Development of Communication in Children

Definition of Language

In humans, communication involves language. The definition of language can vary, depending on one’s frame of reference. For example, linguists define language as a set of symbols and codes used for purposes of communication, whereas behaviorists define language as a form of social behavior maintained by a community. Within this text, language is defined as an arbitrary system of symbols (i.e., words), agreed upon and maintained by a community (i.e., American English speakers). Language may take on many forms, such as sign, or gesture, and need not be considered exclusively verbal. Communication, which heavily relies upon language, requires a well-developed lexicon (vocabulary), and is further considered a social behavior.

Language has also been subdivided into several different taxonomies. One method of systematizing language is to consider it with respect to receptive versus expressive capabilities. Receptive language is often referred to as language that is understood (i.e. hearing the word, “dog” and understanding what the speaker is referring to). Expressive language, conversely, is language that is shared (i.e., verbally producing, or signing, the word “dog”).

Another method of systematizing language study is to consider four rules that dictate use of language. These four rules include (1) morphology, (2) syntax, (3) semantics, and (4) pragmatics. Morphology is based on the study of morphemes. A morpheme is defined as the smallest meaningful unit of language. For example, how the word “table” (one morpheme) is [Page 374]combined with the plural -s form (one morpheme) to create the word “tables,” which totals two morphemes. Similarly, syntax is the arrangement of words (rather than morphemes) to create meaningful sentences. Combining subject–verb–object in American English to form the sentence “I kick ball” is an example of knowledge of syntax. Semantics is the study of meaning of language, including rules for categorization of words. In the subsequent section on Early Vocabulary Acquisition, the issue of semantics is investigated extensively. Finally, pragmatics is the study of language in social scenarios—that is, how one initiates or terminates a conversation, and/or uses nonverbal cues such as eye contact and gesture. The study of pragmatic aspects of language places emphasis on three primary functions (uses) of language. These functions include (1) instrumental, meaning obtaining a desired item (e.g., “May I have water please”), (2) regulatory, meaning commanding an action (e.g., “Clean up”), and (3) interactional, meaning engaging others (e.g., “Let’s play cars”).

Early Vocabulary Acquisition

Typically developing children learn the meaning of new words incidentally and experientially. That is, they automatically fast map new labels (words) for referents (concepts). These experiences occur predominantly through joint attention interactions. Joint attention is defined as an event in which two or more individuals share a common focus on one entity. For example, when a caretaker points to a baby’s bottle, exclaims, “Milk!” and looks back at the baby, the baby will reciprocate the interaction, by looking in the direction of the caretaker’s gesture (i.e., pointing). This joint attention interaction is triangular in nature, meaning that the caretaker directs the child’s attention toward an object, and then both individuals direct attention toward one another. The baby will then essentially catalogue that visual entity (image of bottle in space) with the concept of “milk.” Therefore, when a typically developing child fast maps a new word, this word is automatically categorized and associated with other words, such as “bottle” and “juice.” These early vocabulary acquisition processes are required for children to develop effective communication skills.

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