaking, and this affects the infant's preferences for language after birth in a number of ways.
Infants' preverbal communication
Crying
Babies cry as soon as they are born. At first this is a reflexive behavior. The process of communication begins when babies begin to learn that crying can act as a signal that brings relief from hunger, discomfort, and loneliness because it motivates adults to do what it takes to make them stop.
Cooing
Between 2 and 4 months after birth, babies begin to make more pleasant sounds. The first sounds that infants are able to produce are soft vowel sounds. At this stage they also begin to laugh, which is a great reward to parents. The baby coos; the parent talks back; the baby looks and laughs; the parent smiles and talks. In this way, babies being to learn how to use language even before they can speak.
Babbling
Babies typically begin to make one-syllable sounds, such as ba and da, when they are 4 to 6 months old and begin to combine those sounds repetitively when they are 6 to 8 months old.
Toddlers' Development of Words and Sentences
Babbling sometimes leads directly to babies' first words. The sounds they play with may be the sounds they use for the first words they say.
Growth of Vocabulary
At 1 year, babies typically have only a few words, but by 2 years of age they generally have between 200 and 500 words. After children have acquired a number of words in their vocabulary, they enter a stage of language development in which there is enormous growth in understanding of word meanings and in use of more sophisticated grammatical construction.
Language Development of Preschoolers and School-Age Children
By age three, most children are putting together multiword sentences. Although their use of language is rapidly increasing, preschoolers still have some limitations to their ability to communicate with others. Children gradually come to understand that words are not the same as what they stand for. School-age children develop the ability to use words to mean something beyond their literal meaning. For example: "School is a ball!" They also begin to use irony or sarcasm, in which the speaker means the opposite of what he is really saying. With regard to written language, children begin to acquire the skills of conventional literacy as they move from kindergarten to first grade.
The Language of Teenagers
The language of teenagers can sound quite a bit different from that of many adults. In one sense adolescent speech becomes more adult-like in that it becomes increasingly complex. Sentences are longer, and the grammar is more complex. However, adolescents are also more likely to use slang or made-up words, especially when talking among themselves.