Notes

Uses and Structure of Language:

A prominent feature of human evolution has been an innate need to socialize. Humans are social animals, and their sense of community and togetherness contributed to their progress. However, humanity’s achievements would not have been possible in the absence of people’s ability to communicate with others.

You communicate through language, which is a structure of spoken and written words. It is because of language that we are able to apply logical reasoning, solve problems, send and receive information, organize thoughts, and communicate with each other. Language is a part of your daily life. It forms the basis of work as well as social relationships
The study of spoken language is based on its three structural components. They are phonemes, morphemes, and grammar.

Phonemes: Phonemes are the building blocks of language. They are the smallest units of sound in a language. A slight change in a phoneme can change the entire meaning of a word. For example, if the letter b in the word back is replaced by the letter l, the word changes to lack. This changes the meaning of the word from behind to an inadequacy. Linguists have discovered 869 phonemes in human speech. The English language uses about 40 phonemes.

Morphemes: Morphemes are the smallest units of language that provide meaning to a sentence. There are two types of morphemes. They are bound morphemes and free morphemes. For example, in the word unbreakable, un- is a bound morpheme, -break is a free morpheme, and -able is a bound morpheme.

Grammar: Grammar is a set of rules and guidelines that helps derive meaning out of words and sounds, which is important for framing sentences.
There are two methods of classifying languages—based on their grammatical structure and based on word construction or order.

Languages are of four types based on grammatical structure—isolating languages, agglutinating languages, inflectional languages, and amalgamating languages.

Isolating languages: Examples of isolating languages include Chinese and Indonesian languages that use invariable words, but a strictly defined word order.

Agglutinating languages: Agglutinating languages, such as Finnish, Turkish, and Japanese, add prefixes and suffixes to regular words to denote differences in meaning, subtle nuances, etc.

Inflectional languages: These include Indo-European and Afro-Asiatic languages, such as Russian. They consist of irregularities and are relatively difficult to learn. These languages use prefixes and suffixes as well as words for expressing nuances.

Amalgamating languages: This group includes languages such as Basque, Armenian, and Klington. Amalgamating languages use complex words in sentence construction, so they tend to be quite challenging for learners
Apart from grammatical structure, languages are also classified based on the word order used. Generally, the word order is based on three defining factors—subject, object, and verb. Different combinations of these elements characterize different language types. Let’s discuss some of these types.

S-O-V (subject-object-verb): Most languages around the world use this form. Turkish, Korean, Japanese, Indian languages, and aboriginal languages use the S-O-V form. In most of these languages, an adjective precedes a noun. Almost all of these languages use prepositions.

S-V-O (subject-verb-object): This category represents the second largest group of languages with the largest number of speakers. It includes languages such as French, Spanish, Italian, Albanian, Greek, Thai, Malay, and Germanic languages. In most of these languages, an adjective follows a noun. There are exceptions, such as Germanic languages, in which an adjective precedes a noun. S-V-O languages are further classified into languages that use prepositions and postpositions (such as wherein).

V-S-O (verb-subject-object): Languages such as Celtic, Polynesian, Arabic, and Hebrew use the V-S-O format. In most of these languages, an adjective comes after a noun. In some languages such as Kwakiutl and Nahuatl, adjectives precede nouns. Some languages use mixed language structures.
The Three-Part Model Structure of English

The three-part model of the English language covers three of its most basic elements—morphology, syntax, and discourse. You’ve learned that morphemes and phonemes are basic words that indicate meaning and sound, respectively. Morphology refers to the study of all such words, prefixes, and affixes. It studies in detail the structure of these elements.
While some words have a meaning of their own, some words make sense only when they become part of a sentence, phrase, or clause. Syntax refers to the rules of organizing such words in sentences, phrases, or clauses. Discourse is the study of a longer stretch of language, such as multiple clauses and sentences.
n Syntax, you study phrases, clauses, and sentences. Morphology includes the study of small units of sound and their meanings. Discourse deals with the study of a long stretch of language, such as multiple clauses.
A person’s language skills develop over a long period. A child begins to distinguish between sounds and takes the first step toward language acquisition at four months of age. From infancy to adulthood, different stages of growth mark various stages in language acquisition. Research suggests that newborn babies react best to their mothers’ voice. Between the age of two and five months, babies experiment with noises by babbling, clicking their tongues, etc. By the time children turn six to ten months old, they can babble in their mother tongues. The babbling has some form and meaning, but it is often repetitive and includes voice modulation for words, such as “mamama.”

From ten to twelve months of age, children begin to acquire higher vocal skills. Even though children babble at this age, too, they achieve a certain level of sophistication. They start picking up meaningful words in their mother tongue and manage to speak single words. At two years of age, children are able to form sentences consisting of two words, such as “get ball.” Thus, in a span of two years, a child’s language evolves from incoherent and disconnected words to meaningful expressions.

The process of language acquisition has fascinated scientists through the ages, and they presented various theories of language acquisition. Let’s discuss some of them.

Imitation theory: Imitation theory refers to children’s ability to pick up a language from their environment by imitating adults. For instance, a child brought up in an English-speaking environment will pick up English as the primary language.

Reinforcement theory: This theory refers to reinforcement as a method of language acquisition. Reinforcement theory relates to the way in which a parent or another adult trains a child by praising and reprimanding them.

Active construction of grammar theory: This theory states that children are born with an innate ability to understand and learn languages. During the language acquisition process, children learn words as well as sentence formation. Children can also apply grammatical corrections to sentences by using their innate linguistic abilities. The constant language inputs that children receive help them gradually form the model of language and grammar of adults.

Noam Chomsky, a linguist and social activist, contributed greatly to the study of language development. According to Chomsky, humans have the innate ability to grasp and learn languages. To support his theory, Chomsky stated that between the ages of three and ten years, a child could learn a language fluently and in its entirety. He stated that a specific trigger is not essential for a child to start speaking. However, if a child is consistently read or spoken to, there is a higher probability that the child’s speaking skills will develop at a faster rate.

Chomsky also theorized that no matter how many times parents correct a child, they continue to make the same mistakes. For instance, if a child says “teeths” instead of “teeth,” despite being corrected by a parent, the child would continue to say “teeths” until that phase passes.

Chomsky’s theory states that all children follow a similar language acquisition process. The theory therefore concludes that all humans have an innate ability to learn a language.
Jean Piaget, a cognitive psychologist, introduced a theory on the cognitive development of language skills, which proved vital to the study of language acquisition. Piaget theorized that a child’s cognitive development occurs over four stages—sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Sensorimotor stage: This stage exists until the child is two years old. It emphasizes the importance of a child’s movements and physical reactions. During this stage, children mainly learn the motor control skills required to crawl, walk, etc., as well as basic language skills. Children try to imitate the different sounds that they hear from their parents, and they learn to associate these sounds with different emotions. For instance, a giggle is associated with happiness.

Preoperational stage: This stage occurs between two to seven years of age. Piaget believed that the focus of this stage is egocentricity. During this stage, children talk constantly, and often comment on every action that they perform. They also do not make a clear distinction between speaking to others and talking aloud, and they show little concern for the opinion of others.
Concrete operational stage: This stage lasts between seven and twelve years of age. During this period, children use logic and try to solve problems in the form of stories that are factual and not abstract in nature. Piaget theorized that some children do not progress beyond this stage, although it is not the final stage of cognitive maturity.

Formal operational stage: This stage marks a change in a child’s reasoning abilities. Instead of using only facts, the child is able to use reasoning skills to solve problems. At this stage, children often use abstract thought to debate and contemplate ideas.
The psychologist Lev Vygotsky believed that people use tools such as writing and speaking to communicate and change their environment. He opined that such qualities help children communicate their needs. Vygotsky placed emphasis on factors such as social interaction and teaching in accordance with a child’s language acquisition process. He stated that cultural and linguistic development in children occurs in two stages.

During the first stage, children observe how their parents and other adults communicate among themselves. Accordingly, children develop the ability to communicate with others. Vygotsky also stated that a child learns a lot about language by communicating with adults. Parents lead children right from the stage of infancy. Over a period of time, children acquire the skill to communicate with their parents. Vygotsky believed that social interaction is vital for cognitive development. Contrary to Piaget’s beliefs, Vygotsky stated that it is not development that precedes learning, but learning that fosters development. Vygotsky was of the opinion that cognitive development varies across cultures. As opposed to Piaget, Vygotsky opined that language development does not depend on thought, and that it is at a later stage in life (around the age of three years) that children are able to merge the two and produce verbal thought.
Bruner’s Theory of Language Development: Jerome Bruner, a cognitive psychologist, rejected Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. He believed that learning has less to do with the stages of life than with the representation and organization of knowledge during development. He stated that language plays a primary role in providing individuals the ability to think better and improve their cognition. His theory is based on the modes of representation, which constitute the process by which information is saved in memory. His theory includes three stages that are not isolated but transition from one stage to another. According to him, children use these processes to represent the world for themselves.

Enactive process (birth to one year): This stage involves the encoding of action-based information into one’s memory. Children pick up simple actions, such as pointing fingers, which later help in complex motor activities, such as running, swimming, etc. Since pictures or words cannot explain such activities, this stage is called the enactive process.

Iconic process (one to six years): At this stage, children are able to draw a picture or remember an object even after the stimuli is gone. This is an accumulation of memories. For example, a child would have a mental picture of a book based on not one book, but on several books.

Symbolic process (from seven years): This stage includes the interpretation of mathematical symbols, music notes, language grammar, etc. At this stage, children can encode rules regarding various subjects and use this knowledge to express, manipulate, and categorize thoughts. This stage mostly depends on a child’s linguistic abilities.
B.F. Skinner, a leading psychologist and behaviorist, believed that children imitate the sounds made by adults, which helps them in language acquisition. He stated that children learn language though imitation, reinforcement by adults, and the environment. Let’s take an example of a child who has just learned to utter the word “ma.” The positive reinforcement received from the child’s excited mother will motivate the child to repeat the word. If the reinforcement received is negative, the child might stop using the word. Older children follow the same pattern, but they tend to imitate more complex words and sentences that they hear from adults.

Skinner stated that language develops the same way, as do other skills. A verbal response is based on various factors, such as reinforcement, stimulus control, deprivation, and aversive stimulation. Such responses lead to associations that are the basis of every language. Skinner proposed the method of reinforcement to classify languages. He stated that there are four types of speech—echoic behavior, mands, tacts, interverbals, and autoclitics.
Echoic behavior: This is the primary form of verbal behavior and includes repeated utterances. For example, a parent might ask a child, “do you see the duck? Can you say duck?” The child might respond, “duckkkk.”

Mands: Mands are utterances that are a result of the elevation of deprivation. For instance, a child might point to ask for something (such as a toy) or make a request.

Tacts: Children could also possibly just name an item (toy or food) they remember.

Interverbals: These responses include words such as “please,” “excuse me,” and “thank you.” Thus, interverbals are seen as part of an interaction.

Autoclitics: Autoclitics are responses that do not provide new information, but rather rely on association and change the intensity or emphasis of the spoken words. For instance, the statement, “John looks a lot like Stuart,” uses the autoclitic “a lot like” to suggest that the two individuals look largely similar but not identical.
According to Naom Chomsky, children have an innate ability to learn. Jean Piaget stated that language acquisition happens over several stages of development. Lev Vygotsky stated that language acquisition depends on social interaction. According to B F Skinner, language develops like any other skill.