EDU 280
Fall 2014

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
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Telegraphic Stage
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Between eighteen months and 2 and a half
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 year
Two to three words together in a sentence
Telegraphic speech—early sentences in which everything but the crucial word(s) is/are omitted, as if for a telegram
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Prosodic
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The child’s use of voice modulation and word stress to give special emphasis and meaning

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
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Toddlers' language usage proceeds from naming objects to two-word combinations.
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By eighteen months of age, most children can say eight to ten words.

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
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By age two, most are putting words together in crude sentences such as
"more milk."
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During this period, children rapidly learn that words symbolize or represent objects, actions, and thoughts.
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At this age they also engage in representational or pretend play

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
Uses 2 -5 word sentences
“Baby down.”
“No like kitty.”
“Me drink all gone.
Uses verbs
“Dolly cry.”
“ Wanna cookie.”
“Me going.”

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
Uses prepositions
“In car.”
“ Up me go.”
Adds plurals
“Birdies sing.”
“Bears in dat.”

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
Uses pronouns
“Me big boy.”
“He bad.”
Uses articles
“The ball gone.”
“ Gimme a candy.”
Uses conjunctions
“Me and gamma.”

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
Uses negatives
“Don’t wanna”
“He no go.”
Runs words together
“Allgone, gotta, gimme, lookee.”
Asks questions
“Wa dat?’
“Why she sleep?”

Characteristics of Toddler Speech
Letter sounds missing or mispronounced spoken words
“I-ceam”, “choo” (for shoe), “member” (for remember), “canny” (for candy)
Sings songs
Tells simple stories
Repeats words and phrases
(echolalia)
Enjoys word and movement activities

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Vygotsky viewed private speech as
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An important factor in development
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Mirrored adult social speech
Served to help in the development of inner thought and self-direction
Communication with the self for the purpose of self-regulation

Private Speech
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Many studies have supported the idea that private speech is to guide the child in the performance of a task
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Numerous researchers have reported an apparent relationship between intelligence and the amount and quality of children's use of private speech
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It seems that the brighter the child, the more private speech is used and the more mature its content
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Research has confirmed that there are connections between private speech, behavior, and thought.

Private Speech
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As children become older and their speech is internalized, they become quieter and pay more attention to their task.
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As private talk is internalized, behavior is brought under the control of thought.
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There is evidence that talking to oneself is related to the quality of performance, especially among brighter children.
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Private speech is a way of expressing one's feelings, of gaining understanding of one's environment, and of developing language, as well as being a tool for developing selfcontrol and inner thought.

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Toddlers whose mothers or other caregivers talk to them more have bigger vocabularies
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The critical period for learning syntax
(the rules for combing words to form phrases and sentences) is before age three