copyright 2008 Cheryl K. Hosken, BSN, MS Psych.
Objectives:
1. The student will understand the components of language and how children may make mistakes.
2. The student will understand the causes of speech and language disorders.
3. The student will know some of the therapies used to help children with speech and language problems.
Dimensions of Language
The five dimensions that work together to produce language are phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Each dimension is an integral part of the theories that explain how children acquire language. These theories are psycholinguistic, behavioral, and socio-linguistic (or social interactional). Each of these regards a different dimension as critical to learning communication. Although each theory is separate from the others, most professionals combine or synthesize the theories when talking about how a child develops language skills.
To become an effective communicator, a child must master all these systems and rules that are used in daily communication. Every day, we all use phonology, grammar, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics quite naturally. In the following descriptions, you will see the components of each dimension and how a child's speech can be impaired.
Meditate Word By Word On These Verses:
Isaiah 32:1-4,
Luke 7:18-23.
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Phonology
Phonology regulates the sequence of the sounds in a word so that the speaker can pronounce words and use them in a way that is consistent with the language he speaks. A phoneme is the smallest basic consonant or vowel sound that can change the meaning of a word. For example, in the word bill, there are three phonemes: /b/, /i/, /l/. By changing any one of the phonemes the speaker can produce a word with a different meaning such as: pill, ball, or bin.
Phonology describes the way people group sounds to make meaningful words and how sounds function to signal a change of meaning. Until about the age of 4 years, children often reduce phonemes in words so they are easily pronounced. They may omit final sounds and also reduce the number of syllables in a word.
Many of the errors made by children are phonological errors. When evaluating a child who may have phonological problems, the professional tries to determine if the child has (1) trouble producing a sound or (2) trouble using the sounds to produce words. Mark may make errors in phonology when he tries to simplify the series of sounds that make up a word. He may omit sounds by dropping the last letter of a word or reduce the sounds in a blend when he says sov for stove.
Morphology
Morphology refers to the rules that govern how a speaker combines basic meaningful units into words. Phonemes do not carry much meaning alone, but they can be grouped into syllables and words that have meaning. Other morphological rules include adding plural markings, using inflections, prefixes, and suffixes.
Morphology rules also determine derivations and emphasis. Derivations are words made from other words, such as teacher from the word teach. These rules also explain how to use emphasis in a sentence to convey meaning. A child continues to learn these rules of morphology throughout the school years and usually by graduation from secondary school most children know the rules.
Children who have disorders related to morphology cannot easily use the structure of words to get or give information. They may make errors in the number and tense of verbs or in case and gender of nouns, pronouns and adjectives (if the language contains such features). They may also have difficulty understanding adjective comparisons as in big, bigger, and biggest. Derived nouns may also be difficult for them to understand.
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