Baby and language
The beginning is not as spectacular as walking, the toddler mobilizes less energy, but the conquest of language also begins at birth. This will continue until he is 5 years old...
Humans do not share the gift of language with any other species that inhabit the planet. This ability will be etched in the genetic code between Homo sapiens and Homo sapiens. Standing postures expand the range of sounds and improve their control by altering the development of the respiratory and vocal organs. The increase in cerebral volume and its remodeling give man the means to exploit it. With this heritage, your little one (except hearing impairment or neurological problem) will naturally enter the world of languages.
0-11 months: Baby makes sounds
At birth, he leaves the aquatic element and switches to the terrestrial element.He cannot control his movements.
On the other hand,her hearing is already very good, and has been since the 6th month of pregnancy. He can recognize his mother's voice, because he particularly heard her, she was driven by the bones of her spine and pelvis as resonators.
He is particularly sensitive to rhythm, the "music" of language, independent of sound and meaning, because this is controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain, which moves faster in the womb than the left hemisphere, which processes sound . The intonation, which belongs to the rhythm, will remain for him an important guide.Newborns perceive perfectly the contrasts between sounds. All languages are based on sounds arranged according to certain rules. A necessarily complex system, however, the little one will decipher it in a few months, thanks to an integrated "program", possibly independent of the other so-called higher institutes, as long as mental retardation does not systematically prevent children from speaking. However, this ultra-powerful genetic program can only work if the information is available.
Children first learn to speak by imitation. Physiologically, his vocal organs must be perfected before he can produce a clear voice.
After 3 months of uncontrollable breathing, he will take the initiative to open his mouth to breathe. After one to two months, he will master his vocalization (voicing). For him, words are like sounds, signals, and will remain so until he is 8 months old. He can recognize the pronunciations he hears the most. He reacts to them, not because he understands what they mean, but because they attract his attention. The same goes for his name, the names of his brothers and sisters, "Mom", "Dad"... or"Bottle"! Words that evoke pleasant feelings in his mind. To capture this information, he used the facial expressions that his parents often send him.
During his 3rd month, he distinguishes between a happy face and a sad face and reacts accordingly. In response to what it feels, it also makes sounds. During the first two months, his cries express happiness or discomfort, which is linked to the functioning of his organism. He then vocalized, only while lying down. This is the time of "arreu" and "agueu".
After the third month, he laughs, cries of joy... As he does not master his vocalizations, his own vocal compositions often surprise him!
At about 5 months, he discovers, also thanks to his improved vision: the relationship between the movement of the mouth and the sounds it produces. To speak, you have to speak clearly. This, combined with his new mastery of vocalization and better control of the articulator, opens up many possibilities for him. It explores the variety, duration and volume of sound.
It enters the babbling age between 6 and 10 months That is, it pronounces syllables (vowels, before and/or after one or more consonants) and repeats them in the same way. He chooses his repertoire from the syllables he often hears (thus the most used in his mother tongue) and he knows how to articulate it clearly. It will content you with suites ("ba ba ba", "pe pe pe", etc.), more enthusiastic because they are not intended to express anything
New capital discovery towards 9 months: words have meaning! He quickly concludes that they produce an effect. Words help to act and to make act. Interesting ! This encourages him not only to recognize, but also to memorize new words, drawn from those that come up often. He first understands them in situation; then, around 11 months, out of context.
His parents often overestimate his already considerable prowess. So much the better ! Their wonder stimulates him. Before trying to pronounce the words he knows, he continues to exercise his articulators by developing his babbling, which becomes polysyllabic (two or more different syllables in a row).
Around 11 months, if you think you hear a deliberately formed and recognizable word coming out of your mouth, you can consider that it is not a hallucination!< /p>
12-18 months: he creates a lexicon
By pronouncing his first word, the little one puts an end to an unbearable suspense: will he first say "mom" or "dad"?
Perhaps he will get everyone to agree by electing something completely different!
His choices during these six months when he will build up a lexicon depend on several factors: his articulatory abilities, his environment and his tastes. Language is a pleasure in itself. The little one understood that words allowed him to participate in the life of those around him. He also quite simply loves the sensations they provide and, without worrying about the meaning or the context, selects some of them for the sole reason that they please him.
Each child has their own "style". Some privilege almost exclusively nouns (so-called referential style); others use both nouns, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, or ready-made expressions that would pass for sentences (expressive style). How does he manage to extract words from speech and differentiate them? It cannot rely on sense. It is his gift for prosody that saves him. We salute this remarkable performance: his ultra-fine ear distinguishes the inflections and the tiny pauses that mark the border between the words of a sentence, without any other indication. Comprehension and transmission evolve in parallel but one keeps a clear head start on the other.
Five to six months pass between the first word and the moment when the little one can pronounce about fifty. But at the same time, he assimilates the understanding of about two hundred words. For the first few weeks, he gives the impression of stagnating. An avalanche of words is expected to follow the first. But the child is still struggling to decipher and code the language. He stores, and restores more or less according to his temperament. A word that seemed forgotten suddenly reappears, not necessarily in the appropriate context. As usual, he proceeds by trial and error. His attempts are both in form (pronunciation) and substance (meaning). It fits in both domains of approximations. If the articulation of a consonant gives him trouble, he replaces it: "papo" for "hat", for example. He makes his first deductions since the sheep also has four legs, why not call him "cat"? Admittedly, he is mistaken, but thus shows that he is beginning to create categories of words. Small complication: he knew that words meant things; he discovers that a thing can be designated by several words. For example, "Dad" is also called "Fred", or "Monsieur", or even "Minou".
To simplify his task, confine yourself to generic words at first: he eats his "mash", not sometimes his carrots, sometimes his zucchini; he puts on his "coat", not his anorak or jacket, etc.
Six months after the first montht, the process is accelerating. He learns seven to ten new words a day, which he pronounces and remembers. The sentences will soon appear.
18 months-5 years: from grammar to conversation
To assimilate ten words a day, it doesnecessitate putting a little order!
The child does this by organizing his words into sentences. Without being the least aware of it, he enters the extremely complex universe of grammar. The conquest of grammar is a long-term adventure.
Around 2 years old, the little one tackles morphology (forms of variable and invariable words). Separating the name from the article, respecting gender and number, and above all conjugating, poses serious problems for him. A little later and in parallel, he advances in syntax. His sentences first have three terms, more or less correctly arranged. Then, the sentences lengthen, and he connects them one or the other by conjunctions (that, who...) and coordinations (and, but...). For a long time, he will use formulas of the type "and then", "well", etc., intended, not to link sentences, but to keep the word going while he finds his words. Learning strategies differ significantly from child to child. You have to assimilate vocabulary, articulation and syntax, and everyone manages best with these requirements. Some talk profusely, even pretend to talk by imitating the music of the language. The quality of their production matters little to them; they advance by doing. Others store almost in silence, and only launch sentences that are already well constructed and understandable. No "scientific" cause for this variety. No superiority of one method over the other either; the essential criterion remains a good understanding of what he hears.
The first sentences are in point form. Linking words are missing. However, the child respects the order of the words in force in his language (and differentiates it in his two languages, if he is bilingual). He will retain this exactness even when lengthening his sentences. In the two or three terms that make up the very first sentences, there is almost always a so-called "pivot" word accompanying a content word. For example: "Mom there", "encore câlin"... Around the age of 2, the sentences expand. He is experimenting with the negative form which he will make great use of ("Don't want to!"). It precedes the names of articles, with more or less success, the links leading to confusion ("an airplane" is understood as "a navion"). He uses "me", as opposed to "you". More and more, his progress will follow, and feed his psychomotor development in general.
Around 2 and a half years old, his interest goes to the words designating his body, the discovery of which fascinates him.
Around the age of 3, he says "I", a sign of progress in consciousness and the affirmation of his uniqueness.
Around 4 years old, when he has settled the question of cleanliness, he enters the period (more or less long) of "poo, pudding, poo!" . As his social life and his imagination grow richer, the desire to tell an anecdote or a story stimulates him enormously. School presents him with a new challenge, to make himself understood by people other than his parents. He will have to get rid of language habits that no longer "pass". He will also have to speak "in public". The teaching team, who are familiar with the problem, will help him get through the stage.
From the middle section, many activities are organized around a theme (nature, animals, the body...). The child acquires specialized vocabulary. Surprise: words that are extremely difficult to pronounce (the names of dinosaurs, for example) are assimilated with great ease. His thirst for discovering the world motivates him all the more as he only learns while having fun.
Tip: bring a children's encyclopedia if you want to be able to answer all kinds of questions!</ i>
He remains influenced by his family environment, in his vocabulary and style of expression. If you form a family of talkers, do not be surprised that he becomes one too! He adopts certain verbal tics that he hears frequently - including incorrect ones!
It's obvious: the more you converse with him, the happier he progresses. Books, recorded stories, nursery rhymes, films, help you accompany him in a shared pleasure.
Language in children: dealing with minor problems
Each child develops at their own pace, so do not be quick to suspect a delay or a speech problem.
This conquest will be, like the others, punctuated with obstacles.
On the other hand, in the event of manifest trouble, it is necessary to react quickly to block the road to academic difficulties and/or future relationship problems. Language disorders are best cured if they are treated early.
The so-called "simple" delay is identified from the age of 3 by a really significant gap with the average of children of the same age: limited vocabulary, uncertain grammar, erroneous pronunciation, difficulty of expression.
After checking that the child has good hearing, it will be necessary to look for the causes on the side of heredity, neurology, or even a psychological problem.
There are other types of delay, much more serious:
- aphasia (the child hears, possibly understands, but has never spoken);
- dysphasia (the structure of language does not go beyond a certain stage).
Fortunately, these disorders are also much rarer! Articulation defects are frequent.
That the child stumbles over certain pronunciations remains quite normal until the age of 3.
Beyond that, an articulation so laborious that it interferes with the understanding of his words, without regular progress, should alert.
In addition to the rigorous hearing test, your doctor will probably prescribe a visit to the dentist, poor organization of the teeth which can indeed disturb speech.
Another possibility, difficulty in anticipating the movements of the muscles and organs involved in speech (problem known as "sensory-motor").
You should not confuse "stuttering" with stuttering. The first is a temporary blockage of speech, often due to the need to search for words, quite banal. A child with a stutter has difficulty restarting when he blocks; he repeats syllables or words, independently of his will. This easily identifiable disorder can occur from the age of 2 (or much later, until adolescence). No physiological cause has yet been demonstrated. Psychological factors very likely come into play. In particular, little perfectionists, often influenced by excessive parental demands, work so hard to avoid imperfections that their speech is blocked. Socially, stuttering is heavy to bear. By dint of struggling to expel his words, the stuttering child loses his train of thought. He also risks losing his taste for communication. He needs a lot of patience and tenderness.
Listing isn't terrible. The child leaves his tongue between his teeth while speaking, as he did while suckling. We even find this little flaw charming... up to a certain age. However, if we take too long to treat the problem, the language risks taking on mechanical habits that will become difficult to get rid of. Beyond 5-6 years, entrust it to a specialist.
Who to consult?
- An ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist to check their hearing.
- A speech therapist, who will identify the disorder at the help with tests (validated by the profession: don't you dare perform tests yourself!) and will suggest rehabilitation methods.
- For this same service, you can contact a < strong>Medico-psycho-pedagogical center (CMPP).
- A phoniatrist, a doctor (unlike a speech therapist) specializing in voice and speech disorders. speech, and therefore suitable, in addition to assessment and rehabilitation, to the search for root causes.
- A psychologist, a neuropediatrician, a psychomotrician, on the advice of the attending physician, if the causes of the disorder require it.
