LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
By Betsy Metzger
“In words are seen the state of mind and character and disposition of the speaker” (Benjamin Franklin).
Language development begins from as early as within the womb, we seem “born to talk” (Gunning, 2003, pg 2). Evidence that a fetus recognizes, listens for, and finds comfort in its mother’s voice is seen soon after birth when an infant will strain to gaze in the direction of his mother’s unique sound over all others; having become accustomed to her mother’s voice while in the womb, the infant finds comfort in her personalized prosody. Correlations between the unique sound, vibrations, lilt, and patterns of the mother’s speech to signs of lowered stress levels in monitored infants are telling: indicating our propensity for, and our ability to influence, the development of what is to be the most amazing and significant mode of communication for most humans: language. Our desire to communicate is evident as we witness......
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Approximate Word Count: 4553
Approximate Pages: 18 (260 words per double-spaced page) |