The ontolinguistic approach to diagnostics and linguodidactic support for children’s speech development (to the 35th anniversary of the Department of Children’s Speech)

This article examines the history of children’s speech studies at the Department of Children’s Speech at the Herzen State Pedagogical University of the Russian Federation and the role of S. N. Tseitlin (1938–2026) in the development of Russian ontolinguistics: the creation of the Children’s Speech Data Collection, the development of research topics, and the formation of a scientific school. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that, although the term ontolinguistics has become firmly established in scientific discourse – both oral and written – the terminology ontolinguistic approach is rarely used in scientific works. However, the significance of this approach, based on implicit learning theory, in speech diagnostics and linguodidactic support for monolinguals, bilinguals, and children with speech impairments is extremely significant. The purpose of this work is to popularize the scientific legacy of S. N. Tseitlin and describe the specifics of the ontolinguistic approach to the diagnosis, development, and correction of children’s speech. This article ana lyzes the relationship between the terms ontogenetic principle, ontolinguistic aspect, and ontolinguistic approach. It demonstrates the inadvisability of equating the speech therapy and psychological term ontogenetic principle with the psycholinguistic term ontolinguistic approach. The speech therapy approach is broader: it considers not only the ontogenesis of speech but also general mental development. Although speech correction technology is based on a description of speech formation during ontogenesis, speech therapists’ knowledge of the process of speech development is often limited and often relies on other people’s research. The ontolinguistic approach is based on specific data obtained through thorough research of each component of language ability. The article provides examples illustrating this assertion. Research into the process of children’s acquisition of the sound aspect of speech, grammar, vocabulary, and stylistics allows for the creation of optimal conditions for assisting children in mastering various components of language.

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