How do adults contribute to infant lexical development? Discuss.

... How do adults contribute to infant lexical development? Discuss. In order to full answer the essay question the antithetical question of 'how do adults not contribute to infant lexical development?' should be answered. How adults contribute requires a response based on the childs acquisition of empirical knowledge (knowledge existing outside of the individual) compared to innate knowledge (that which exists within us, independently of our environment) Holistically, though children seem to develop speech on their own initiative, interaction with adults provides them with the nuances of their cultural lexicon. Trevarthan (1974a) found that babies from birth to six months behaved in a way which was termed pre-speech, or pre-lexical communication. They seemed to move their mouths in what appears as an imitation of speech. When they are about two months, they make almost indistinct vowel sounds to communicate with others. Which is probably the foundation for the turn taking skills found

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