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The Main Components Of Language Development

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Language is one of the essential skills we all require to live in our society, it enables us to communicate, obtain and transfer information and provide personal expression. All children begin a journey from an early age in learning and developing these skills. This essay will describe the four main components of language development being phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic. Within each component a discussion will be conducted on what roles nature and nurture have on these, this will be done through discussion of different theoretical perspectives of language acquisition. This essay will explain what roles do nature and nurture play in children’s language development.
Phonological language development is the beginning of how language is formed, its consists of making sounds and recognising the differences in these. Common first words spoken by children are “mama” or “dada”. Maturation of a child’s vocal tract and their ability to problem solve are largely responsible for phonological errors (Berk, 2013, p.375). As adults tend to simplify speech to aid in child comprehension, this explains when children begin to talk they use more simplified words. Once children progress into their preschool years their pronunciation continues to improve. Berk (2013, p. 375) mentions that children’s “rate of phonological progress depends on the complexity of a language 's sound system and the importance of certain sounds for conveying meaning”. Maturationalists state that

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