Child language acquisition

• The child's first words are usually nouns, followed by verbs.
• Children begin to understand the meaning of sentences at around 18 months old.
• By age two, children can use up to 200 words and combine them into simple phrases.
• Between ages three and four, children develop more complex grammar and syntax, including past tense forms and auxiliary verbs like "is" and "are."
• Language development is influenced by factors such as genetics, environment, culture, and social interaction.
• Around five years old, children have mastered basic sentence structure and vocabulary, but may still make errors with verb tenses or pronoun usage.
• Between ages three and five, children develop more complex grammar and vocabulary, with an average of 3,500 words by age four.
• Around age five, children become proficient in using pronouns such as "he," "she," and "they."
• Genetic influences on language development include innate knowledge of language structure and the ability to acquire language quickly and easily.
• Genetic influences on language development include innate knowledge of language structure and the ability to acquire language quickly without explicit instruction.
• Environmental influences on language development include exposure to spoken language from birth, which helps babies recognize patterns and sounds in speech.
• Cultural influences on language development include differences in language structures across cultures, with some languages having simpler sentence structures than others.
• From six to eight years old, children continue to expand their vocabulary and improve their ability to communicate effectively.
• During this stage, they also become better at understanding figurative language and sarcasm.
• The critical period hypothesis suggests that there is a sensitive period during which language learning occurs most easily and fluently.
• At nine to eleven years old, children start to develop a sense of humor and enjoy wordplay and puns.
• Children's speech becomes increasingly fluent and coherent during this stage, although they may continue to make occasional mistakes.
• Bilingualism has been found to enhance cognitive flexibility and executive function skills.
• There are different types of bilinguals, including balanced bilinguals who speak both languages equally well and unbalanced bilinguals who prefer one language over another.
• The ability to understand the meaning of sentences beyond their literal interpretation also emerges around age five.