preview

Different Stages Of Language Acquisition Essay

Better Essays

Introduction: Although, there is no agreed definition of language among linguists, but we can say that language is the most sophisticated way of communication between any two human beings and far more complex than any other system of communication. The ability of acquiring and using languages is one of the properties that differs us as human beings from other species.

Acquiring the first language is much easier than acquiring any second language as it comes “naturally” after birth. The child passes through different stages before acquiring the language till he masters it. Children follow a predictive language development through their language acquisition but it can vary from a child to another according to the external surroundings especially in the early stages.

In this essay, we will discuss the different stages of language acquisition. There are five main stages that any child passes through to acquire the first language and these stages are:
1. Pre-language stage.
2. Babbling.
3. The one word stage.
4. The two word stage:
5. From telegraph to infinity.

1. Pre- language stage: The pre –language or the pre-speech stage is the period from about three months to six months. We can call this period the zero stage because in this period the child is only a listener and he does not produce understandable sounds. The only sounds that the child produces in this period are crying and screaming. At this stage, the child usually reacts to any speech

Get Access