Components of Language


In order to understand language acquisition, it is important to know the five components of language and the study of those components: phonology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics, and lexicon. Phonology refers to the study of a language's sound patterns. Semantics involves the study of meaning in language. Syntax examines the rules of a language that determine how words form sentences. Pragmatics studies of the way words are used in social context to convey social meaning. And a lexicon is the vocabulary of a given language.
These are the five areas of comprehension necessary for full grasp of a language. The sounds, patterns, words, grammar and meaning of a language cannot be understood independently of one another. Thus, as she develops, a child must be able to gain proficiency in these five components in order to communicate fully with others.
Language Acquisition
Together, the five elements of language make up the complex geography of language that every human being must learn to navigate. The human brain is uniquely equipped for the difficult task of learning language during early childhood, when most necessary survival skills are learned. Beyond possessing the physical equipment necessary for language from birth (mouth, tongue, vocal chords and so on), young children are also equipped with a highly agile brain that possesses far more physical connections than apparent in adult brain physiology.
Language Acquisition in Children
Most young children between one and two years of age learn 10 to 15 words a day with very little direct input. Children are also more likely to pick up a second language with ease in early childhood. During the first two years of life, a child's brain has far more internal connections than at any other point in life. By the age of twelve, those connections are reduced to approximately half and will remain largely stable throughout adult life.
Adult Language Acquisition
Adult second language learning is almost always more contrived. At this stage, language components are memorized one at a time, by rote. Phonology, syntax and lexicon are slowly incorporated through repetition; pragmatics and semantics are trickier components of language and are quite often never truly acquired by adults learning foreign languages. Adult programs that replicate the ways children learn language (through play and experience) seem to have quicker and more lasting success rates.

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