Language development

Language development in humans is a process which starts early in life. Infants start without knowing a language, yet by 10 months, babies can distinguish speech sounds and engage in babbling. Some research has shown that the earliest learning begins in utero when the fetus starts to recognize the sounds and speech patterns of its mother's voice and differentiate them from other sounds after birth.^[1]

Typically, children develop receptive language abilities before their verbal or expressive language develops.^[2] Receptive language is the internal processing and understanding of language. As receptive language continues to increase, expressive language begins to slowly develop.

Usually, productive/expressive language is considered to begin with a stage of pre-verbal communication in which infants use gestures and vocalizations to make their intents known to others. According to a general principle of development, new forms then take over old functions, so that children learn words to express the same communicative functions they had already expressed by proverbial means.^[3]

Children learn syntax through imitation, instruction, and reinforcement.^[4]^[5]^[6]

^ Graven SN, Browne JV (December 2008). "Auditory development in the fetus and infant". Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews. 8 (4): 187–193. doi:10.1053/j.nainr.2008.10.010. S2CID 6361226.
^ Guess D (1969). "A functional analysis of receptive language and productive speech: acquisition of the plural morpheme". Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2 (1): 55–64. doi:10.1901/jaba.1969.2-55. PMC 1311037. PMID 16795203.
^ Kennison SM (2013). Introduction to language development. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. ISBN 9781412996068.
^ Adger, David (2015). "Syntax". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 6 (2): 131–147. doi:10.1002/wcs.1332. PMC 4361048. PMID 25815105. S2CID 215708536.
^ Adger D. (2015). Syntax. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science, 6(2), 131–147.
^ Najar, Anis; Bonnet, Emmanuelle; Bahrami, Bahador; Palminteri, Stefano (2020). "The actions of others act as a pseudo-reward to drive imitation in the context of social reinforcement learning". PLOS Biology. 18 (12): e3001028. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001028. PMC 7723279. PMID 33290387.

[Graven,_2008-1] Graven SN, Browne JV (December 2008). "Auditory development in the fetus and infant". Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews. 8 (4): 187–193. doi:10.1053/j.nainr.2008.10.010. S2CID 6361226.

[2] Guess D (1969). "A functional analysis of receptive language and productive speech: acquisition of the plural morpheme". Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2 (1): 55–64. doi:10.1901/jaba.1969.2-55. PMC 1311037. PMID 16795203.

[Kennison,_2013-3] Kennison SM (2013). Introduction to language development. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. ISBN 9781412996068.

[4] Adger, David (2015). "Syntax". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 6 (2): 131–147. doi:10.1002/wcs.1332. PMC 4361048. PMID 25815105. S2CID 215708536.

[5] Adger D. (2015). Syntax. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science, 6(2), 131–147.

[6] Najar, Anis; Bonnet, Emmanuelle; Bahrami, Bahador; Palminteri, Stefano (2020). "The actions of others act as a pseudo-reward to drive imitation in the context of social reinforcement learning". PLOS Biology. 18 (12): e3001028. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001028. PMC 7723279. PMID 33290387.

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