Genetics can play a role in how a child acquires language. If a child experiences language deficits, the reason is partly due to genetic factors. Scientists know language development is linked to genetic structure. Genetics' relation to language is an ongoing study, however, and scientists are interested in which specific genetic combination influences language.
Toddlers hear the adults around them speaking every day. The language patterns chosen by a child and the use of speech are influenced by what the child hears. Children pay close attention to their caregivers because they are still very codependent and rely on caregivers for many needs. While a caregiver speaks, children listen. Children often repeat word patterns, accents and sentence structure based on what they hear.
A child's perception, or understanding, of the spoken word supports his language development. A child who has issues hearing perceives language differently from a child with no auditory problems. This varied perception creates an altered language pattern for the hearing-impaired child.
Cognitive processes include the frequency of a language. A child who hears language at a higher frequency, or more often than other children, acquires language faster than children who hear the language at normal frequencies. Caregivers are wise to speak to children during normal daily activities, such as diaper changing, to improve the frequency of language.
Children tend to lend world knowledge to their language skills. For example, if a child has a hard time recalling the word "keyboard," the reason may be because the child does not understand a computer. In the same manner, relational terms such as "next to" are learned at different ages. So a child's use of such terms comes with age rather than through ritual learning.
Linguistics factors into early language acquirement when a toddler uses a learned word to refer to a new object. Referring to a toy boat as a car is a common toddler linguistic occurrence. Linguistics also extends to word endings or variants on the same word. Because children attempt to learn a vast vocabulary, they try to assume a word's meaning by breaking the word apart and searching for context clues. For this reason, "running" becomes "run." Telling a toddler to stop running translates simply to "run." Many caregivers understand telling a toddler to stop an activity usually results in the opposite behavior, and this is partly due to the toddler's limited linguistic ability.