A child’s early years are crucial because the habits and characteristics they acquire throughout this time shape the kind of person they will become. The child learns to speak and picks up words throughout this time as well. The amount of time it takes for various kids to pick up speech can vary greatly. The majority of kids utter their first words within the first 18 months of life, and it takes them until they are two or three years old to start speaking sentences. Some kids pick up on this habit quite fast. The reasons behind these disparities among kids have been revealed by new research.
The purpose of the research, led by psychologist Elika Bergelson, was to ascertain the causes of the variations in the length of time children need to learn to speak. The study involved 1001 children under the age of four who were examined by international psychologists. Remarkably, it was discovered that a child’s exposure to different languages, gender, socioeconomic background, time of day they talked, and other factors had no bearing on how long it took them to learn to speak. Instead, it was discovered that the kids who started speaking at a young age heard more from the adults in each situation.
Although learning a language has little to do with it, parents’ low socioeconomic status and lack of education are sometimes held responsible for a child’s delayed speaking development. Research has indicated that the probability of a child acquiring a language rises as the number of individuals conversing with him does. In such cases, parents and everyone living near children should be encouraged to communicate as much as possible.
In these situations, it’s crucial to keep in mind that kids in combined households in rural areas are more likely to listen than to speak, which increases their propensity to communicate from an early age. On the other hand, because there are fewer people in a city setting, they interact with others less and might acquire the language later.
The Study
Children from both rural and urban areas were involved in this study, which encompassed 12 nations and 43 languages. Children in the study, ranging in age from two months to four years, documented the noises they heard repeatedly as they developed. It was evident from analyzing forty thousand hours of recordings using machine learning techniques that children who listen more also begin speaking at an earlier age. Other factors that may influence language acquisition were also examined.
Speaking Telegraphically helps children to talk
In telegraph speech, there is minimal to no grammar and just content words are used. “Where coat?” (instead of “Where’s your coat?”) and “This Mama spoon” (instead of “this is Mama’s spoon”) are two instances of telegraphic speech. Some individuals think that because telegraphic speech allows babies to hear only the most relevant words in a sentence, it facilitates the learning process for babies to talk. However, experts don’t agree.
Telegraphic speech deprives youngsters of the beneficial cues and information that come from grammatical speech, which can impede their learning of grammar and word meanings, according to Marc Fey [5], Ph.D., Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Centre, Department of Hearing and Speech. Babies, for instance, quickly pick up on the fact that words ending in “-ing” are verbs, which facilitates understanding word meanings.
Make sure your “baby talk” is grammatically correct when using it. Try to utilize short, straightforward sentences or phrases that follow appropriate grammar. Consider whether you would say the same thing to an adult as a guideline when determining whether your sentence is appropriate. If the response is negative, you most likely speak telegraphically.
By: Gursharan Kaur