Language acquisition and the Sensory System

The study of language acquisition is presented as a fundamental question of Linguistics, which aims to explain how human beings learn, express and interact within society through language.

The development of the senses is very important for the evolution of the human being, since, through them, we get in touch and know the outside world, evolving our learning.

Language acquisition occurs through the five senses: touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste.

The sensory system helps to structure the brain in order to recognize external stimuli.

The senses

Touch — the first meaning the newborn learns to use. Until the third month of life, the baby’s sensitivity is concentrated in the head, mouth, and trunk. The little one responds to texture, temperature, and proximity, so it is important to breastfeed, hug, bath, and massage.

Hearing — the ear is the first sensory organ to develop. At 24 weeks of gestation, the baby perceives and distinguishes external sounds. For this reason, it is essential to stimulate this feeling during pregnancy. Children are born with enormous musical potential. Receiving musical stimuli in the first years of life, favors creativity, communication, sensitivity, and sociability.

Vision — even perfectly developed at birth, babies are unable to see 100%. The visual process requires long learning. The brain needs to learn to interpret what the eyes see, a process of maturation during the first three months of life.

Smell and taste — even though it is the most sensitive of all the senses, smell has a secondary place. The baby perceives the first odors, from the 7th month of pregnancy, is able to “feel” what the mother ingests and “feel” also the mother’s odor, which is classified as an infinite source of tranquility after birth. The smell is related to taste, which explains its participation in appetite stimulation. As the taste is provoked with different flavors, preferences begin to manifest.

Language acquisition is the most significant occurrence in a child’s life, usually between one and three years, developing intelligence.

Phases

:: Minutes after delivery, the baby already detects the people around him and interacts with them. This is pre-verbal communication. The possibility of linguistic signs will appear over time, but it is prepared at this stage.

:: At 3 months, the child understands simple words and begins to develop non-verbal communication through imitation.

:: At 4 months the babbling begins. Babies reproduce certain sounds constantly and repeatedly.

:: At the end of the first year this babble is seen as an intentional repetition and the child already has the possibility to pronounce the first words.

:: The first word expresses an intention of concise meaning and truly corresponds to access to language.
There are no privileged words. The first word has more meaning for the child than for the adult, referring to an action, object, or situation. During the socialization process, the child expands his vocabulary, not only in terms of the number of words but also complexity.

Piaget’s theory stresses the importance of experience for language development. In this way, knowledge results from a structuring activity. This knowledge stems from behavior and interaction. Child development is a matter of physical and mental health.

The acquisition of a language, as well as the development of the communicative capacity, deserve the maximum attention since they are precious indicators of the evolutionary process. The study of language is broad and offers numerous possibilities to scientists and researchers and there is still much to be discovered about the human being and its complexity.