What are the patterns in early language development seen in children?

1. To infants, adults should say "ooh" and "aah" and "Pandainya baby!" to encourage infant's gurgling and cooing (Arnon & Ramscar, 2012). 2. Children also gradually learn to use intonation and emphasis to convey meaning (MacWhinney, 2011). Differences in intonation signal the beginnings of using language to communicate. For example, "Cookie" means "That's a cookie" but "Cookie!" says "I want a cookie.". 3. In the later stages of being a toddler, overgeneralisation and undergeneralisation emerge. Overgeneralisation occurs when a child uses a word to refer to a broader class of objects than is appropriate. For example, using "car" to refer to buses and trucks. Undergeneralisation, which is harder to detect, occurs when a child uses a word too narrowly, such as using "kitty" for her own cat but not for cats in general (Feldman, 2014; Gelam & Kalish, 2006). Both are normal aspects of language development. Parents or caretakers should gently correct these instances through routine interaction. 4. Young children bring to school a healthy and confident grasp of language and how it can be used to communicate with others. The importance of this foundation to learning in general (such as reading and writing), can't be overstated (Hammer, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2010; Tompkins, 2014).