This speech is based on a theory earlier proposed by the author that orthographic presentation of English is much like the abstract base of language which an individual uses in forming strategies for reading. Thus, his ability to read depends upon his facility with his language. An important implication for schools is that, given this theory, all…

Behavioristic, nativistic, and cognitive theories of language acquisition are discussed. Linguistically-oriented theories are compared with learning-oriented theories, and four controversial issues of frequency of stimuli, imitation expansion, and meaning are reviewed. The theories, according to the author, are rather unsubstantial at present. The…

The effectiveness of short-term training on two communication tasks was assessed with seven and one-half olds. Twelve subjects were trained in trios for six sessions on tasks requiring complete description of a design for a listener to reproduce, and tasks requiring communication of critical information for a listener to discriminate the same…

Language acquisition in children, ages 6 to 10 years, and their linguistic competence with respect to complex aspects of English syntax, are studied. The nature of specific disparities between adult and child grammar are discussed, and the gradual reduction of these disparities as the children's knowledge of language increases is traced. In all,…

This paper considers 12 paintings which are a cross-section of the art work done by a kindergarten class of 5-year-olds in an attempt to support the following assertions: that there is a qualitative correspondence between the level of maturity evidenced in the paintings and in their speaking about them; that the degree of development in both…

Universal trends and individual variations in the language development process of the child are described and their relationships to beginning reading instruction are discussed. Child language begins with single word utterances to name things or to express needs and feelings. With a two-word utterance, the child can describe relationships more…

Two studies were conducted with English speakers to investigate (1) the facilitative effects of melodic features of speech, and (2) whether poor readers (without evidence of sensory defect) show a greater impairment than good readers when melodic features are made unavailable in the speech input. It was hypothesized that when melodic cues are not…

If the question of what it is that is innate is simply left as some kind of human learning potential, this position, representative of the nativist philosophy, does not differ radically from that of behaviorists. The latter position holds that a human being starts out with a mind which is basically empty and receptive to, subject to, and the…

Paralinguistic and kinesic expression begin at birth and are essential to the development of language. Rhythm, for example, a suprasegmental event, appears to be present at birth or prior to birth. The relationship of physiology to communication is evident in the observations of extra-linguistic aspects of communication, such as movement, the use…

Describes specific changes in children's conversational abilities in early childhood, which may in turn serve to alter how their partners judge their abilities to understand. The evidence regarding the level and types of changes in adult speech to children as the child's ability changes is also addressed. (EJS)

Discusses the shortcomings of the morpheme order approach in first and second language acquisition research, and proposes instead the notion of developmental sequence, drawing on examples from data on four German children learning English naturalistically. (Author/AM)

Rebuts an article that claimed to overthrow the authors' 1969 findings. It is demonstrated that the original study concerned syntactic organization and that interpretation of it as bearing on comprehension is largely unjustified. Comments on their prior work in light of new developments in child language are included. (EJS)

A longitudinal study of three children examined the relation between object permanence and language development. (Author/NCR)

Analysis of the babbling of five infants indicated that between 14 and 40 percent of utterances recurred in particular contexts with a greater than expected frequency, suggesting that babbling is not entirely random but contains consistent sound-meaning relationships that are not adult-modeled. (Author/CB)

Describes the reading development of a child of average mental ability but with visual memory, auditory memory, and auditory discrimination problems. Concludes that instruction should be tailored to the child's level of development in order to maintain the child's positive attitudes and to progress in reading and writing achievement. (SRT)