The sound patterns of a particular language and the rules for combining them.

A particular language’s system of meaning and the rules for conveying meaning.

The rules for forming sentences in a particular language.

The period before a child speaks his or her first words.

Making repetitive vowel sounds, particularly the uuu sound; the behavior develops early in the prelinguistic period, when babies are between about 1 and 4 months of age.

The repetitive vocalizing of consonant-vowel combinations by an infant, typically beginning at about 6 months of age.

Sounds, signs, or symbols used to communicate meaning.

Comprehension of spoken language.

The use of words to apply only to specific objects, such as a child’s use of the word cup to refer only to one particular cup.

The inappropriate use of a word to designate an entire category of objects, such as when a child uses the word kitty to refer to all animate objects.

The ability to categorically link new words to real-world referents.

As used in discussions of language development, an assumption that is presumed to be built-in or learned early (a ‘default option’) by which a child figures out what words refer to.

The assumption that every word has a different meaning, which leads a child to assume that two or more different words refer to different objects.

A combination of a gesture and a single word that conveys more meaning than just the word alone; often seen and heard in children between 12 and 18 months old.

Term used by Roger Brown to describe the earliest sentences created by most children, which sound a bit like telegrams because they include key nouns and verbs but generally omit all other words and grammatical inflections.

Young children’s applications of basic rules to irregular words.

The rules for the use of language in communicative interaction, such as the rules for taking turns and the style of speech that is appropriate for different listeners.

The simplified, higher-pitched speech that adults use with infants and young children.

The average number of meaningful units in a sentence. Each basic word is one meaningful unit, as is each inflection.

Understanding of the rules governing the sounds of a language as well as knowledge of the connection between sounds and the way they are represented in written language.

A strategy young children with good phonological awareness skills use when they write.

Planned, specific instruction in sound-letter correspondences.

An approach to reading instruction that places more emphasis on the meaning of written language than on its structure.

School children who do not speak English well enough to function in English-only classes.

As practiced in the United States, a school program for students who are not proficient in English in which instruction in basic subject matter is given in the children’s native language during the first 2 or 3 years of schooling, with a gradual transition to full English instruction over several years.

An alternative to traditional bilingual education used in classrooms in which all children speak the same non-English native language. All basic instruction is in English, paced so that the children can comprehend, with the teacher translating only when absolutely necessary.

An alternative to bilingual education; children who are not proficient in English attend academic classes taught entirely in English but then spend several hours in a separate class to receive English language instruction.

An approach to education of non-English–speaking students in which they are assigned to a classroom where instruction is given in English and are given no supplemental language assistance; also known as the ‘sink or swim’ approach.