Telegraphic speech, according to

linguistics Linguistics is the 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. Linguis ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, is speech during the two-word stage of

language acquisition Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to ...

in children, which is laconic and efficient.

Background

The name derives from the fact that someone sending a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

was generally charged by the word. To save money, people typically wrote their telegrams in a very compressed style, without conjunctions or

articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

Term in anthropology and developmental psychology

As children develop language, they speak similarly: when a child says "Daddy here", it is understood that the child means "Daddy is here", omitting the copula. The words dropped in this style of speech are

closed class In grammar, a part of speech or part-of-speech (abbreviated as POS or PoS, also known as word class or grammatical category) is a category of words (or, more generally, of lexical items) that have similar grammatical properties. Words that are assi ...

function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...

words. In the field of

, telegraphic speech is defined as a form of communication consisting of simple two-word long sentences often composed of a noun and a verb that adhere to the grammatical standards of the culture's language. For example, an English-speaking child would say "Give cupcake" to express that they would like a cupcake rather than "Cupcake give", as a Turkish- or Japanese-speaking child would. Researchers have noted that this period of

occurs some time between the ages of 18–36 months and is present not just in English-speaking cultures, but can be found worldwide.

Clinical term

In adults, regression to telegraphic speech may indicate a neurological problem such as

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. Telegraphic speech is also common in non-fluent aphasia (

Broca's aphasia Expressive aphasia, also known as Broca's aphasia, is a type of aphasia characterized by partial loss of the ability to produce language ( spoken, manual, or written), although comprehension generally remains intact. A person with expressive apha ...

), which is caused by a stroke damaging the posterior-inferior frontal lobe. It is also a potential symptom of schizophrenia, as a manifestation of manneristic speech.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telegraphic Speech Language acquisition acquisition-stub

Background

Term in anthropology and developmental psychology

Clinical term

See also

References