Telegraphic speech is the term for a simplified form of speech used during the early stages of language acquisition. In this form of language, sentences are formed of simple word combinations, usually basic nouns and verbs. The finer points of grammar, including articles and modifiers, are absent at this point and are usually learned later. Telegraphic speech is an important stage in language development, and most infants practice it at some point, regardless of what language they are learning. It is also used by adults who are recovering from a brain injury or illness, such as a stroke. Show The term “telegraphic speech” was coined by the American psychologist Roger Brown, the author of many influential language studies in the 1960s and 1970s. It refers to the telegraph, a telecommunications device used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Telegraph services charged by the word, so users famously employed only those words necessary to convey the essential meaning of a message. This also inspired the writing method known as “telegraphic style.” Telegraphic style is still used in modern times for newspaper headlines, TV listings, and other communications where content is more important than grammar.  In infancy, most people develop language skills by listening to and imitating the speech of adults and older children. Babies progress from babbling to speaking their first words by the time they are around 18 months old. From 18 to 24 months, they will generally move on to telegraphic speech, often two-word sentences that consist of a subject and a verb. An example in English would be “want cake,” meaning, “I would like some cake.” This process is universal; babies around the world learn their languages this way, except for those with developmental disabilities or other barriers to language acquisition. After about 24 months, most babies will progress to more complex grammatical constructions. These include articles like “the” and “a,” modifiers such as adjectives and adverbs, and past and future tense. There are indications that people who do not pass through these language development stages in early childhood may have difficulty acquiring language later in life. The specific brain functions involved in the acquisition and use of language are the subjects of ongoing study. Adults who have suffered damage to the brain as the result of a head injury or a stroke, for example, may have to relearn their language skills. These individuals will pass through the telegraphic speech stage again before progressing to more complex sentences. Unexplained use of telegraphic speech can also be an indicator of a brain or nerve disorder, such as multiple sclerosis. Some voice-activated computer programs are not sophisticated enough to recognize complex sentences. Users of these programs must sometimes phrase their commands in telegraphic speech for best results. At approximately age 2, children enter the Two-Word Stage of language development. During this stage they exhibit telegraphic speech, which is speech that sounds very much like a telegram, has words arranged in an order that makes sense, and contains almost all nouns and verbs. For example, a child at this stage of development who wants to get milk may say "get milk", as opposed to saying just "milk". As you can see, there are only two words, they are in an order that makes
sense, there is one verb and one noun, and it sounds like a telegram. What is telegraphic speech and when does it occur?The Telegraphic stage occurs around the age of 2 1/2 years. In this stage, children begin stringing more than two words together, perhaps three or four or five at a time. However, the style of speaking children use in this stage resembles the way of writing that used to be used in telegrams.
What is the importance of telegraphic speech?Telegraphic speech, one of the first steps of language development, helps your child do the following: communicate thoughts and feelings, thus avoiding frustration. share their experiences. experiment with sentence structure.
What is telegraphic sentence?Typical in journalistic writing, a telegraphic sentence states the facts outright with no 'fluff' in the sentence providing all of the essential elements without extra words.
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