Language Development MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Language Development - Download Free PDF

Development refers to the process of growth, change, and maturation that occurs in individuals over time.

 Key Points

• The development of children follows the principle of individual differences. This means that each child is unique and may progress and achieve developmental milestones at different rates and in different ways.
• Factors such as genetic predispositions, environmental influences, experiences, and learning opportunities contribute to these individual variations in development.
• While there are general patterns and sequences of development that most children follow, there is also considerable diversity in how children grow, learn, and acquire new skills.
• As a result, it is essential for educators, caregivers, and parents to recognize and accommodate these individual differences to support each child's optimal development.

Thus, it is concluded that Development of children follows the principle of individual differences.

Human development involves various domains, including emotional, cognitive, language, and personality development.

• Each domain progresses through specific stages and is influenced by various factors. The development of communication skills and emotions in children plays a vital role in their overall growth and interaction with the world.

Key Points

• Crying and vocabulary are both integral to language development.
• Crying is one of the earliest forms of communication in infants, serving as a way to express needs, discomfort, and emotions.
• As children grow, they begin to develop vocabulary, which is the foundation of language skills and communication.

Hint

• Emotional development refers to the development of emotions and emotional regulation.
• Cognitive development relates to the growth of thinking, problem-solving, and understanding.
• Personality development involves the formation of an individual's characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Hence, the correct answer is 'Language Development'.

The development of language, social skills, and cognitive abilities occurs in stages during a child's growth.

• These areas of development are closely linked, but each follows a different trajectory in terms of maturity and complexity. 

Key Points

• The last stage of development in terms of sentence formation is part of language development.
• In this stage, children move from simple words and phrases to constructing complex sentences.
• Sentence formation is a critical component of language development, which continues to evolve as children grow, learning grammar, vocabulary, and syntax.
• The ability to form complete sentences marks the transition to more advanced language skills and communication.

Hint

• Socialization refers to the process by which children learn to interact with others.
• Cognitive development involves the development of thinking and understanding.

Hence, the correct answer is 'Language Development'.

Language development in children follows a natural progression, starting from simple sounds and evolving into complex speech patterns. This process begins at an early age, as children gradually learn to recognize, understand, and produce words. 

Key Points

•  In the early stages of language development, children typically start by learning nouns.
• Nouns are concrete and refer to familiar objects, people, and things in their environment, such as "mama," "ball," or "dog."
• Since nouns represent tangible entities, they are easier for children to associate with real-world experiences.
• This stage is crucial because it lays the foundation for vocabulary expansion and further language skills. 

Thus, it is concluded that First step in child language development is noun.

Hint

•  Pronouns, such as "he," "she," and "it," are acquired later when children start forming sentences.
• Verbs, which indicate actions, follow nouns as children begin to describe activities.
• Tenses, which involve a more advanced understanding of grammar and time, develop much later when children start structuring sentences correctly.

Language development is a crucial aspect of a child's growth, enabling communication, expression of thoughts, and social interaction.

Key Points

•  The stages of language development include preparation of speech, sentence use, and correct pronunciation.
• The preparation of speech stage involves early vocalizations like cooing and babbling, which lay the foundation for spoken language.
• Sentence use develops as children begin to form meaningful phrases and sentences to express their thoughts.
• Correct pronunciation follows as they refine their speech sounds and articulation, improving clarity in communication. Each of these stages contributes to the overall development of language skills.

Thus, it is concluded that Socialization is not the stage of language development.

Hint

•  Socialization, while important for communication, is not a direct stage of language development.
• It refers to the process of learning societal norms, behaviors, and interactions rather than the structural development of language itself. 

The language of the child develops very fast. Before children are of preschool age they are already using words for communicating. They can identify and combine sounds to make words, use a sizeable vocabulary and follow some rules of grammar to make sentences.

• The first 'sentences' appear between 18 and 24 months of age. Toddlers form these 'sentences' by combining two words. Some examples of these two-word sentences are "see cat", "where Baba", "more milk, "bus go", "give me.

Key Points

• Gradually, between 1.5 to 2.5 years of age, children start combining single words to produce two-word utterances. Thus begin an understanding of syntax.
• These early syntactical communications seem more like telegrams than conversation. In these short and simple early sentences, toddlers use only the essential words to convey their meaning- the noun, the verb, and the adjective and omit the rest.
• Hence, linguists refer to these early utterances as telegraphic speech as it is like what we say when we send a telegraph, e.g. “want juice”, doggie bite”, “mommy sit”.
• These simple pairings of words convey a wealth of information about a child’s intentions and needs.

Thus, it is concluded that the two-word utterances often used by young children between 1.5 to 2.5 years of age are called Telegraphic speech.

Hint

• Babbling comprises consonant as well as vowel sounds; to most people’s ears, the babbling of infants growing up among speakers from different language groups sounds very similar. 
• Neologisms are newly coined words or old words which have been given new meanings.
• Once a child learns a word, she/he overuses it in expressing all other objects along with the original reference. This is known as an overextension of speech.

Noam Chomsky, the linguist gave an explanation that human beings have an innate ability to acquire language. He put forth the innate proposition of the development of language. 

• This knowledge is given to them by nature – the rules that govern language are part of a biologically based human language faculty. This is called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). 

Key Points Nativist theory: The nativist theory of language development proposed by Noam Chomsky, argues that language is a unique human accomplishment.

Some major points of his theory are-

• The rate at which children acquire words and grammar without being taught can not be explained by learning principles.
• Children also create all sorts of sentences they have never heard and, therefore, could not be imitating.
• Chomsky believes language development is just like physical maturation- given adequate care, it “just happens to the child”.
• Children are born with “universal grammar”. They readily learn the grammar of any language they hear. 
• Children throughout the world seem to have a critical period, a period when learning must occur if it is to occur successfully, for learning the language.
• Children across the world also go through the same stages of language development.
• Chomsky’s emphasis on our innate readiness to learn grammar helps explain why children acquire language so readily without direct teaching.

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that Noam Chomsky is related to language development.

Hint

• Jean Piaget Proposed the Cognitive theory of development.
• The moral development theory is proposed by Lawrance Kohalberg.

The language of human beings has certain characteristics which give a definite meaning to their communication. We can talk about the past, the present, and the future with the help of language.

• Language development is a process starting early in human life when a person begins to acquire language by learning it as it is spoken and by mimicry. Children’s language development moves from simple to complex.
• Language development is the main concern in early childhood. Language is the only powerful tool to enhance the ability of cognitive development. A good language always allows the child to communicate or interact with other persons and solve their problems.

Key Points A special sensitivity to particular stimuli during a particular time is called “Sensitive Periods.” Early childhood is a sensitive period of language development.

• Beginning the first three years of life, children develop a spoken vocabulary of between 300 and 1,000 words, and they are able to use language to learn about and describe the world around them.
• By age five, a child’s vocabulary will grow to approximately 1,500 words. Five-year-olds are also able to produce five-to seven-word sentences, learn to use the past tense, and tell familiar stories using pictures as cues.

More sensitive periods:

• Acquisition of language - birth to around 6 years old.
• Interests in small objects - from around 18 months to 3 years old.
• Order- from around 1 to 3 years old.
• Sensory refinement - from birth to around 4 years old.
• Social behavior - from around 2½ to 4 years old. 

Hence, it is concluded that the Early childhood period is a 'sensitive period' pertaining to language development.

Hint

• Pre-natal period(before birth): The period from conception to birth is known as the prenatal period. Typically, it lasts for about 40 weeks. Prenatal development is affected by maternal characteristics, which include the mother’s age, nutrition, and emotional state.
• Middle childhood:- The period extends from age 6 to age 12 years. During this time, the growth rate is slow but steady. Children learn motor skills like throwing and running to perfection. The child's thinking develops rapidly and his\her store of information grows at a fast pace.
• Adolescence: It is considered to be a transitional period between childhood and adulthood. During this time, the final height is achieved, internal organs and systems reach adult size and sexual maturity is reached.

Development can be defined as the change of shape, size, health, or change in psychology.

• The development of human beings is divided into different stages: Infancy, Early childhood, Late Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood.
• Language development is a process that starts early in life by which children begin to understand and express feelings through languages.

Key Points

• Two-word utterances: ​Gradually, between 1.5 to 2.5 years of age, children start combining single words to produce two-word utterances. Thus begin an understanding of syntax.
• Each milestone that develops is dependent upon the previous milestone and does not depend on age.
• The development of the child is different in all individuals, it depends on many factors such as biological needs, nutrition, social interactions, etc.

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that Both (A) and (R) are false. Important Points Other stages of language development in the child are as follows: 

• Cooing: Around one month of age babies begin to make cooing sounds in addition to crying. This stage lasts till 4-5 months after birth. Cooing is a vowel-like sound, particularly like 'moo.....'. Babies make cooing sounds when they are content and satisfied.
• Babbling: Between six and ten months, the infant begins to babble. She repeats syllables like 'ma', 'da', 'ki', and 'ne' over and over again so that we can hear sounds like "dadada ...", "kikikikiki...", "mamama....". This is referred to as babbling. 
• One-word utterances: Sometime between ten, and twelve months, often around the first birthday, the infant says the first word. This word may not match the words adults use but it is a word that the child uses consistently to refer to something, action, or quality.
• Basic adult sentence structure (present by about age 4 years), with continuing vocabulary acquisition. Vocabulary expands rapidly. It more than triples from 300 words at about 2 years of age to about 1000 words at 3 years of age.  Almost incredible, by age of 4, children acquire the foundations of adult syntax and language structure.

Language is a system of communication that is used to express thoughts, ideas and feelings. Language is a vital part of human connection. Humans are the only ones that have mastered cognitive language connection.

Key Points 

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in language providing the foundation of language and can not be divided into smaller parts carrying meaning. It has relatively the same stable meaning in different verbal environments. The study of morphemes is called Morphology.  There are two types of morphemes- Free Morphemes and Bound Morphemes.

• Free Morphemes can stand alone with specific meanings. It can be formed independently. For example; happy, get, when, etc. All of them have individual meaning and are free morphemes. 
• Free Morphemes can be categorized into two types: Lexical Morphemes and Grammatical / Functional Morphemes. 
  1. Lexical Morphemes are those that are large in number and independently meaningful. It includes nouns, adjectives and verbs. Example; boy, bad etc.
  2. Grammatical / Functional Morphemes consist of functional words in a language such as prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions. Example; but, on, and, above etc.  
• Bound Morphemes do not have any independent meaning and can be formed with help of free morphemes. Example; un, pre, en, etc. Bound Morphemes can be categorized into two sub-classes: Bound Roots and Affixes.
  1. Bound Roots have lexical meaning when included in other bound morphemes to form the content word. Example;- tain (retain, contain).
  2. Affixes naturally attached different types of words and used them to change the meaning of those words. Example;-ing in reading, writing, sleeping.

​Hence, the smallest unit of meaning in language is morphemes.

Important Points

• Syntax:  Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
• Phoneme: Phoneme is the smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word from another, as the element 't' in a cat which separates that word from "can", "cab".
• Pragmatics: Pragmatics is the branch of linguistics, which is the study of language.

The development of a human being from a conception to a full-grown adult is a subject that has fascinated people over generations. Not only is this knowledge useful as a tool for understanding self, but also for guiding the development of children.

Language development is a process starting early in human life when a person begins to acquire language by learning it as it is spoken and by mimicry and continues throughout life. Usually, language starts off as a recall of simple words without associated meaning, but as children grow, words acquire meaning, with connections between words being formed.

Key Points Early childhood as stated earlier in the period from 2 to 6 years of age. This period is sometimes referred to as the preschool period. In this stage, children become more self-sufficient, begin to take care of themselves, acquire language, become a part of the group, become more coordinated, develop school readiness skills and obtain a higher degree of self-control.

• Language development takes place at the early childhood age, children start learning the language by interacting with the environment.
• The rate of language learning is increasing day by day, and at the early childhood stage, a child is completely able to speak and understand daily life words or language.
• But if a child experiences any negative feedback or experience during the early childhood of development it may have long-term consequences and may not be fixed throughout life.
• The children at this stage use a symbolic representation that is the ability to make one thing - a word or an object - stand for something other than itself.
• So by all these reference, we can conclude that Both (A) and (B) is false.

Important Points The language development in a child is completed in such stages-

• ​Cooing - ( 6 weeks)
• Babbling - (6 months)
• One word- (12 months)
• Two words- (18 months)
• Longer Utterance- (2 to 4 years)

Additional Information 

• According to Jean Piaget, Langauge development in a child totally depends on his cognition.
• According to Lev Vygotsky, Language development in a child is done when a child interacts in a socio-cultural manner.

Language proficiency is a measurement of how well an individual has mastered a language. Proficiency is measured in terms of receptive and expressive language skills, syntax, vocabulary, semantics, and other areas that demonstrate language abilities. 

Key Points

• Fluency in language learning is the ability to use the spoken or written form of the language to communicate effectively. While fluency does require a reasonable knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, the language produced does not need to be flawless as long as you are able to be clearly understood. At the fluent level, a speaker will have fluid speech as opposed to halting use. Generally, a person who is fluent in a foreign language will show mastery in the following areas:
  •  Read: the ability to read and understand texts written in the language.
  •  Write: the ability to formulate written texts in the language.
  •  Comprehend: the ability to follow and understand speech in the language.
  • Speak: the ability to produce speech in the language and be understood by its speakers.
• Accuracy refers to how to correct learners' use of the language system is, including their use of grammar, pronunciation and grammar. In other words, accuracy is the correct use of tenses, verb forms, collocations and colloquialisms, among other things.

Thus, it can be concluded that fluency and accuracy are involved in language proficiency. 

Language development is a slow process through which a child learns to communicate through a language in the early childhood period. Child vocabulary starts to grow gradually.

Important Points

Chomsky theory is based on the fact that:-

• all languages contain similar structures and rules.
• children are born with an innate ability to learn the language.

Vygotsky believed that language and thought initially have different roots but they converge during the development process around the age of three.

Piaget believed that thought processes come before language. A child learns to think first then from that though they speak.

Skinner believed that children learn language through operant conditioning. The child receives rewards for using language in functional manner when the child realizes the communicative value of words and phrases. So language is not a stimulus in the environment.

Hence, 'language is a stimulus in the environment- B.F Skinner' is the least correct match.

The correct option is 2

Concept:

The Indo-Aryan language family is a significant branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken largely in the Indian subcontinent.

1. Kurmali - Indo-Aryan
2. Bodo - Tibeto-Burman
3. Oriya (Odia) - Indo-Aryan
4. Angika - Indo-Aryan
    

Among the options, Bodo does not belong to the Indo-Aryan language family. Instead, it is part of the Tibeto-Burman language family, which includes languages spoken in the northeastern part of India, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma. The other three languages are part of the Indo-Aryan language family.

Language development is a process that begins early in a person's life when he or she begins to learn a language by mimicking it and learning it as it is spoken. Language development in children progresses from simple to complex.

Key Points

•  Factors affecting language development-
  • Social- A child's language development directly depends on the environment in which he lives, social interaction with his parents, peers, siblings, etc. Language development is also influenced by socio-economic factors, as children from low-income homes speak fewer words than children from higher-income families of the same age.
  • Biological-  Some children's language and speech development are delayed due to medical problems such as autism, ADHD, birth accident, etc. Children may struggle to utilize words in a coherent manner, have trouble talking with others, building relationships, or employing complex concepts and language. Hence genetics also influences language development.

​​Hence, we conclude that language development among children gets influenced by genetics as well as the environment.