SEMANTIC DEVELOPMENT

Semantic or vocabulary development is an essential part in a child’s growth. According to an article by Rosselli, Ardilla, Matute, & Uribe (2014), children produce recognizable words between 12 and 18 months of age. A vocabulary burst called “word spurt” happens around 18 months of age. Word spurt is the rapid increase in words as observed in some children. There are also differences when it comes to word spurt. Children begin after their first birthday or others are not starting until the age of 2 or even later.

Another concept in Semantic Development is fast mapping. This is the children’s remarkable ability to map linguistic labels to referents in the world (Vlach & Sandhofer, 2012). Commonly, children produce noun words first. They also say words that are relevant to social interactions such as hello or bye bye. Children increase their semantic ability during school years because they are exposed to more knowledge and they are also experiencing interactions with different people.

Author’s Insights:

It is interesting to know how children develop their language skills. I think what is more important in semantic development is the presence and support of other people, especially the parents, because children usually produce words that they hear often in their primary environment. Development is a gradual process and it is important that parents or guardians are there to provide guidance since every step or milestone in a child’s development is an essential part of what he/she will be in the future.