Telegraphic speech is a simplified form of language used in early language acquisition, consisting of basic nouns and verbs without articles or modifiers. It is universal and important for language development. The term was coined by Roger Brown, inspired by the telegraph, and is still used in modern communication. Children typically transition to more complex grammar after 24 months. Adults recovering from brain injuries may also use telegraphic speech.
Telegraphic speech is the term for a simplified form of speech used during the early stages of language acquisition. In this form of language, sentences are formed from simple combinations of words, usually nouns and basic verbs. The finer points of grammar, including articles and modifiers, are absent at this point and are usually learned later. Telegraph speech is an important stage in language development, and most children practice it at some point, regardless of the language they are learning. It’s also used by adults who are recovering from a brain injury or illness, such as a stroke.
The term “telegraphic speech” was coined by American psychologist Roger Brown, author of many influential studies on speech in the 1960s and 1970s. Refers to the telegraph, a telecommunication device used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Telegraph services are paid for by speech, so users famously employed only those words needed to convey the essential meaning of a message. This also inspired the method of writing known as the “telegraphic style”. The telegraph style is still used in modern times for newspaper headlines, TV listings, and other communications where content is more important than grammar.
In childhood, most people develop language skills by listening to and imitating the speech of adults and older children. Babies transition from stuttering to speaking their first words when they are around 18 months old. By 18 to 24 months, they will generally transition into telegraphic speech, often two-word sentences that consist of a subject and a verb. An example in English would be “want cake”, which means “I would like some cake”. This process is universal; children all over the world learn their languages this way, except for those with developmental disabilities or other barriers to language acquisition.
After about 24 months, most children will move on to more complex grammatical constructions. These include articles like “the” and “to”, modifiers like adjectives and adverbs, and the past and future tenses. There are indications that people who do not go through these stages of language development in early childhood may have difficulty acquiring language later in life. The specific brain functions involved in language acquisition and use are under ongoing study.
Adults who have suffered brain damage from a head injury or stroke, for example, may need to relearn their language skills. These individuals will go through the telegraph speech stage again before moving on to more complex sentences. Unexplained use of telegraphic speech can also be an indicator of a brain or nerve disorder, such as multiple sclerosis. Some voice-activated computer programs aren’t sophisticated enough to recognize complex sentences. Users of these programs sometimes have to voice their commands in telegraphic speech for best results.
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