Topic 3.5 Notes – Communication and Language Development
What Language Is
Communication is any way information gets from one person to another. That includes facial expressions, posture, vocal sounds, reaching, and pointing.
Language is narrower. It is a shared system of arbitrary symbols.
- Shared means people in a language community agree on what symbols mean.
- Arbitrary means there is no natural connection between the symbol and its meaning. The word “tree” does not naturally belong to that object. English speakers just agreed on it.
- Language can be spoken, written, or signed.
- Sign languages are full languages, with rules, meaning, and the ability to create brand-new messages.
Language is also:
- Rule-governed through grammar and syntax
- Generative, meaning people can produce infinitely many new messages
One scope note matters here. Pragmatics is about using language in social context, and it is outside this AP Psychology topic.
The Building Blocks of Language
Language is built in levels, from basic sounds up to full sentences.
Phonemes
A phoneme is the smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.
- It is a sound, not a letter.
- Changing one phoneme can change meaning.
- “coat” → “goat”
- Phonemes usually do not have meaning by themselves.
- Example
- “cats” has 4 phonemes: /k/ /æ/ /t/ /s/
Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest unit that carries meaning.
- A morpheme can be a whole word or part of a word.
- Free morphemes stand alone
- “cat,” “open”
- Bound morphemes attach to something else
- “-s,” “re-,” “-ed”
Examples:
- “cats” = 2 morphemes
- “cat” + “-s”
- “reopened” = 3 morphemes
- “re-” + “open” + “-ed”
A common mistake is mixing up morphemes and syllables. They are not the same thing.
Semantics
Semantics means the meaning of words, morphemes, phrases, and sentences.
- It covers how meanings combine.
- A word can have more than one meaning.
- “bat” can mean an animal or sports equipment
Grammar and Syntax
Grammar is the whole system of rules for combining and interpreting language.
Syntax is the part of grammar that deals with word order and sentence arrangement.
- “The rabbit chased the dog”
- “The dog chased the rabbit”
Same words, different syntax, different meaning.
Grammar is broader than syntax. It also includes things like tense and agreement.
How Language Works
Language is hierarchical:
- Phonemes combine into
- Morphemes, which combine into
- Words and phrases, which combine into
- Sentences
This only works because the symbols are shared, semantics gives them meaning, and grammar/syntax organize them.
The huge idea here is generativity. With a limited set of sounds, meanings, and rules, you can make sentences no one has ever said before. That is very different from a fixed signal like one gesture meaning one thing. Language lets you talk about the past, future, imaginary situations, denial, and “what if” ideas.
The Stages of Language Development
The order is more important than the exact age. Ages can vary a bit across children and cultures.
- Early nonverbal manual gestures
- Reaching, showing, giving, waving, pointing
- Pointing often appears around 9 to 12 months
- This shows intentional communication
- Gestures overlap with vocal development
- Cooing
- Around 2 to 4 months
- Long vowel-like sounds
- These are early vocalizations, not words
- Babbling
- Around 6 to 10 months
- Repeated consonant-vowel sounds like “da-da”
- These are not true words unless used consistently with meaning
- Babbling starts to reflect the sounds infants hear around them
- One-word stage
- Around 12 to 18 months
- One word expresses a whole idea
- “Up” might mean “Pick me up”
- Telegraphic speech
- Around 18 to 24 months
- Short combinations like “more juice” or “Daddy read”
- Includes key content words, leaves out many small function words
Errors That Show Rule Learning
Overgeneralization or overregularization means applying a language rule too broadly.
- “I breaked it”
- “two sheeps”
These errors matter because they show children are learning rules, not just copying adults. The errors are systematic. A child notices a pattern like “add -ed for past tense” and uses it even when the word is irregular.
This can happen separately from telegraphic speech. One shows rule learning, the other shows short early sentence structure.
Key Takeaways
Language
A shared, rule-governed system of arbitrary symbols that can generate indefinitely many meaningful messages
Phoneme
The smallest distinctive sound unit in a spoken language; phonemes distinguish sounds but usually carry no meaning themselves
Morpheme
The smallest language unit that carries meaning, either as an independent word or a meaningful word part
Semantics
The meanings of words and morphemes and how their meanings combine in phrases and sentences
Grammar
The overall system of rules governing how a language’s units may be combined and interpreted
Syntax
The part of grammar governing the permissible arrangement of words and phrases in sentences
Generativity
The capacity to recombine a limited set of language units and rules to express an effectively unlimited number of novel ideas
Nonverbal Manual Gestures
Prelinguistic movements such as reaching, showing, or pointing that intentionally communicate requests or direct attention
Cooing
An early vocal stage, usually around 2–4 months, consisting mainly of prolonged vowel-like sounds
Babbling
An early vocal stage, usually prominent around 6–10 months, involving repeated consonant-vowel combinations such as “da-da.”
One-Word Stage
The stage, typically around 12–18 months, when a child uses one meaningful conventional word to communicate a larger idea
Telegraphic Speech
Brief early word combinations, often beginning around 18–24 months, that retain key content words while omitting many function words and grammatical markers
Overgeneralization (Overregularization)
Applying a general language rule to an exception, as in “breaked” or “sheeps.”
Communication
The conveyance of information from one person to another through language or nonverbal signals such as facial expressions, posture, vocalizations, or gestures
Notes
Language
A shared, rule-governed system of arbitrary symbols that can generate indefinitely many meaningful messages
Phoneme
The smallest distinctive sound unit in a spoken language; phonemes distinguish sounds but usually carry no meaning themselves
Morpheme
The smallest language unit that carries meaning, either as an independent word or a meaningful word part
Semantics
The meanings of words and morphemes and how their meanings combine in phrases and sentences
Grammar
The overall system of rules governing how a language’s units may be combined and interpreted
Syntax
The part of grammar governing the permissible arrangement of words and phrases in sentences
Generativity
The capacity to recombine a limited set of language units and rules to express an effectively unlimited number of novel ideas
Nonverbal Manual Gestures
Prelinguistic movements such as reaching, showing, or pointing that intentionally communicate requests or direct attention
Cooing
An early vocal stage, usually around 2–4 months, consisting mainly of prolonged vowel-like sounds
Babbling
An early vocal stage, usually prominent around 6–10 months, involving repeated consonant-vowel combinations such as “da-da.”
One-Word Stage
The stage, typically around 12–18 months, when a child uses one meaningful conventional word to communicate a larger idea
Telegraphic Speech
Brief early word combinations, often beginning around 18–24 months, that retain key content words while omitting many function words and grammatical markers
Overgeneralization (Overregularization)
Applying a general language rule to an exception, as in “breaked” or “sheeps.”
Communication
The conveyance of information from one person to another through language or nonverbal signals such as facial expressions, posture, vocalizations, or gestures
