What is language?
“Language” typically refers to a system of signs and symbols, namely words, governed by syntax, which determines their contextual meaning. This naturally occurring system is known as “natural language” in linguistics. Remarkably, linguistic research suggests that the development of such a language has been achieved spontaneously only by humans.
Language can be viewed through two primary levels:
- Language Comprehension – encompasses the capacity to comprehend spoken or written words, recognize stimuli, and ascribe meaning to them. It involves grasping verbal instructions, responding to questions, and understanding the nuances of syntax.
- Language Expression – pertains to the articulation of thoughts, whether through spoken words, written text, or visual representations.
Language developmental milestones…
Following are recognized milestones for language and speech development up to the age of six years. It’s important to note that the standard in child development is ‘broad’ and adaptable. Nonetheless, if you have concerns about your child’s progress in any of the areas mentioned, we encourage you to proactively seek guidance from a speech therapist for a thorough evaluation.
From birth to 6 months:
Language Comprehension
- Shows a preference for listening to human voices, especially the mother’s voice.
- Turns their head towards the source of a voice.
- Ceases ongoing activities upon hearing their name being called.
Language and Speech Production
- Expresses various sounds to convey pleasure or discomfort.
- Begins to babble around the age of six months.
- Produces reflexive sounds.
- Imitates sounds reminiscent of a dove’s cooing (“Hamiya”).
- Begins to articulate syllables involving lip sounds like ‘b,’ ‘p,’ and ‘m.’
From 6 to 12 months:
Language Comprehension
- Demonstrates an ability to discern between different tones, such as recognizing anger or pleasantness.
- Responds to simple words like “light,” “no,” and “bye-bye.”
- Follows instructions accompanied by gestures, such as hand or body movements like “Make peace” or “Where is the light?”
- Understands meaningful words and responds to basic questions like “Where’s the ball?”
Language and Speech Production
- Expresses communicative intentions through a range of sounds and meaningful movements.
- Begins to utter their first words, typically emerging around the age of one.
- Imitates various sounds and sequences, as seen in their repetition of sounds like “bah-bah-bah.”
- Produces labial sounds (e.g., ‘b,’ ‘p,’ ‘m’) and back sounds (e.g., ‘g,’ ‘r’) in diverse combinations like “bah-bi” or “ba-da,” alongside a variety of vowels.
From 12 to 18 months:
Language Comprehension
- Demonstrates an ability to recognize simple objects when their names are mentioned.
- Understands a vocabulary of approximately 50 words.
- Comprehends and follows straightforward instructions, such as “give me” or “put the doll in bed.”
- Identifies family members by name.
Language and Speech Production
- Enters the one-word stage, producing a wide array of single words, primarily nouns.
- Rapidly expands their vocabulary, doubling the number of words by around 18 months.
- Progresses to the two-word stage, beginning to combine words into pairs, like “father car” or “no ball,” typically around the age of 18 months.
- Occasionally experiences speech disruptions, including the omission of syllables at the beginning of words (e.g., “generation” instead of “ball”).
- Uses jargon and gibberish in their verbal expressions.
From 18 to 24 months:
Language Comprehension
- Grasps the meaning of numerous words, encompassing dozens in their vocabulary.
- Capably comprehends straightforward instructions, often without the need for accompanying body movements.
- Demonstrates an ability to understand basic questions, including “who” and “what.”
- Displays recognition of body parts, images of objects, and everyday actions.
Language and Speech Production
- Builds a vocabulary of dozens of words, encompassing both nouns and verbs, which often doubles by age two.
- Frequently assigns multiple meanings to the same word, like referring to all vehicles as “auto.”
- Progresses from two-word expressions to constructing concise three-word sentences.
- Demonstrates versatility in verb usage, employing original, present, and past tenses (e.g., eat, sits, fell).
- While individual words become more clear, occasional interruptions may persist, potentially making continuous speech with multiple words challenging to comprehend.
From 2 to 2.5 years:
Language Comprehension
- Comprehends an extensive vocabulary of hundreds of words, including fundamental concepts like size (big, small), space, and quantity (one, many).
- Recognizes vibrant colors.
- Understands more intricate instructions and varied questions.
Language and Speech Production
- Deploys a vocabulary ranging from 500 to 1000 words, constructing sentences typically consisting of 3-4 words.
- Graduates to forming connected sentences (“mother eats and father sits”) and even complex ones (“I cried because I fell”).
- Initiates question sentences (“Whose?” and “Where?”).
- Demonstrates mastery of meta verbs, employing them in various grammatical structures.
- Utilizes prepositions effectively, such as “over” and “under.”
- Displays knowledge of category names (e.g., “animals” and “means of transportation”), understands object usage (e.g., “in a glass – for drinking”), and distinguishes between quantities of 1, 2, and “a lot.”
- By age 3, speech becomes notably more intelligible, with fewer disruptions. Pronunciation of the sounds B, P, M, N, F, H, and Y should be accurate at this stage.
From 3 to 4 years:
Language Comprehension
- Grasps a vocabulary of approximately 2000 words, encompassing both common and less common terms (e.g., “switch,” “anchor”).
- Comprehends abstract concepts (e.g., “behind,” “shallow,” “thick”) and various situational descriptions (e.g., “cold,” “tired,” “hungry”).
- Can follow instructions that consist of 2-3 steps.
Language and Speech Production
- Expresses themselves using a vocabulary ranging from 1000 to 2000 words.
- Demonstrates versatile verb usage, including future tense.
- Utilizes a broader range of prepositions and personal pronouns (e.g., “she,” “they”).
- Constructs lengthy and intricate sentences, incorporating conjunctions like “but,” “when,” and “also.”
- Capable of providing simple definitions (e.g., “an animal that swims in water”).
- Can retell a short story.
- Correctly employs grammar elements such as “gaim to” and “k,” and progressively adds more complex elements like “gaim 1,” “gaim 3,” and “gaim 4.”
From 4 to 5 years:
Language Comprehension
- Comprehends a rich vocabulary of approximately 2500 words.
- Grasps complex and indirect instructions with ease.
- Capable of understanding and providing definitions.
- Masters time-related concepts, including distinctions like day, night, yesterday, and today.
- Exhibits a deep familiarity with all colors and shapes.
Language and Speech Production
- Demonstrates an expansive vocabulary, spanning up to 6000 words.
- Displays versatility in utilizing root words across various grammatical constructions.
- Uses uncommon plural forms (e.g., eggs, people, walls).
- Constructs complex and lengthy sentences, including conditional sentences and sequences of sentences, enabling the narration of stories with chronological descriptions (e.g., “before” and “after”).
- Engages in diverse questioning techniques.
- Distinguishes between different words within the same category.
- Pronunciation typically acquires the ability to correctly articulate the sounds D, B, and F between the ages of four and a half to five.
Typical challenges…
Typically, oral challenges manifest as either a strong understanding of language alongside difficulty expressing it or as a struggle with both understanding and expressing language effectively.
Here are examples of difficulties related to speech and language:
1. Limited Vocabulary: Struggles with a limited range of words.
2. Word Retrieval Challenges: Difficulty recalling words from memory.
3. Sentence Formation Issues: Struggles with constructing and connecting sentences.
4. Grammar and Syntax Problems: Difficulty using correct grammar and inflections in language.
5. Dyspraxia: Motor planning difficulties affecting speech.
6. Language Organization Challenges: Trouble organizing thoughts into a coherent sequence, such as when telling a story.
Other abilities related to language are phonological awareness (alertness to the sounds of the language), auditory memory, and more.
