What is Language?
Language is a system people use to communicate ideas, thoughts, feelings, and information.
Language can be:
- 🗣️ Spoken language
- ✋ Sign language
- ✍️ Written language
Not all communication is language. For example:
- A dog wagging its tail communicates something.
- A baby crying communicates a need.
- But human language uses words and rules to share complex ideas.
The Parts of Language
Language has several important parts:
1. Lexicon (Vocabulary)
Lexicon = all the words in a language.
Example:
The English lexicon includes words like:
- dog
- happy
- run
- computer
A person needs to know words before they can communicate complex ideas.
2. Grammar
Grammar = the rules for putting words together.
Grammar helps us make sentences that have meaning.
Example:
✅ "The dog chased the ball."
❌ "Dog ball chased the."
The words are the same, but the order changes the meaning.
Small Building Blocks of Language
Phonemes
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound.
Examples:
-
"cat" has three sounds:
- /c/
- /a/
- /t/
Changing one sound can change the meaning:
- cat
- hat
Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest part of language that has meaning.
Examples:
Dog = one morpheme
Dogs = two morphemes:
- dog
- s (means more than one)
Semantics
Semantics = meaning of words and sentences.
Example:
"The bank is near the river."
"The bank is where I keep my money."
The word bank has different meanings depending on context.
Syntax
Syntax = the order of words in sentences.
Example:
"The boy kicked the ball."
"The ball kicked the boy."
The same words have a different meaning because the order changed.
How Children Learn Language
Children usually learn language naturally without formal lessons.
Psychologists have different ideas about how this happens.
Skinner: Learning Through Reinforcement
B. F. Skinner believed children learn language through:
- imitation
- rewards
- reinforcement
Example:
A child says "milk."
A parent gives milk.
The child learns that saying "milk" gets a result.
Chomsky: Biological Ability
Noam Chomsky argued that humans are born with a natural ability to learn language.
He suggested the brain is prepared for language learning.
Evidence:
- Children learn language quickly.
- Children across different cultures follow similar stages.
- Children create sentences they have never heard before.
Stages of Language Development
| Age | Development |
|---|---|
| 0–3 months | Crying and reflexive communication |
| 3–8 months | Sounds and interest in people |
| 8–13 months | Intentional communication |
| 12–18 months | First words |
| 18–24 months | Two-word sentences |
| 2–3 years | Longer sentences |
| 3–5 years | Conversations and complex sentences |
The Babbling Stage
Babies practise sounds:
"ba-ba-ba"
They are learning how their voice works.
Interestingly, babies exposed to sign language also show a type of hand babbling where they practise movements used in signing.
Overgeneralisation
Children often learn rules before exceptions.
Example:
A child learns:
- cat → cats
- dog → dogs
Then they may say:
- mouse → mouses ❌
- goose → gooses ❌
This shows the child understands the rule but has not learned the exceptions yet.
Language and Thinking
A big psychology question:
Does language affect how we think?
The idea that language influences thought is called:
Linguistic Relativity
The researchers Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf suggested language can influence how people understand the world.
Example:
Some languages have many words for things that may only have one word in English.
However, modern psychologists believe language influences thinking but does not completely control it.
Link to Dyslexia, Autism, and Learning Disabilities
This section connects strongly with your disability awareness work.
Language difficulties can involve:
Dyslexia
May affect:
- recognising sounds in words (phonological awareness)
- reading fluency
- spelling
Autism
Some autistic people may experience differences in:
- social communication
- understanding implied meanings
- interpreting tone or sarcasm
Learning disabilities
Some people may need:
- Easy Read information
- pictures and symbols
- extra processing time
- alternative communication methods
Communication support is not about lowering expectations; it is about making information accessible.
Quick Quiz
1. What is the lexicon?
A) Rules for sentences
B) Vocabulary of a language
C) Sounds in language
Answer: B
2. What does syntax mean?
A) Word order
B) Word meaning
C) Sound production
Answer: A
3. Who suggested humans have a biological ability to learn language?
A) Skinner
B) Chomsky
C) Freud
Answer: B
4. A child saying "goed" instead of "went" shows:
A) Forgetting language
B) Overgeneralisation
C) Lack of intelligence
Answer: B
This chapter also links nicely with your earlier discussions about memory and semantic encoding, because language gives us a way to organise knowledge, create concepts, and store information in long-term memory.
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