Media text –
preliminary activity
A men’s or women’s magazine:
Have you ever
wondered where it comes from? What? This. Language.
Do you remember your first word? Do you remember your child’s
first word? The answer is most probably yes. But where does it come from? There
have been many arguments over where language comes from and how it develops,
but how do we really know?
Here is an insight into suggestions made to attempt to answer
this on-going unknown whilst peculiar question.
Many people believe that the way you talk to your child has
a huge impact on the development of their language. One idea that has been
developed and taught is the imitation theory. In other words: what you say
matters. It’s a case of thinking before you speak, because your children
listen. Not only do they listen, they copy.
Or, there is the concept that children are born with an inbuilt
system that helps them to develop language. Not only to speak, but to read and
write also. The child then hears examples of language from surrounding people –
such as you, and can therefore make estimations on the rules of the language it
is learning. The child will then work out grammatical rules such as saying ‘I drew’
rather than ‘I draw-ed’, which is a common error made by developing children.
As their language continues to develop, alike every other aspect of their life,
they will become more and more adult-like.
