15.6: Language Development

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how children’s vocabulary and sentence structure (syntax) develop in early childhood.
2. Distinguish between egocentric and private speech.
3. Identify common language development milestones from ages 3 to 5.
4. Explain how cultural and linguistic differences influence early language acquisition and understanding of figurative language.

Syntax Development

A child’s vocabulary expands between the ages of 2 and 6 from about 200 words to over 10,000 words through a process called fast-mapping. Words are easily learned by making connections between new words and concepts that are already familiar. This rapid growth in vocabulary influences the development of syntax. Syntax refers to the set of rules that govern how words are arranged to form meaningful sentences. In early childhood, children begin combining words into increasingly complex sentences, moving from simple two-word phrases (e.g., "want cookie") to more structured sentences with subjects, verbs, and objects.

While children across cultures follow a similar developmental pattern, cultural variations in sentence structure and word order influence how they acquire syntax. For example, English-speaking children typically develop subject-verb-object sentence structures early on, while children learning Japanese acquire different sentence patterns due to the language’s verb-final structure (Slobin, 1997).

Overregularization

As children refine their understanding of syntax, they may overregularize grammatical rules. Overregularization occurs when children apply rules too broadly, such as saying “goed” instead of “went” or “tooths” instead of “teeth.” This error demonstrates that children are not merely imitating language but are actively internalizing and applying grammatical rules. Although these mistakes seem like setbacks, they indicate significant cognitive progress in learning language structures (Pinker, 1999).

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A woman instructing a girl on vocabulary. Image by the U.S. Department of the Interior is in the public domain.

Literal Meanings

Children can repeat words and phrases after having heard them only once or twice. But they do not always understand the meaning of the words or phrases. This is especially true of expressions or figures of speech that are taken literally. For example, two preschool-aged girls began to laugh loudly while listening to a tape-recording of Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” when the narrator reports, “Prince Phillip lost his head!” They imagine his head popping off and rolling down the hill as he runs and searches for it. Or a classroom full of preschoolers hears the teacher say, “Wow! That was a piece of cake!” The children began asking, “Cake? Where is my cake? I want cake!”

Egocentric vs. Private Speech

Young children often engage in speech that is not directed at others, which Piaget (1959) referred to as egocentric speech. He believed this type of speech reflected children's limited ability to take another person’s perspective, assuming that others understand their thoughts without explanation. This underpins Piaget's argument that children are not born social beings, and that they must learn to be social- their speech reflects their limited understanding until they become socialized. Piaget described speech development as follows:

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)a. Piaget's speech development schema. Image by Heather Carter is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Vygotsky (1978) argued, however, that egocentric speech is actually private speech, serving an important self-regulatory function rather than a social one. Private speech typically emerges as children attempt to solve problems or guide their own actions. For instance, a child trying to build a tower with blocks might mutter, “Put big one first… no, too wobbly… try again.” As children grow, private speech becomes more internalized and develops into inner speech, which supports self-directed thinking and problem-solving. Research indicates that private speech is particularly beneficial in challenging tasks, enabling children to focus their attention and regulate their behavior (Berk, 2006).

As children grow, private speech gradually becomes more internalized, transforming into inner speech, which eventually develops into silent thought. Rather than speaking aloud, children begin to subvocalize their thoughts, using internal dialogue to guide their actions. This transition reflects an increase in cognitive maturity and self-regulation. Studies suggest that private speech plays a key role in the development of executive functions, particularly in attention control and problem-solving (Aro et al., 2015).

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)b. Vygotsky's speech development schema. Image by Heather Carter is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Vygotsky’s perspective on private speech has been widely supported by research, reinforcing the idea that language is fundamental to thought and learning. Unlike Piaget’s claim that egocentric speech fades as social awareness improves, studies show that private speech remains an essential part of cognitive processing well into adulthood, particularly when individuals face complex or novel tasks. By recognizing the importance of private speech, educators and caregivers can support children's self-directed learning and cognitive growth through rich language interactions and problem-solving opportunities.

Language Milestones

The prior aspects of language development in early childhood can also be summarized into the progression of milestones children typically experience from ages 3 to 5. Here is a table of those.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Language Milestones Developmental Milestones by the CDC is in the public domain.

Typical Age	What Most Children Do By This Age
3 years	Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps Can name most familiar things Understands words like “in,” “on,” and “under” Says first name, age, and sex Names a friend Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats) Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences
4 years	Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he” and “she” Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus” Tells stories Can say first and last name
5 years	Speaks very clearly Tells a simple story using full sentences Uses future tense; for example, “Grandma will be here.” Says name and address

Now that we have addressed some of the cognitive areas of growth in early childhood, let’s examine the topic of pre-academics and its various applications.

References, Contributors and Attributions

Aro, T., Poikkeus, A.-M., Laakso, M.-L., Tolvanen, A., & Ahonen, T. (2015). Associations between private speech, behavioral self-regulation, and cognitive abilities. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 14(2), 235-256.

Berk, L. E. (2006). Child development (7th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Mol, S. E., Bus, A. G., de Jong, M. T., & Smeets, D. J. H. (2008). Added value of dialogic parent-child book readings: A meta-analysis. Early Education and Development, 19(1), 7-26.

Pinker, S. (1999). Words and rules: The ingredients of language. Basic Books.

Slobin, D. I. (1997). The origins of grammaticalization in child language. In J. Bybee, J. Haiman, & S. A. Thompson (Eds.), Essays on language function and language type (pp. 337-349). John Benjamins.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Kittredge, A. K., & Klahr, D. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7(2), 104-112.