Morpheme - the smallest unit of language that carries meaning. Most morphemes are combinations of two or more phonemes. Morphemes include prefixes and suffices Grammar. A system of rules, called semantics and syntax that enables us to communicate with and understand others. Semantics is the set of rules used to derive meaning from morphemes, words, and even sentences.
Syntax refers to the rules used to order words into sentences.
Language Development Acquiring Language. Children's language development mirrors language structure - by moving from simplicity to complexity. The babbling stage in which they spontaneously utter a variety of sounds such as ah - goo. From this early babbling, a listener could not identity of the language of the household. By ten months of age their babbling has changed so that a trained ear can identify the language of the household.