Abstract
The normal young child acquires a complex, multifaceted communication system in a relatively short period of time with apparent ease. The anatomical structure and physiological processes necessary for this acquisition have been subject to considerable discussion and research. What it is that the child acquires and how the child acquires it have been described, analyzed, and explained from a variety of positions. Jenkins (1969) suggests that one’s definition of language determines what it is that is described and analyzed. If language is considered to be a set of words, then language acquisition begins with the child’s production of the first word, and development is measured by the addition of more and more words. This view, which predominated for several decades, saw stages in development defined by the number of words a child understood or produced. Research emphasized counting words understood or used by representative groups of children under various conditions, for example, number of words at specified ages, mean number of words per utterance, or number of words comprehended. Language development was evaluated by counting and comparing the number and types of words used. Although many developmental charts retain this orientation, for example, norms of vocabulary levels from infancy through adulthood, the current view of language is much broader, more complex, and more encompassing.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anderson, E. S., & Johnson, C. E. Modification in the speech of an eight year old as a reflection of age of listener. Paper presented at SSRC Conference on Language Input and Acquisition, Boston, 1974.
Anglin, J. M. Word, object, and conceptual development. New York: Norton, 1977.
Baumgardner, M. J., & Lasky, E. Z. Acquisition of comprehension of the verb phrase anaphora construction. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 1978, 21(1), 166–173.
Bates, E. Language and context: The acquisition of pragmatics. New York: Academic Press, 1976.
Bates, E. The emergence of symbols. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
Bell, S. M., & Ainsworth, M. D. S. Infant crying and maternal responsiveness. Child Development, 1971, 43, 1171–1190.
Benedict, H. Early lexical development: Comprehension and production. Journal of Child Language, 1979, 6, 183–200.
Berndt, R. S., Caramazzo, A., & Zurif, E. Syntax and semantics. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Bever, T. G. The cognitive basis for linguistic structures. In J. R. Hayes (Ed.), In cognition and the development of language. New York: Wiley, 1970.
Bloom, L., & Lahey, M. Language development and language disorders. New York: Wiley, 1978.
Bloom, L. M., Lightbown, P., & Hood, L. Structure and variation in child language. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1975, 40(2, Serial No. 160).
Brazelton, T., Koslowski, B., & Main, M. The origins of reciprocity: The early mother-infant interaction. In M. Lewis & L. Rosenbaum (Eds.), The effect of the infant on its caregiver. London: Wiley, 1974.
Broen, P. A. The verbal environment of the language learning child. ASHA Monograph (Vol. 17). Washington, D.C.: American Speech and Hearing Association, 1972.
Brown, R. Linguistic determinism and part of speech. Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 1957, 55, 1–5.
Brown, R. A first language: The early stages. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973.
Bruner, J. S. The onto-genesis of speech acts. Journal of Child Language, 1975, 2, 1–19.
Bruner, J. S. On prelinguistic prerequisites of speech. In R. N. Campbell & P. T. Smith (Eds.), Recent advances in the psychology of language. New York: Plenum Press, 1978. (a)
Bruner, J. S. The role of dialogue in language acquisition. In A. Sinclair, R. Jarvell, & W. Levelt (Eds.), The child’s conception of language. New York: Springer Verlag, 1978. (b)
Chapman, R. S. Exploring children’s communicative intents. In J. F. Miller (Ed.), Assessing language production in children: Experimental procedures. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1981.
Chomsky, C. The acquisition of syntax in children from five to ten. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1969.
Chomsky, N. Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1965.
Clark, E. V. What’s in a word? On the child’s acquisition of semantics in his first language. In T. E. Moore (Ed.), Cognitive development and the acquisition of language. New York: Academic Press, 1973.
Clark, E. V. Knowledge, context and strategy in the acquisition of meaning. In D. P. Dato (Ed.), Georgetown University round table on languages and linguistics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1975.
Clark, E. V. Awareness of language: Some evidence for what children say and do. In A. Sinclair, R. Jarvella, & W. Levelt (Eds.), The child’s conception of language. New York: Springer Verlag, 1978.
Cole, P. R. Language disorders in preschool children. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1982.
Cross, T. G. Mothers’ speech adjustments: The contribution of selected child listener variables. In C. E. Snow & C. A. Ferguson (Eds.), Talking to children. London: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
deVilliers, J. G., & deVilliers, P. A. A cross-sectional study of the acquisition of grammatical morphemes in child speech. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 1973, 2, 267–278.
deVilliers, J. G., & de Villiers, P. A. Language acquisition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Edwards, M. L., & Shriberg, L. D. Phonology: Applications in communicative disorders. San Diego, Calif.: College-Hill Press, 1983.
Eilers, R. E., Gavin, W. J., & Wilson, W. R. Linguistic experience and phonemic perception in infancy: A cross-linguistic study. Child Development, 1979, 50, 14–18.
Eilers, R. E., & Oller, D. K. Speech perception in infancy and early childhood. In E. Z. Lasky & J. Katz (Eds.), Central auditory processing disorders: Problems of speech, language, and learning. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1983.
Eilers, R. E., Wilson, W. R., & Moore, J. M. Discrimination of synthetic prevoiced labial stops by infants and adults. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1976, 60 (Suppl. 1), S91A.
Eimas, P. Linguistic processing of speech by young infants. In R. Schiefelbusch & L. Lloyd (Eds.), Language perspectives: Acquisition, retardation, and intervention. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1974.
Fillmore, C. J. The case for case. In E. Bach & R. T. Harms (Eds.), Universals of linguistic theory. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1968.
Fillmore, C. J. Some problems for case grammar. Georgetown University Monograms in Language and Linguistics, 1971, 24, 35–56.
Foldi, N. S., Cicone, M., & Gardner, H. Pragmatic aspects of communication in brain-damaged patients. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language function and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Fraser, C., & Roberts, N. Mother’s speech to children of four different ages. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 1975, 4, 9–16.
Garvey, C. Requests and responses in children’s speech. Journal of Child Language, 1975, 2, 41–63.
Garvey, C. The contingent query. In M. Lewis & L. Rosenblum (Eds.), Interaction, conversation and the development of language. New York: Wiley, 1977.
Gleitman, H., & Gleitman, L. Language use and language judgement. In C. Fillmore, D. Kempler, & W. S-Y Wang, (Eds.), Individual differences in language ability and language behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
Gruber, J. Topicalization revisited. Foundations of Language, 1975, 13, 57–72.
Hakes, D. The development of metalinguistic abilities in children. New York: Springer Verlag, 1980.
Halliday, M. A. K. Learning how to mean: Explorations in the development of language. New York: Elsevier-North Holland, 1975.
Harkness, S. Aspects of social environment and first language acquisition in rural Africa. Paper presented at SSRC Conference on Language Input and Acquisition, Boston, 1974.
Hillenbrand, J. Perceptual organization of speech sounds by infants. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 1983, 26, 268–282.
Ingram, D. Phonological rules in young children. Papers and Reports on Child Language Development, 1971, 3, 31–49.
Jenkins, J. J. The acquisition of language. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1969.
Kuhl, P. Speech perception in early infancy: Perceptual constancy for spectrally dissimilar vowel categories. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1979, 66, 1668–1679.
Lasky, E. Parameters affecting auditory processing. In E. Z. Lasky & J. Katz (Eds.), Central auditory processing disorders: Problems of speech, language, and learning. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1983.
Lasky, E. Z., & Chapandy, A. Factors affecting language comprehension. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 1976, 7, 159–168.
Laskv, E. Z., & Katz, S. Central auditory processing disorders: Problems of speech, language, and learning. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1983.
Lasky, E. Z., & Klopp, K. Parent-child interactions in normal and language-disordered children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1982, 47, 7–18.
Lecours, A. K. Mylogenetic correlates of the development of speech and language. In E. H. Lenneberg & E. Lenneberg (Eds.), Foundations of language development: A multidisciplinary approach. New York: Academic Press, 1975.
Lee, L. Developmental sentence analysis. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1974.
Leonard, L. Meaning in child language. Issues in the study of early semantic development. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1976.
Lund, N. J., & Duchan, J. F. Assessing children’s language in naturalistic contexts. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1983.
Maratsos, M. Nonegocentric communicative abilities in preschool children. Child Development, 1973, 44, 697–700.
Mateer, C. A. Motor and perceptual functions of the left hemisphere and their interaction. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Menyuk, P. The acquisition and development of language. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971.
Menyuk, P. Language development. In C. Kopp & J. B. Krakow (Eds.), Child development in a social context. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1982.
Moffitt, A. R. Consonant cue perception by twenty-to twenty-four-week-old infants. Child Development, 1971, 42(3), 717–731.
Molfese, D. L. Neural mechanisms underlying the processing of speech information in infants and adults: Suggestions of differences in development and structure from electrophysiologic research. In U. Kirk (Ed.), Neuropsychology of language, reading, and spelling. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Molfese, D. L., & Molfese, V. J. Development of symmetrical and asymmetrical hemispheric responses to speech sounds: Electrophysiologic correlates. In E. Z. Lasky & J. Katz (Eds.), Central auditory processing disorders: Problems of speech, language, and learning. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1983.
Molfese, D. L., Molfese, V. J., & Parsons, C. Hemisphere processing of phonologic information. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Nelson, K. Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1973, 38 (Serial No. 149, Nos. 1–2, I, II).
Nelson, K. Some attributes of adjectives used by young children. Cognition, 1976, 4, 13–30.
Nelson, K. Individual differences in language development: Implications for development of language. Developmental Psychology, 1981, 17, 170–186.
Ojemann, G. A. Interrelationships in the brain organization of language related behaviors: Evidence from electrical stimulation mapping. In U. Kirk (Ed.), Neuropsychology of language, reading, and spelling. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Oiler, D. K. Infant vocalization and the development of speech. Paper presented at Milwaukee Conference on Early Intervention with Infants and Young Children, University Of Wisconsin, 1977.
Prather, E. M., Hedrick, D. L., & Kern, C. A. Functions of consonant assimilation and reduplication in early word productions of mentally retarded children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1975, 40, 179–191.
Prinz, P. M., & Ferner, L. J. “Can you give me that one?” The comprehension, production and judgment of directives in language impaired children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1983, 48, 44–54.
Ross, P. Cerebral specialization in deaf individuals. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Schlesinger, I. Learning grammar: From pivot to realization rule. In R. Huxley & E. Ingram (Eds.), Language acquisition: Models and methods. New York: Academic Press, 1971. (a)
Schlesinger, I. Production of utterances and language acquisition. In D. Slobin (Ed.), The ontogenesis of grammar. New York: Academic Press, 1971. (b)
Segalowitz, S. J. Language as a mental organ or a mental complex. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Segalowitz, S. J., & Bryden, M. P. Individual differences in hemisphere representation of language. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Shatz, M., & Gelman, R. Beyond syntax: The influence of conversational constraints on speech modification. In C. Snow & C. Ferguson (Eds.), Talking to children, language input and acquisition. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Snow, C. E. Mother’s speech research: From input to interaction. In C. E. Snow & C. A. Ferguson (Eds.), Talking to children. London: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Trevarthen, C. Development of the cerebral mechanisms for language. In U. Kirk (Ed.), Neuropsychotogy of language, reading, and spelling. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Umiker-Sebeok, D. Preschool children’s inter-conversational narratives. Journal of Child Language, 1979, 6, 91–109.
Valsiner, J. Hemispheric specialization and integration in child development. In S. J. Segalowitz (Ed.), Language functions and brain organization. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lasky, E.Z. (1985). Perspectives on Language Development. In: Hartlage, L.C., Telzrow, C.F. (eds) The Neuropsychology of Individual Differences. Perspectives on Individual Differences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3484-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3484-0_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-3486-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-3484-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive