Language Development

Stages of Language
Acquisition

Prenatal through 1 year

z Newborns can distinguish the voices of their
mothers from others because they have
heard the mothers voices prenatally
z The earliest step in language development
after birth is cooing or sounds made by the
infant.
z Babbling is the first sign of an infants attempt
at the language to be learned- the baby
makes sounds inside the language system
she/he is around.

18 months of age
zInfants use his/her first word
zVocabulary of 3 to 100 words
zOverextension Errors: children may refer
to all women as mama
zUnderextension errors: children may use
a general term too specifically

2 years old to 3 years old

zChildren about 2 years old start to put
words together (syntax) with using two
words when they speak
zAt age 3 children can express themselves
with 2 to 3 words to get across simple
meanings, telegraphic speech.
zVocabulary of a 3 year old is about 1,000
words when at 2 years old it is about 300
words.

Basic Adult Structure- ages 4 and

up
zChildren start to speak in the manner of
adults but it is less complex
zChildren try to imitate what they hear, use
what they already know and apply it
zBy age 10, most childrens language is
similar to adults with their formal grammar
still lacking