In the study of
language acquisition, holophrasis is the prelinguistic use of a single
word
A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...
to express a complex idea. A holophrase may resemble an
interjection
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It is a diverse category, encompassing many different parts of speech, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curse ...
, but whereas an interjection is linguistic, and has a specific grammatical function, a holophrase is simply a vocalization memorized by rote and used without grammatical intent.
In toddlers
Toddler
A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...
s pass through a holophrastic stage early in life, during which they are able to communicate complex ideas using only single words and simple fixed expressions. As an example, the word "food" might be used to mean "Give me food" and the word "up" could convey "Pick me up".
Combined with
body language
Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...
, context, and tone of voice, holophrasis is usually sufficient to express a child's needs. Indeed, it is based almost entirely on context.
One interesting feature of holophrasis is its economy, and its emphasis on certainty rather than conceptual completeness. When expressing a complex idea, a child will often omit the more familiar concepts and use only the most recently learned word. For instance, when requesting a ball, a child is far more likely to specify "ball" than "want".
Although holophrasis is non-grammatical, it forms the foundation of a child's
vocabulary
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
.
Linguistics
In
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
, holophrasis is the use of a single word to form a whole sentence, notably in polysynthetic languages. It can also be a sentence composed of a single word, for example Polish "It's raining", or English "Thanks".
Notes
References
One word Communication
Grammar
{{grammar-stub