ADQUISICIÓN Y DESARROLLO DEL LENGUAJE EN LA INFANCIA

The Human Baby: Born to Talk

Key Concepts: Language acquisition, pre-natal language learning, infant-directed speech (baby talk), sound discrimination, language explosion, gestures (pointing), imitation, turn-taking in communication, sensitive period for language learning.

Pre-Natal Language Acquisition

• The process of learning to talk begins in the womb.
• At 24 weeks of gestation, the fetus's inner ear is developed and can hear sounds, including the mother's heartbeat and external sounds.
• The mother's voice is the strongest sound perceived by the fetus, leading to familiarity with both parents' voices.
• Experiment with 12-hour-old Marisa shows preference for native language (English) over Tagalog based on cadence, indicated by sucking intensity.
• Babies begin learning language properties in the womb and prefer the intonation of their native language at birth.

Early Communication: Crying and Sound Discrimination

• Crying is the initial form of communication, eliciting immediate responses.
• Infants prefer human voices over other sounds from the first days of life.
• Six-week-old Rebecca rationalizes sounds, distinguishing speech sounds from other noises.
• Experiment with newborn Nelson reveals ability to distinguish between function words (prepositions, articles) and content words (nouns, verbs), indicated by reaction levels.
• Babies can distinguish words that convey meaning from those that do not, even at birth.

Vocal Development and Early Interactions

• At 3 months, Phoenix's larynx lowers, expanding his sound repertoire.
• Mothers respond to infant vocalizations, giving meaning to their expressions.
• Communication involves voice, facial expressions, and eye contact.
• Basic elements of conversation are established through rhythm and exchange.

Non-Verbal Communication and Emotional Understanding

• Humans communicate with more than just words; babies learn to read non-oral cues.
• Experiment with 5-month-old Rachel shows frustration when her mother's face becomes immobile, breaking the communication line.
• Experiment with Bridget shows that babies cannot interpret inverted images of faces.
• Experiment with Rachel shows that babies recognize that emotions are expressed through both face and voice, and that these must match.
• Babies understand that gaze is essential for capturing attention and maintaining relationships.

Specialization in Native Language

• Babies are born with the ability to learn any language.
• Experiment with 6-month-old Mao shows ability to distinguish Hindi sounds ("da") not present in English.
• Experiment with 10-month-old Emma shows loss of ability to distinguish Hindi sounds, indicating specialization in native language.
• Between 6 and 10 months, the brain classifies sounds and filters out those not heard in the environment.

Bilingualism and Sensitive Period

• Children between 9 and 10 months exposed to Mandarin in 12 sessions.
• Experiment with 9.5-month-old Mao shows that exposure to Mandarin during the sensitive period allows him to distinguish Mandarin sounds.
• The ability to reproduce sounds stimulates the next stage of language development.

Infant-Directed Speech (Baby Talk)

• Infant-directed speech has a sing-song tone, higher voice, and short phrases.
• Babies respond positively to this comforting language.
• Mothers emphasize important words, helping babies learn them.
• Communication is both nature and stimulation.

Babbling and Sound-Mouth Association

• At 9 months, babies babble, initially with universal sounds, then focusing on native language sounds.
• Babbling involves practicing sounds and hearing what they say (sound-mouth association).
• Imitation and repetition are key to language learning.

Gestures: Pointing

• Gestures transmit feelings, intentions, and desires.
• Pointing is a significant mental step, understood when babies start crawling.
• Dr. Amanda Buw's studies show that babies understand the relationship between the person pointing and the object.
• Experiment with 8-month-old Bob shows that babies pay attention to the object being pointed to, not just the hand.
• Pointing is a unique human communication gesture.

Learning New Words Through Pointing and Gaze

• Experiment with 13-month-old Max shows that babies learn new words when guided by pointing and gaze.
• For the deaf, pointing is closely linked to communication.
• Sign language is easier to learn than spoken language initially.

Imitation and Turn-Taking

• Imitation is a key engine of learning.
• Experiment with 18-month-old Emma shows that imitation is the first way of communication between adults and children.
• Turn-taking is the essence of all conversation.

Understanding Communication Signals

• Experiment with 14-month-old Gina shows that children recognize the give and take of a conversation.
• Children recognize the underlying structure of communication.

Language Explosion and Vocabulary Growth

• Between 18 months and 2 years, a language explosion occurs.
• Babies understand that everything has a name, leading to the question "What is that?".
• Experiment shows that shape is decisive for learning the names of things.
• Vocabulary of children educated to pay attention to shape is greater.
• Children move from isolated words to mini-phrases.

Conclusion

• The human animal is the only one with the gift of speech.
• When children begin to speak, their inner world becomes visible.
• At two years old, children use about 300 words and understand about 1,000.
• Early interaction with parents is the seed for communication skills.
• Language is a fundamental part of being human, allowing us to express feelings, remember the past, and imagine the future.