The emphasis here is on communication as a continuous domain of development, and little is actually claimed about where a developing language might get its grammatical structure from. At the other end of the continuum are claims of discontinuity (e.g., Petitto, 1987).

Discontinuous change is most obvious during the first two decades of a human life, for example at birth and puberty. Such discontinuities are not mysteries. Many physical and biological systems are capable of changing in an abrupt, discontinuous way.

Continuous development is that which occurs gradually over time. An example from the domain of physical development is height. Discontinuous development, however, is categorical and refers to changes in stages.

Many theorists have added their own theories, insights, and opinions into the ring of whether or not development takes place in a continuous or discontinuous fashion. Continuous development is measurable and quantitative, while discontinuous development is qualitative.

Some prominent examples of discontinuous change are: business process reengineering, and blue ocean strategy. Business process reengineering works on a clean slate approach leading to fundamental change in the process design resulting in dramatic improvement in performance.

The continuity view says that change is gradual. Children become more skillful in thinking, talking or acting much the same way as they get taller. The discontinuity view sees development as more abrupt-a succession of changes that produce different behaviors in different age-specific life periods called stages.

Human height is an example of continuous variation. It ranges from that of the shortest person in the world to that of the tallest person. Any height is possible between these values. So it is continuous variation.

Today, most researchers acknowledge that both nature and nurture play a role in language acquisition. However, some researchers emphasize the influences of learning on language acquisition, while others emphasize the biological influences.

Stages of Language Acquisition

• Babbling. Within a few weeks of being born the baby begins to recognize it’s mothers’ voice.
• Holophrastic / One-word stage. The second stage of language acquisition is the holophrastic or one word stage.
• Two-Word Stage.
• Telegraphic Stage.