Specificities of the communication process of socially isolated and deaf children due to late exposure to language

Abstract

The topic of this paper, as well as the very subject of the author's interest, is the way socially isolated and deaf-mute children communicate, with special attention devoted to specificities of this process. Through the time span, using different examples from life, the author illustrates the consequencs that years of social isolation could cause to the process of language acquisition and use, and consequently to the very process of communication of these children. Special attention has been devoted to the discussion of the critical period hypothesis relating to language acquisition. The author points out the necessity of children's being exposed to language during this critical period in order to acquire a language with the full complexity of its syntax and lexicon. Besides that the author researches for specificities of language acquisition and the way of communicating of deaf-mute children, comparing the process of language acquisition by children with impaired hearing with the natural process of language acquisition and usage of speech by children with no obstacles. The special accent is put on the late exposure of children to language and the consequences it causes to the very process of language acquisition, regardless the fact whether they acquire spoken or sign language. Additionally, the author pays special attention to research of other nonverbal signs that accompany language, speech or sign language in the communication process, analyzing their mutual connection as well as the role these signs play in the communicative act and communication process as a whole.