User:Cait ash/sandbox

I want to create a new sandbox but I don't know how!

Gesture in Language Acquisition
Many researchers believe that speech and gesture occur in two separate processes. These processes are thought to be independent of one another and may develop in different ways. Suggestions for how the development of speech and gesture occurs include gesture developing before speech, speech developing before gesture, speech and gesture both develop at the same time without affecting one another and lastly, speech and gesture developing at the same time while interacting with each other.

Timeline of Gesture Development

Like most developmental timelines it is important to consider that no two children develop at the same pace. Infant gesture is thought to be an important part of the prelinguistic stage and prepares a child for the emergence of language. It has been suggested that language and gesture develop in similar stages. It has also been suggested that gestures are easier to produce for both infants and adults. Infants begin to communicate with gestures before they can produce words. Gestures can be combined in sequence to create gesture sentences. Beginning at nine months of age children can produce a 2-gesture sentence and by twelve months of age children can begin to produce 3-gesture sentences. The first type of gestures that appear in infants is deictic gestures. Deictic gestures include pointing, which is often the most common gesture produced at this age. Around twelve months of age, infants begin to use representational gestures. Representational gestures have a stable meaning, for example waving to represent hello or goodbye. In relation to language acquisition, representational gestures appear around the same time as first words. At age 18 months children produce mostly deictic gestures, followed by representational gestures. At 18 months of age children do not produce symbolic gestures. Between the first and second year of life, children begin to learn more words and use gestures less. At 26 months of age, there is an increase in iconic gesture use and comprehension. Gestures become more complex as children get older. Between age 4-6 children can use route gestures when describing a route. A route gesture occurs in three-dimensional space and is used when the speaker is describing the route as if they are on the route. At age 5-6 children also use survey route gestures when describing a route. A survey route gesture takes place in two-dimensional space and is as if the speaker is describing the route from a bird's eye view.