1 Psychology and human development1.7 Language and communication
1.7.2 Social origins of language
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Written by Resident Doctor Committee · Published
New in the 2027 syllabus
The College added this topic for exams from January 2027.
Learning with other people
Joint attention means the child and adult focus on the same thing. This helps the child link a word or sign to an object, an action or an intention.
Turn-taking and contingent responses (replies that follow on from what the child just did) show the child the social effect of their words. They also let both sides repair misunderstandings.
Bruner's support system is the set of repeated caregiver routines that scaffold communication, alongside the child's own developing abilities.
Kuhl's infant study found phonetic learning after live foreign-language interaction. Recorded exposure in the same experiment did not reproduce it.
Non-human communication
Animal signals can pass on information and coordinate behaviour. Some are learned.
Vocal learning (copying sounds) and symbolic training show abilities shared with humans. But imitating a signal does not show human-like grammar.
Human language combines meaningful units productively. This allows new messages about absent, hypothetical or abstract events.
When comparing species, separate spontaneous communication from trained performance. Allow for differences in senses, movement and motivation.