Language Acquisition and Gesture

How central is the Role of Gesture in Language Evolution and Language Acquisition?

In the development of Language Acquisition, children often communicate through the use of gesture as well as words; whether gesture is essentially linked with language development or just predates it is a question explored by many linguists. Children perceive language prior to birth , before gesture is even received or attempted, and yet the importance of gesture in the process of language acquisition is undoubtedly imperative. Even without gesture, a child must be able to identify a word from continuous speech (where there are no gaps), remember the sound of the word to they are able to recognise it in the future, and tie the word to a consistent event; all without a fully developed brain and underdeveloped speech organs.

Gesture in its most basic form appears in the act of pointing, and studies have shown that pointing helps children learn the meanings of words . Pointing occurs within the pre-linguistic stage of language development, usually between the ages of nine and twelve months, to indicate the location of objects in the child’s environment . In Baldwin’s 1995 study, he discovered that when an adult pointed at an object, children at ten months of age looked longer at the object than when it wasn’t pointed out; and when adults both pointed and named the object, the looking time was even greater. In terms of gesture from the child, the focal function of their pointing would be to make sure the receiving adult was looking at the correct thing. The interaction of pointing and other gestures usually takes place between the adults in the child’s constant surroundings, also known as a language acquisition support system (LASS), a term coined by linguistic theorist Bruner. LASS refers to the family and other people that the child interacts with, both verbally and through gesture. These people provide many opportunities for the child to learn their mother tongue, for example, frequent ritualised scenarios. These scenarios such as having a bath, reading a story and then going to bed provide the child with the opportunity to quickly recognise the phases of interaction, and the child is able to predict and learn the actions and words successfully.

B.F.Skinner’s Behaviourism Theory focuses on the importance of language acquisition through imitation and reinforcement of words, rather than gesture. This approach argues that children acquire language through imitating the words used around them, thus learning the language through positive reinforcement; the basis of the argument being that if we do something and receive positive feedback we will do it again, and if we receive negative or no feedback, we re unlikely to repeat it. If we were to take Bruner’s theory as fact, this reinforces the idea that the gesture and speech of a child’s LASS is essential. Another focal function of the LASS is suggested in Piaget’s object permanence theories. Piaget’s theories regarding cognitive development surround the notion that gesture from the child’s LASS can teach the child not only language and gestural communication, but can also help improve memory. Although it is clear that not all linguistic development can be linked to cognitive development, ideas such as object permanence highlight the importance of gesture. A child’s ability to understands that object’s have an independent existence is aroused by the gesture of moving something from sight. Although it is different in function (it does not locate and object), it adds to the child’s understanding of their environment, as well as heightening their heuristic vocabulary. Before a child develops the ability of understanding object permanence, they assume that when an object is moved out of sight it no longer exists, and therefore do not look for it or gesture towards its new location. Object permanence within children is usually developed by 18 months of age, and soon after this, there is usually a surge in the child’s vocabulary. The idea that these two events are certainly linked is argued by many cognitive theorists: once a child has recognised that an object has its own independent existence, they will learn the name of the object.

The theory from Iverson and Goldin-Meadow (2005) proposes the notion that the number of word and gesture combinations vastly increases just before the materialization of multi-word utterances; and therefore they conclude that gesture is the focal element in providing a stepping stone for the subsequent language development of the child. To test their theory, they watched ten children who were in the one word to two words transitional stage of speech and discovered that gesture had a firm association with a child’s syntactic and lexical development. They found that items initially produced in gesture then entered the verbal lexicon of the child, and that children who used both gesture and word combinations first, conveying two elements in a proposition were also the first to produce two word combinations. The study concluded that gestural changes both predict changes in language, and predate them. Thus suggesting that gesture is arguably “paving the way for future language development”. The theorists write, “The possibility that gesture serves a facilitating function for language learning is shown by the fact gesture allows children to communicate meanings that they may have difficulty expressing verbally ”.

Child Directed Speech (CDS) introdces the idea that involving the child in its own development in language has great importance; “Motherese”, the use of slow rated speech and a high pitched, exaggerated voice, as well as clear articulation, long pauses and repetition and restatement, is focal in a child’s speech development, and has no focus on the use of gesture. CDS is thought to improve the intelligibility of a child and manage their attention onto speech, as well as explicitly teaching a child necessary social routine such as listening and absorbing the information they hear. CDS, in cases such as these, has a positive effect on the child’s language acquisition. Speaking slowly and using simplified grammar makes language more accessible for a child. The combined task of developing the ability of comprehending language and using it is therefore made easier by CDS. For example, the comprehension of word meanings is obviously facilitated when an adult focuses the child on an object in their immediate environment and repeats it slowly. The attention of the child may be retained by exaggerated intonation, gestures and facial expressions, therefore the child listens more intently to what is being said to them. Pausing for a reply when asking a question (which most parents appear to do before their child can speak) helps to introduce the child to necessary social skills, through the rules and conventions of conversation. Through doing this, children become used to the idea of conversational turn taking, and the alternating pattern of speech becomes available to them from an early age. In general, CDS has not been proved to be essential in language development, although there can be no arguing against the fact that it aids the process. There are cultures (such as parts of Papua New Guinea and Samoa) where adults will not use motherese or modify their speech at all when speaking to their child, and the children affected by this still appear to acquire their language at the “normal” rates of development. CDS provides a good aid to language acquisition without the use of gesture, but giving the child an important, active part in their own social and speech development. However, some linguistics argue that motherese such as “doggie” and “moo cow” can actually interfere and slow the process of language development because the language the children are exposed to is a clearly distorted version of normal speech.

Theorist Noam Chomsky quoted that “Children acquire language quickly and effortlessly, at identical stages across all cultures” and his innateness theory is one of the most widely publicised linguistic ideas. Chomsky’s innateness theory spans from his ideas that each child is born with an innate ability to speak, born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD). According to Chomsky, different languages have a different surface structure but each shares the same deep structure: an utterance with a verb, subject and object is common in every language. He suggests that children are said to have an innate awareness of the “deep structure” and uses this as an explanation as to why they develop proficiency within language so rapidly: they analyse language from birth and therefore immediately begin to learn how the language system within their society functions. However, theorists commonly oppose this notion with the idea that it undermines the importance of gesture and interaction with others in language development. The famous case study of Jim  acts as a prime opposition to Chomsky’s theory by highlighting the issues caused by a lack of interaction and gestural awareness during a child’s language acquisition process. Bard and Sachs examined a child called Jim who was born to two deaf parents. Jim’s parents made the decision that they didn’t want sign language to be Jim’s first method of communication and therefore taught him the minimal amount of signing that they used to communicate with each other. Jim’s only exposure to spoken language came from television programmes and the radio, which he spent a lot of time listening to. Despite his exposure to a large, varied amount of spoken language, Jim’s speech was severely impeded until he began intense sessions with a speech therapist, luckily after which, his speech rapidly and vastly improved. Although Jim was clearly ready to learn how to speak, his lack of interaction and gesture meant that until his sessions with the speech therapist began, he couldn’t become a competent speaker. This shows the importance of gesture in language acquisition in the sense that although children do gain the ability to speak at an impressive speed, their ability can only truly be used when they are given interaction and gestures from the people around them.

When all of the theories are taken into account, gesture is proved to be very central and important in language development. Although children acquire the prosodic features of language whilst they are in the womb, they also have to merge gesture and speech in order to communicate. The job of a language acquisition support system is, without doubt, imperative in a child’s language development. Without the use of gesture, children are able to acquire some language, the case study of Jim being a prime example of this situation; but are unable to become competent speakers. Input theories such as Skinner’s Imitation and Reinforcement and Bruner’s LASS prove that a child needs some form of gesture as well as speech from its immediate surroundings for them to learn the basics of language, such as turn taking within conversation, as well as acquiring vocabulary. Piaget’s cognitive theory surrounding object permanence also proves that interaction and the use of gesture between child and adult teaches the child about its surroundings successfully, with child directed speech at the centre of their learning. Furthermore, even the importance of pointing to something is crucial in language development, as it provides the child with the opportunity to link words with objects and remember them. All of these findings prove that even if there is proof of Chomsky’s “universal grammar”, it must also involve the importance of gesture as well. Manual gestures are an iconic and visual component in our everyday speech, people are often described to be “talking with their hands”, and these gestures are intricately and necessarily interwoven into our speech patterns to enhance our communication skills. In conclusion, gesture is very central in the evolution, development and acquisition of our language.