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This is a copy of the context section of the Interpersonal Communication article

You can use it to practice and decide on your edits.

Context
Context generally refers to the environment in which communication occurs and is where it may be influenced. In any given environment/situation a conversation takes place in, many contexts may be interacting at the same time. Context in regards to interpersonal communication refers to the establishment and control of formal and informal relationships. Generally, the focus has been on "dyadic communication" in health communication research with a focus on the patient and the provider. Additionally, interest in the role of families, and occasionally among other key roles in the health care system are all factors on the context of interpersonal communication. Context can include all aspects of social channels, with examples particularly in:


 * Physical milieu: the season or weather, current physical location and environment
 * Situational milieu: classroom, military conflict, supermarket checkout, hospital
 * Cultural and linguistic backgrounds



Developmental progress (maturity)
The development of communication throughout ones lifetime is crucial because it is required in almost every aspect of human life. Majority of language development happens during infancy and early childhood. It is very important that infants learn the principles of communication earlier on in their development. The following information can be used to adapt to the the specific attributes in each level of development in order to effectively communicate with an individual of these ages. The amount of communication and language development that happen in different stages of life include:

0-1 Years of Age:
 * During the period of infancy, an infant mainly use non-verbal communication to effectively communicate with others. In the first bit of a newborns life crying is the only means of communication, which is used to demonstrate their needs and wants. Infants 1-5 months have different tones of crying that indicate their emotions. Also, within the 1 to 5 month stage the newborn begins laughing. When the infants are 6-7 months old they begin to respond to their own name, yell and squeal, and distinguish emotions based on the tone of voice of the mother and father. Between 7 and 10 months the infant starts putting words together, for example "mama" and "dada". These words are simply babbled by the infant, lacking meaning and significance. When the infant turns 12 months of age they start to put meaning behind those once babbled words and can start imitate any sounds they hear, for example animal sounds. Verbal communication begins to occur at the age of 10-12 months. It starts with the act of imitating adult language and slowly developing the words “mama” and “dada”. They can also respond to simple commands. The non-verbal communication of infants includes the use of gaze, head orientation and body positioning, this enables them to communicate without the use of language yet displays effectively what they are trying to convey to others. Gestures are also widely used as an act of communication. All these stages can be delayed if the parents do not communicate with their infant on a daily basis.


 * Nonverbal communication begins with the comprehension of parents and how they use it effectively in conversation. Infants are able to breakdown what adults and others are saying to them, they then use their comprehension of this communication to produce their own. Infants have a remarkable capacity to adjust their own behaviour in social interactions. Infants readiness to communicate completely effects their language development. Variations in the amount of interaction between a mother and her child will effect certain aspects of the infants language performance.

1-2 Years of Age:
 * Verbal and nonverbal communication are both used at this stage of development. At 12 months, children start to repeat the words they hear. The parental role is a large influence on the development of communication in children. Adults are used as a point of reference for children in terms of the sound of words and what they mean in context of the conversation. Children learn much of their verbal communication through repetition and observing others. If parents do not speak to their children at this age it can becomes quite difficult for them to learn the essentials of conversation etiquette. The vocabulary of a 1-2 year old should consist of 50 words yet can hold up to 500. Gestures that were used earlier on in development begin to be replaced by words and eventually are only used when needed. Verbal communication is chosen over nonverbal as development progresses.

2-3 Years of Age:
 * Children ages 2-3 experience something known as the turn-taking style. In this stage, children communicate best in a turn-taking style as it brings cohesive interaction into their channel of communication and a conversational structure is in place, which makes it easier for verbal communication to develop. This also teaches them skills of patience, kindness, and respect early on as they learn from the direction of elders that one person is able to speak at a given time. This creates biological patterns for the child and creates interactional synchrony during their preverbal routines which shapes their interpersonal communication skills early on in their development. Children during this stage in their life also go through a recognition and continuity phase. Children start to see that shared awareness is a factor in communication along with their development of symbolic direction of language. This especially affects the relationship between the child and the caregiver because this is a crucial part of self-discovery for the child and taking ownership over their own actions in a continuous manner.

3-5 Years of Age:
 * This age group can also be classified as the pre-school age group as children are still learning how to form abstract thoughts and are still communicating concretely. Children begin to be fluent while connecting sounds, syllables, and linking words that make sense together in one thought. They begin to participate in short conversations with others. Stuttering can be an effect of newly acquired verbal communication for children when they are around the age of three and can generally result in slowed-down speech with a few letter enunciation errors (f,v, s, z). At the beginning of this stage toddlers tend to be missing function words and misunderstand how to use the correct tenses when they are communicating. As they continue to develop their communication skills they start including functional words, pronouns, and auxiliary verbs. While conversing with adults, this is the stage when most children can pick up on emotional cues of the tone of the conversation. If negative feedback is distinguished by the child, this ends with fear and an understanding of the verbal and nonverbal cues that the child is now aware of and will avoid in the future. They learn skills like taking turns and ideas of when communication is acceptable. Toddlers develop the skills to listen and partially understand what another person is saying and can develop an appropriate response.

5-10 Years of Age:
 * A lot of language development that happens during this time period takes place in a school setting. During the beginning of the school age years, children’s vocabulary expands through increases in reading. Increased exposure to reading also helps school-aged children learn more difficult grammatical forms, including plurals and pronouns. These changes improve their communication skills because the message of what they are trying to say will become clearer. They also begin to develop metalinguistic awareness which allows them to reflect and more clearly understand the language they use. This ability helps them understand jokes and riddles because they can comprehend the differences in the words. Having the skills to read well is a gateway for learning new vernacular at a young age and having the confidence in complex word choices while talking with adults. This is an important developmental part socially and physiologically for the child. School-aged children can easily be influenced through communication and gestures so role modelling plays an important part in their development. As children continue to learn communication, they realize the difference between forms of intentions and that there are numerous different ways to express the same intent, with different meaning. This new form of message complexity shows growth in a child's interpersonal communication and how they interpret language of others.

10-18 Years of Age:
 * By the age of 10 individuals can participate fully and understand the purpose of their conversations. During the end of this period the individual reaches maturity influencing their cognitive potential, affecting their communication. During this time, there are rises in the sophistication and effectiveness for communication skills. Adolescents go through changes in social interactions and cognitive development which influences the way they communicate. The individual has reached a higher level of education which has increased their vocabulary and grammar. However, adolescences tend to use colloquial speech (slang) which can increase confusion and misunderstandings. Also, an individual’s interpersonal communication depends on who they are communicating with. Their relationships change influencing how they communicate with others. During this period, adolescences tend to communicate less with their parents and more with their friends. When discussions are initiated in different channels of communication, attitude and predispositions are key factors that drive the individual to discuss their feelings. This also shows that respect in communication is a trait in interpersonal communication that is built on throughout development. The end of this adolescent stage is the basis for communication in the adult stage.

In conclusion, interpersonal communication in relation to language development is very adaptive.