LANGUAGE AND SPEECH RESEARCH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND PRESCHOOL AGE
Keywords:
preschool age, language, speechAbstract
Language is a complex system consisting of a number of dimensions or components that allow a child to
communicate effectively. These include phonetics (the sound system), lexis (vocabulary), semantics (meaning),
grammar (structure), pragmatics (communicative functions of language) and discourse (the integration of utterances
into longer utterances in conversation, narrative and retelling). It is a dynamic system in which different components
interact and change as it develops. There is evidence, for example, that early lexical development and grammatical
development are strongly linked and that difficulties in one dimension of language can have a cascading effect on its
other components. "Delays in vocabulary acquisition can affect the development of grammar in late talkers and
children with speech-language disorders" (Conti-Ramsden and Jones 1997). "The formation of basic literacy is
crucial in terms of the acquisition of the key competence 'communicating in the native language'" (Yordanova,
2015).
Therefore, the study of preschool children's language abilities requires that the different elements of the language
system be taken into account when constructing the ability profile (norm). Examining a single language element can
be misleading. Of particular concern is the measurement of vocabulary as the sole indicator of language ability,
because of the objective possibility of problematic grammar or semantic development. "Evidence from longitudinal
studies suggests that children may have adequate vocabulary earlier in development but then exhibit language
difficulties later in the preschool period" (Reilly et al., 2009).
Language is a complex system, and its successful or unsuccessful acquisition is related to a number of personal
factors as well as social environmental factors that interact throughout its development. When registering language
competences, it is necessary to follow a multifactorial model, correlated with age characteristics and the peculiarities
of a particular language. The specificity of children's psyche requires tracking the emotional element and parallel
acquisition of emotional skills such as expressing empathy and sharing individual feelings through language
combinations. "It has been suggested that the period of early childhood is one of transition in the complexity of
reasoning, and that this transition underlies changes in children's ability to infer speaker intent. This transition may
also occur in the regulation of children's behavior as communicative competence undergoes development and the
child gradually begins to perceive several aspects of communication simultaneously (e.g., face, voice, and words)" (
Doncheva, 2019).
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