Proceedings of Research Papers Presented At The National Research Seminar In
English On “Widening Canvas Of Literature” Held On 03rd And 04th December, 2015
Psycholinguistic Approach: Essencial Key Terms Of Language
Development In Life Span.
Dr. Surendra Bharsakle
Professor Psychology
S.A.B.V.G.A.C.C. Indore
Abstract
Psycholinguistic is the important branch of cognitive science which deals with
psychology of language it is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that
enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produced language. Various communities use
different languages according to their nation, geographical area and culture. The behavior a
person significantly takes place only on the basis of the different languages use for
communication and that language of communication makes people adjustable in the society.
Psycholinguistic study the life span development of language. It is a cognitive science which
significantly analyses the development of language and provides not only important key
terms of language but some more relevant adequate information and knowledge about
language.
“Words not only affect us temporarily, they change us, they socialize us and they unsocialize us.”
-David Reisman
The language is most important because of its being a vehicle of communication. The
clear word with unambiguous meaning crates better understanding and fellow-feeling, while
the diplomatic language breaks the relationship. Language is essentially a human behaviour
and it plays an important role in human activities. To learn a language is essential. Language
does not simply mean speech. A child can transfer the concrete or abstract qualities of a thing
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to another only because of language. In this way the uniqueness of our linguistic behaviour is
its main quality. In the learning of language the elements of leaning like the environment of
speech and reinforcement while are provided by the adults are of great importance. We
should also remembers in connection with the nature of language that the ability in it is
universal. All normal children lean the application of language. The child must be able to
derive meaning from the speech before he can learn to read. He must also have the ability that
he can discriminate between the printed symbols and can relate the sound with the printed
symbol. The language broadens our thinking.
ESSENTIAL KEY TERMS OF LANGUGE ACQUISITION
LANGUAGE: A form of communication, whether spoken, written or signed, that is based on
a system of symbols.
INFINITE GENERATIVITY: The ability to produce an endless number of meaningful
sentences using a finite set of wards and rules.
PHONOLOGY: The sound system of a language includes the sound used and rules about
how they may be combined. The basic unit of sound in a language is a phoneme; it is the
smallest unit of sound that affects meaning for example- in English is /k/, the sound
represented by the letter K in the word ski and the letter C in the word cat. The /k/ sound is
slightly different in there two words. But this variation is not distinguished in English and the
/k/ sound is therefore a single phoneme.
MORPHOLOGY: Units of meaning involved in word formation. A morpheme is a unit of
sound that conveys a specific meaning. Every word in the English language is made up of
one or more morpheme some consists of a single morpheme for example- help, whereas
others are made up of more than one morpheme for example- helper, which has two
morphemes, help+er, with the morpheme - er meaning, “one who”, in this case “one who
helps”.
SYNTAX: The system that involves the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases
and sentences. Word order is very important in determining meaning in the english language.
For example- the sentence “Sebastian pushed the bike” has a different meaning than “The
bike pushed Sebastian.”
SEMANTICS: The system that involves the meaning of words and sentences. Every word
has a set of semantic features or required attributes related to meaning, Girls and Woman, for
example – Share many semantic features but they differ semantically in regard to age.
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PRAGMATICS: It involves using appropriate conversation and knowledge of how to
effectively use language in context, for example- using polite language in appropriate
situation, such as being, mannerly when taking with one’s teachers. Taking terms in
conversation involves pragmatics.
TELEGRAPHIC SPEECH: It means the use of short words without grammatical markers
such as articles, auxiliary verbs and other connectives. It is not limited to two-world phrases.
Mom gives Tommy ice cream also example of telegraphic speech.
METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS: It refers to knowledge of language, which allows
children to think about their language, understand what words are and even define them. Met
linguistic awareness is essentially cognition about language.
WHOLE-LANGUAGE APPROACH: An approach that stresses that reading instruction
should parallel children’s natural language leaning. Reading material should be whole and
meaningful. That is children should be given material in its complete form, such as stories
and poems.
BASIC-SKILLS AND PHONICS APPROACH: Approach that emphasizes, that reading
instruction should teach phonic and its basis rules for translating written symbols into sounds.
METAPHOR: An implied comparison between two unlike things. For example- individuals
“draw a line in the sand” to indicate a nonnegotiable position, a person’s faith is shattered.
SATIRE: The use of irony, derision or wit to expose folly or wickedness. Caricatures are an
example of satire.
DIALECT: A variety of language that is distinguished by its vocabulary grammar or
pronunciation. For example- when meeting a friend, instead of saying hello, a young
adolescent might say, “Give me five”
APHASIA: A language disorder resulting from brain damage that involves a loss of the
ability to use words.
BROCA’S AREA: Broca’s area is located in the brain’s left hemisphere and it is involved in
the control of speech. Individuals with damage to this area have problems saying words
correctly.
WERNICKE’S AREA: A portion of the left hemisphere that is involved in understanding
language. Individual with damage to this cannot comprehend words; that is, they hear the
words but do not know what they mean.
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LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD): Chomsky’s term that describes a
biological endowment that enables the child to detect the features and rules of language,
including phonology, syntax and semantics. Children are prepared by nature with the ability
to detect the sound of language, for example- to detect and follow rules such as how to form
plurals and ask questions.
CHILD-DIRECTED SPEECH: Language spoken in a higher pitch than normal with simple
words and sentences. Child direct speech has the important function of capturing the infant’s
attention and maintaining communication.
RECASTING: Rephrasing a statement that a child has said perhaps turning into a question,
or restating a child’s immature utterance in the form of a fully grammatical utterance. For
example- if the child says “Dog barking” the adult can respond by asking “When was the dog
barking?”
EXPANDING: Restating in a linguistically sophisticated form, what a child has said. For
example- the child says “Doggie eat” and the parent replies “Yes the Doggie is eating”.
LABEING: It is identifying the names of objects. Young children are forever being asked to
identify the names of objects.
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References

Glynn, S., Yeany, R., and Briton, B. (1991); The psychology of Learning Science,
Hillsolate, N.J. Erlboum.

John, W. Santrock (2008): A tocical approach to Life Span Development (3rd Ed.), Tata
McGraw-Hill, New Dehli.

Mayer, R. (1987): Educational Psychology, A cognitive approach Bosten: Little, Brown.

Piaget. J. (1926): The Language and Thought of the Child, New York: Har court, Brace
and world.

Vygotsky, L (1986) : Though and Language, Cambridge: MIT Press.

https://en.in.wikipedia.org>wiki>
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