Language Development: Communication, Meaning and Context

The essential difference between man and other animal species is that his individual experience is indissolubly linked to the experience of humanity, which has allowed him to achieve great successes in the knowledge and mastery of the forces of nature. This has been possible thanks to language (Petrovsky, 1980). Thanks to language, in the history of humanity the reorganization of reflective possibilities occurred and thus the representation of the world in the human brain became more adequate. If you want to know more about the language development: communication, meaning and context, We invite you to continue reading this PsicologíaOnline article.

Index

1. Contextual framework
2. Language, communication and meaning.
3. Development of gestural communication
4. Gestural communication
5. Spoken language
6. The move to verbal communication.
7. Conclusions

Through language, man uses the experience of him accumulated by society during his practice and can acquire factual knowledge with which he personally never dealt with.

Furthermore, language gives man the possibility to form concepts about the content of most of his sensory impressions. Also man can inform others with the help of language about the past, the present and the future and transmit your sensory experience to them.

Thus, language is the mandatory condition for qualities of consciousness to be formed and expressed (Leontiev, 1981; Luria, 1979 and 1980; Petrovsky, 1980; Rubinstein, 1982 and Vygotsky, 1977). In all human communities, individuals speak, listen and exchange their ideas or feelings through sound sequences.

Every man is an announcer, a receiver, but it is also capable of retaining sound messages, reproducing them, translating them etc., thus the behaviors of the language are generally considered as the expression, the realization of an inherent and specific faculty of the human species, the language.

Since ancient times, language has been one of the favorite subjects of human reflection, Since the birth of philosophy, the problem of relationships between language and thought. Also in the course of history, philosophers and later psychologists, devoted themselves to the problem of the relations between the thought and language (expression of ideas, needs or feelings, representation, communication, regulation of action, behavior mediation, etc.), that is, the role played by language behaviors compared to other human behaviors (Bronckart, 1980).

Currently, linguistic activity and language is the object of study of psychology, linguistics and psycho-linguistics (bronckart, 1980; Petrovsky, 1980). In the present writing the subject of language development will be dealt with.

The importance of this topic lies mainly in the fact that it contemplates one of the aspects of the very important general problem for psychology, which is that of the complex interrelation between thought and language.

At present, this problem is addressed by a series of theoretical and empirical investigations to try to explain the complex manifestations of the higher activity of the human individual (Hickmann, 1987; Luria, 1979; Wertsch, 1985 and 1988).

The foregoing does not mean that language is not interested in prospects, and since language is currently considered to have multiple functionality (Hickmann, 1987; Petrovsky, 1980; Wertsch, 1985).

Thus the objective of the present work is to present language development as a primary function of communication highlighting in this the social exchange mediated by gestures and / or signs specifically emphasizing the ontogenetic development of meaning.

The most general definition of language is that it is a verbal sign system. Carrying out this activity depends on the properties of the sign, which is social in nature. This is transmitted to each individual by society and arises as a result of a body or is formed in the historical development of human activity. The objective properties of the verbal sign that condition this theoretical activity is the meaning of the word, its content.

Thus the linguistic activity is the process use of language by name in order to convey and assimilates from social historical experience to establish communication power through the planning of those who. All of the above possible to pose in the main languages ​​functions are

1. as a means of existence, transition and assimilation of the social historical experience.
2. as a means of communication
3. as an instrument of the actor and that the intellectual perception, memory, reasoning and imagination (Petrovsky, 1980)

Thus, the function of language as a means of communication is the most fundamental and primordial (Bronckart, 1980; Leontiev, 1983; Luria; 1979 and 1980; Major, 1983; Petrovsky; 1980 and vygotsky, 1977).

Mayor (1983), makes a comprehensive analysis on definitions close to communication, concluding that a surrender could match a large number of proposed definitions, it would be that this is the significant exchange between interactive systems.
For Leontiev (1983) communication is one of the forms of interaction between men in the process of their activity. Being a process of exchanging news that contains the results of the reflection of reality by men, communication constitutes an inseparable part of their social existence and a means of the formation and functioning of their conscience, both individual and Social. It is through communication that proper interaction between men is organized during their joint activity, the transmission of experience, of habits, the appearance of satisfaction of needs.

If we go back to origin of communication Its social nature and its original social functions, its link with other aspects of activity and with the return of the psyche of man are particularly clear. The emergence of human consciousness in its current form had as a premise, in addition to the development of work and social relationships, as an instrument of communication.

Thus, in the process of communication, social relations between men are actually made. Communications a process that in practice takes place eleven isolated individuals, but between people who are members of a society and, to that extent, are mediated by a type of social media or other. Apart from what mediates communication, that is, what is its medium or instrument through which it is carried out, a classification of communications equipment with gestural, verbal, humoral, written, you will. With the development of society and the constant fulfillment of communication fixation, which it acquires their own means, mainly language through which communication is carried out verbal.

So the primary function of language is communication, social exchange. When language was studied through its analysis in elements, this function was also dissociated from its intellectual function, were treated as if they were isolated but parallel functions, without paying attention to their work; however, the meaning of the word is a unit of different functions. In the absence of a system of vowed linguistic signs and the prototype of this is human language. A more precise study of the development of understanding and communication in childhood has led to the conclusion that true communication requires meaning. In this way, communication presupposes a generalizing attitude that is directly advanced in the development of the meaning of words. Thus the higher forms of human exchange are possible only because man's thought chooses a conceptualization reality, and this is the reason why certain thoughts cannot be communicated through children, even if they are familiar with necessary words, (Vygotsky, 1977).

Language is a system of words and expressions of the correspondence between these understandable ones that are used for communication. Thus the word or expression common to all those who speak the same language, linked for them with the same object, phenomenon, event that reflects the same relationship with that object or phenomenon, which reflect the same notion about its role in the activity, it is called meaning of that sign. Each man, in addition to that common content, introduces the subjective sign of meaning: for any person in common meaning of a sign is refracted through the prism of its own activity and while taking part in the sense people.

Meaning is meaning in its subjective form, as if it were filtered through the system of objective motives that want the activity of a man or a group of men. Furthermore, the sign is a unit of communication and generalization. Language is the most important means of human communication, but not the only point along with language other systems of signs can be used for communication. In non-oral communication, along with verbal signs, many gestures are used. Meanings are the most important constituents of human consciousness. Thus, the meaning is refracted in the world in the consciousness of man, which sticks the meanings of language Socially elaborated modes of action are hidden, in the process of which men modify and know reality objective.

In other words, and the surcharge signs are represented by the ideal form transformed and wrapped in the matter of language of the existence of the material world, of its properties, links and relationships narrated by practical society joint. Therefore, psychology have the task of studying the ontogenetic development of the concept or meaning and of thought. Research on concept formation and logic operations in children made one of these extremely important. Where it was shown that the concepts are the result of a process of appropriation of meaning, facts, historically elaborated, and that this process takes place in the child's activity, in his communication with people that surround it. When the child learns to perform one or the other actions, they assimilate, mastering the corresponding operations, which are represented in a synthetic and idealized way in the meaning. Logically, the process of assimilation of meanings takes place initially in the child's external activity with material objects and in practical communication.

In the early stages the child assimilates concrete meanings, directly related to objects; later it also assimilates properly logical operations, but also in their externalized form, since otherwise they cannot be communicated at all. By internalizing that these form abstract meanings, concepts and their movement, it constitutes internal mental activity, activity on the plane of consciousness (Leontiev, 1981)

Throughout this section, the study carried out by Soler (1978) was presented, which starts from the central thesis that the development of gestural communication is a necessary antecedent for the development of verbal language.

Gestural communication and verbal language

Verbal language is the means of communication par excellence among men. Thus, communication is the first and most obvious of the functions of language. But, to clarify the genesis of this, it will be necessary to resort to the development of the previous forms of communication for children: gestural communication and the transition from this to verbal communication.
Although this case is not outright. A) Yes gestural communication is not completely replaced by verbal language, and this that will be maintained during public life. Thus, and content that is better communicated process, for example motions, unlike verbal language through which more intellectual and abstract content is better communicated; Thus, the verbal language that places gestures in the communication of certain contents with but not in others. Also in normal communication gestures and words appear closely linked. The gestures complete and intensify the meaning of the words and both contribute to the transmission of the same message. Also, in verbal language it cannot be completely replaced by gestural communication. Therefore, verbal language has its own way of meaning, unlike gestural (Rubinstein, 1982).

NATURE OF GESTURES

A gesture in its movement perceptible from the outside. But not all body movements are gestures, the 1 only ones that have meaning. Likewise, the movements of the larynx that are perceived by the ear are gestures. Also intonation even though it is part of verbal language, it constitutes its gestural component. Thus, the study of communication by inserting gestures has to begin with their classification, identified as trying to set the limits and the function of each one of them. Therefore the description a gesture of necessarily including its meaningful intention and its delimitation must be based on its significance.

HOW GESTURES ARE UNDERSTOOD

One problem with gestures is treating them as signs. In gestures and signs you can establish a clear distinction between signifier and signified, but in signs, both the signifier and the signified can be defined as a relative precision. In the case of gestures, it is who, of course, a gesture has a meaning, but to understand its significance it is necessary to place it in a situational context. Also the gesture does not have defined spatial and temporal limits, which leads to the ambiguity of the meaning. Due to this interpretation of a gesture it contains as always a considerable margin of error. Thus, the understanding of gestural communication contrasts with that of spoken language.

CLASSIFICATION OF GESTURES.

The gestures are classified into three types that are:

Expressive gestures:

• spontaneous displays of emotion and affective states
• demonstrations of emotions and affective states provoked by the interlocutor and directed towards the

Appellate gestures:

Intended to attract the attention of the interlocutor to emphasize or prolong communication.
Meaningful gestures:

• proposing to the interlocutor an action or a modification of his action
• refusing to collaborate with the interlocutor
• hinting at the quality of an experience
• indicating a goal or a direction
• responding positively or negatively to a question
• describing an object or event
• asking a question.

This classification is easily criticized. It may be that one more gesture certainly falls into any of the proposed categories or that the same gesture does not certainly falls into none of the proposed categories or that the same person may belong to two categories keys. The most important objection concerns the three general categories.

2.4 EVOLUTION OF GESTUAL COMMUNICATION.

• During In the first months, communication is mostly affective.
• Meaningful communication in common effort to influence the behavior of another (call gestures)

Throughout the following months meaningful communication becomes increasingly effective for the transmission of the wishes of. The gestures represent the behavior that they intend to provoke through the beginning of the action or imitation.

In the first moment, gestures refers to the behavior of the interlocutor, but later the indicative and descriptive gestures appear, devoid of any reference to the action itself or to that of the interlocutor.

By last the child tried to refer to actions or things not present, past actions or absent things, reaching from this moment the limits of gestural communication.
What a significant gesture can be accompanied and consequently, the established communication is charged with emotion.
At the same time, the development of communication in the child also presents con dive aspects. tried to influence the behavior of the interlocutor imply a certain anticipation of the defect of to be. The gesture consists of imitating the action or the event that one tries to promote supposes another more complex type of representation.

From the first moment, verbal language is present in communication between diminish the adult. But the child understands part of the adult's verbal language and it is in this relative understanding that learning is supported. Not only understood language but also the language spoken with, but not all forms that comes sad from the slime used spoken was previously part of understood language (Luria, 1979).
The word as a sound is part of the gestures that accompany the adult's activity with the child, gesticulation becomes meaningful by previous experience and by your preference for a situation concrete. The child does not learn the meaning of words by isolating some fragments are monkeys that he must associate with objects by events in their environment, but starts from a situation in which the words, partly from a gesticulation Means.
The significant gestural set in which the word is inserted - naturally, for the child, to some corporal gestures performed by the adult when pronouncing the word, but it also refers to the intonation with which the adult pronounces the word.

Intonation can be considered as a gesture of a peculiar nature. The particularity of intonation lies in its special relationship with verbal signs.

If other gestures that accompany the words can exist without them, the intonation can only exist together with the word, as a modification of the latter in its verbal emission.
The intonation associated with the body gestures formed a significant set in which the child receives the words. So intonation or in a decisive role in learning verbal language that in learning the meaning of words the role of intonation is nicknames.
Verbal language used by the adult in communication with the 21 of certain particular characteristics that influence the learning of language by the child.

AFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.

The first communications between the adult and the child are affective type and the impulses that stimulate the passage to verbal communication are largely affective. Here the words have a gain in secondary, which have been acquired, gestures and are used in a way analogous to gestures.

THE DENOMINATION

Here the child discover the superiority of gestures They are bulbs each to attract the attention of the subjects, and the channels to attract the attention of the child, body and sound gestures use words that have not even just been learned. But, in these cases, moving from gestural to verbal communication is a simple substitution.

OPPOSITION, DENIAL.

The child may object to the adult's efforts to guide her behavior. This opposition is manifested through gestures. Adults also oppose the child's actions and express their opposition with gestures that are added to the words no. Given the tone of the adult's gestures and the situation in which the word no is used, the child easily understands its meaning. The frequency with which the affective emphasis placed on it is used makes learning even easier. However, learning can be seen as the substitution of a word for a gesture. But the child learns to use word sight with other functions.

RATING OF EXPERIENCES.

The gestures of the adult are always accompanied by verbal expressions that indicate the qualities of the experience Y. Due to the context in which they are used and the gestures that accompany them, the words are easy to understand by the child over time, he becomes able to draw, at first It is nothing more than the substitution of a word for an expressive gesture, but due to the instigation of adults, these words take an ever-increasing reach. general.

INVITATION TO ACTION.

Attempting to influence adult behavior and this effort represents its most characteristic and most frequent form of communication. Here the child anticipates the action in some way (cognitive anticipation).

Once again, the learning by association of a word with a set of gestures and the possible substitution of the word by these gestures occurs.

DESIGNATION.

Here the verbal expression also supposes the word that designates the gestures or events on which the child's attention is directed. By means of the defect of the designation itself, in objects they want to be existential independent, at the same time the word spoken by the adult remains perfectly different of the gesture.
A) Yes, the relation between the word and the object towards seems to become. The clarity with which the meaning of words appears and the designation makes designation the preferred form of semantic teaching.

DESIGNATION OF ABSENT OBJECTS

The only effects that can evoke the absent reality are those that limit the appearance of this reality in its development or in its consequences. When this occurs, between criticism of the gesture or in front of the words as a means of communication becomes too evident. As long as the communication is limited to the surrounding concrete or imminent annexation, enough gesticulation when we try to extend the communication, the recourse to the word becomes evident. No matter how limited the possibilities of imitation by gestures and strong men may be to establish a communication system, it is evident that the gesture is imitative, which has its own meaning independent of the action, therefore constitutes the most elaborate form of the gesture and the closest to the words.

SEMANTIC LEARNING.

Here we try to summarize what has been said about learning the meaning of words.
1.-the child at the beginning hears some verbal expressions immersed in a gestural context and referring to a present and significant situation for him in a certain sense.

2.- the first vote in which the words become meaningful for the child does not consist of assimilation with the gestures, certain sound stimuli heard in the adult and specific circumstances are equivalent to gestures and can replace them. It can be considered as a form of association with conditioning. Words learned in this way are gesture or signal words.
3.- They are very supportive of the situation in which they are heard and used, a situation that often consists of trying to influence the behavior of the interlocutor. The designation constitutes the word learning logo. Here the words learned as something significant. Learning meaningful words involves certain prior linguistic experiences and also a certain level of meaningful development.
The fact that the same word yesterday situ says different contexts of behavior and in the course of different communications has prepared the trend of the word with respect to the different conducting contexts and unification of its references in a single meaning that allows this word to be used in any circumstance

SYNTACTIC LEARNING

The simplest sentence structures assume a some reform of knowing and organizing the experience, which implies a certain level of conflictive development. Thus, in preaching, naming the works of composed of a word and the one practiced corresponds to a new form. of knowledge that corresponds to a new form of knowledge: the distinction between objects and their qualities.

With the appearance of the phrase, language is definitely separated from gestural communication. However, the appearance of the first sentences does not constitute the end of the verbal language acquisition process, this acquisition will continue for a long time by means of a process of enrichment and structuring of reality, of which it will be in solidarity with the intellectual and social level of the subject and their needs for communication.

One of the ways that people behave, they are fundamentally non-linguistic. The use of language does not appear to be involved in the acquisition or execution of these activities; for example, we only need to think about the things that a preverbal child is capable of doing through experience.

It could be that a conditioning or associative elemental analysis provide an acceptable explanation for these activities. Some theorists, taking this as a measure of success, have extrapolated on the ideas of the conditioning always in an attempt to explain all behavior, including behavior linguistics. This time from an interpretive, inadequate and simplistic framework, it has been confirmed and by much of the previous research.

Pavlov himself recognizes in the limited implications of simple conditioning and he proposed the need for command based signal system, especially language as to explain the complexity of mature human behavior.
The kind of recognition and skills involved in some language activity it doesn't make sense in a non-linguistic context. What the person learns is not only coded linguistically, but is primarily expressed in this way. It is impossible to imagine a mechanism of linguistic conditioning, physical stimulus, physical response that will carry out the same tasks.
Human knowledge is made up of concepts, is more conveniently described in a hierarchical way, it is achieved, first of all, by abstracting an example, it is used mainly to generate specific results, which seems to be at least one of the basic processes of solving problems.
Probably at all times a person is abstracting and generating, learning and using and, therefore, his knowledge and skills are subject to continued change.

Knowledge and skills are the basic descriptive parameters of behavior. Combined with intention and execution, they define the conceptualization that a person possesses. All four parameters are clearly relevant to the particular type of behavioral process that he highlights in this article: thinking. When used in a perhaps more familiar, uncompromising way this description says that the person:

• is trying solve a problem (intention)
• they have the necessary knowledge and skills
• is doing relatively slow progress, exhibiting little adequate or observable activity (performance).

The goal of psychological research has gone beyond that use and adds substantial detail to identify them, injuries and competencies, develop more informative implementation measures and show how they agree with a description of the process behavioral. (Bourne, Ekstrand and Dominowski, 1985)

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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