Language and Age:
Changes in linguistic behavior -
the transition from childhood to adolescence

1 Introduction 4

2 Linguistic behavior in childhood 4

2.1 Family and social class 5
2.2 Language in School 6
2.3 Gender-based differences 7
2.4 Peer talk 8

3 Adolescence 10

3.1 Age-grading and language change 10

4 Conclusion 13

5 Works Cited 14

1 Introduction

Language is one of the most powerful emblems of social behavior. In the normal transfer of information through language, we use language to send vital social messages about who we are, where we come from, and who we associate with.
Since the 1960s, a number of sociolinguistic studies have been carried out to reveal the significance of the interplay between language variation and language change and the effects of social factors on the language of different speaker groups within a speech community. Regional variation and variation due to social class and gender differences have been much discussed in those studies.
To a lesser extent sociolinguists have focused on age, ethnicity and networks as social factors. In the following, I will try to describe such differences and the effects of age on the language of speaker groups, namely children and adolescents. I will deal with the linguistic characteristics of both age groups as a steady and continuous development rather than comparing both stages of life with each other.

2 Linguistic behavior in childhood

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, "childhood" is - very obviously - "a time or state of being a child." Although there are children around in everyday life, people don′t seem to place great importance on their linguistic behavior. But indeed, the basis for future linguistic or communicative competence is set during those first years in life. And, as I will discuss later, this development has its peak during the period of adolescence.
Children normally go through several important stages: the preschool years, mainly surrounded by family members, the time they spend at a kindergarten, and the school years, where peer relations and other factors gain huge importance, not only socially but also linguistically.
I won′t go into deeper detail concerning the physical part of language acquisition in school or preschool children. Generally it can be said, that "most children by the age of four or five (and many even earlier) can correctly pluralize (....) and the major infrastructure of language has been completed by the ages six to eight (..)" (Thinkquest). From the sociolinguistic view children "appear to learn it so that they can join the conversation instead of using language to look after their physical needs" (Chambers 152).

2.1 Family and social class

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