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LANGUAGE

The Key to Communication

SO MANY PARENTS love to talk about their child’s first word. Was it Mama? Dada? Banana? Dog or truck or cat? We might think of a baby’s first words as his gateway to language—as the first entry in a very long book of his life. But in many ways, that book begins at the start of infancy. Language development commences early in a baby’s life, perhaps as early as in utero, and it extends well into the teenage years—and even beyond (even adults can learn new words!).

In this chapter, we will discuss how language development occurs, introduce you to various theories as to how we come to acquire language, help you identify ...

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