Show Me the Bunny: Language Acquisition

Some children are really funny about experimenting with speech. Nonetheless, the first intelligible words bring such a feeling of elation to a parent. Come on, Sweetie. Show Mumma the bunny. Without saying a word, my little girl points to a plush rabbit.

Ever since I read in a parents' newsletter that kids my younger daughter's age should have a vocabulary, I've been trying to persuade her to speak words instead of relying on gesturing, pointing, and high-pitched squealing to make her needs and wants known. While a mild speech delay might be understandable for bilingual babies who are trying to sort out the mechanics of two languages, mine has only one language to learn. Apart from her experiencing frequent ear infections at an early age, I have to wonder, what's up?

Bear. Ball. Blocks. I repeat words to her over and over, thinking that somehow, this might pass on whatever information she needs to be able to form the words herself. Bee. Ba-by. Ga-a-a? She asks, using the same intonation with which I recite the alphabet to her. She spends the rest of the afternoon touching my mouth while I'm talking to her.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, while eighteen months is the age at which a toddler should be able to say her own name, it isn't until early in the second year of life that a toddler will seem to understand what's being said to her, because this is the age at which kids develop language and comprehension skills.

It's a huge leap in a child's development, and will probably alter existing parent?child communication. Now would be a good time to discontinue the kind of language I've grown accustomed to conducting conversations in ("piggies" instead of "toes," "yummies" instead of each meal's correct name).

By the end of her second year, a toddler should have about fifty spoken words, and should begin using two-word sentences. To my dismay, mine only ventures to pronounce a word's second syllable when it sounds exactly like the first; transposes some sounds (cup becomes "pa;" rip becomes "pi"), and approximates others (hello is "ha WOW"). Far from being on her way to constructing two-word sentences, she doesn't try saying her name. Duck. Ga-a. I place her hand on my cheek and try again. Duck. She shortens her ga-a to match the abbreviated sound I'm making. Ga. I'll bet she's a little perfectionist, refusing to say much until she can speak correctly.

I'm afraid if she catches on to my disappointment with her progress, she'll stop trying altogether. So I'm quietly making an appointment for her to see an audiologist. As I wait on hold, I tell myself that this is probably nothing.

copyright little-turnips.com 2003-2005. All rights reserved

---

GROUSE ... GROUSE ... GROUSE!!!

I realize that we here in the United States consider... Read More

English Language Sputtering Online Like an Old Ford!

Sad, but true. Just about everywhere you look online, the... Read More

Japanese Kanji Learning: Short-Cuts to Rapid Mastery (Part 1)

What? Kanji can be learned quickly? This seems an impossible... Read More

English Has Come A Long, Long Way...

I often wonder what would happen if Shakespeare were to... Read More

How Ronzoni Italian Foods Helped My Dad Learn English

My dad likes to say, he was made in Italy,... Read More

Learning a Foreign Language: the Ventriloquists Lesson

The main feature you have to master, in order to... Read More

Learning a Foreign Language: Why Should you Learn Words You Never Use in Your Mother Tongue?

Imagine a child sitting in front of a desk, his... Read More

English Slang For Perplexed Tourists

I watched the British version of 'Big Brother' recently. That's... Read More

7 Words Americans Should Stop Using Until Further Investigation

Relationship: Here is a word that is used to qualify,... Read More

Learning French in Paris

Nothing can be more frustrating than to be in France... Read More

What Does an Interpreter Do?

Many people get confused as to the difference between an... Read More

Learn Italian in Italy

You can combine your love of the Italian language with... Read More

Uncommon Facts / Rules of English Language

English is an international language. It has so many grammar... Read More

Teaching English in Greece - What Do You Need to Know?

The employment situation can be quite uncertain for newcomers to... Read More

Second Language Competence Beneficial but often Misunderstood

Second language learning has associated with it many types of... Read More

Learn Korean: Part 2 - Social Status in Culture

Part 1 of this series covered the language and language... Read More

Teaching Reading to English Language Learners

There is an increasing amount of English language learners represented... Read More

Preschool Spanish

Why an EarlyAGE 2nd Language?Research indicates that from ages 1... Read More

How To Learn Spanish Quickly and Easily

Spanish is a very useful language to learn as it... Read More

Teaching English in Mexico: A Decent Living?

What's more disappointing than a person who makes a promise... Read More

Learn Italian for Free

Italian is one of the most widespread languages in the... Read More

Aphasia: The Cruelest Language Barrier

Imagine the following scenario: You wake up one morning and... Read More

Show Me the Bunny: Language Acquisition

Some children are really funny about experimenting with speech. Nonetheless,... Read More

Mexican Living: Todays Obsession

I would like to talk about one of my many... Read More

Learning a Foreign Language: the Psychological Factor

When it comes about learning a foreign language, many people... Read More

Learn to Speak Basic Chinese (Mandarin) Words and Phrases

The Chinese Language and dialectsEach province, each city and even... Read More

Don?t Take The Romaji Short-Cut When Learning Japanese

This is an issue many Japanese learners come up against,... Read More

Speaking Spanish To Increase Mind Power

Our "mind power" is largely in the way we use... Read More

Learn Italian in Your Hometown

Are you interested in learning the Italian language right in... Read More

Online IELTS Preparation - Why Does It Make Sense?

Because IELTS is a difficult test. While most agree that... Read More

Chinese Pinyin or Hanyu Pinyin Overview

Chinese Pinyin is the romanization of the Chinese "written sound".... Read More

Whats In A Word? More Than You Realize

What's in a word? Apparently more than we might want.For... Read More

Can You Understand English?

There is a lot of talk about making English the... Read More