A toddler smacks her lips to let her parents know that she wants food. This is an example of:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The toddler's action of smacking her lips is a symbolic gesture, as it is a nonverbal way of communicating a desire for food. A is incorrect because a language acquisition device is a proposed innate mechanism that humans have for acquiring language, which is not relevant to this situation. B is incorrect because parentese refers to the high-pitched, sing-song way that adults often speak to infants, which is also not relevant to this situation. D is incorrect because telegraphic speech refers to a type of speech in which only essential words are used, usually by young children just starting to speak in short phrases, which is also not relevant here.

A Toddler Smacks Her Lips to Let Her Parents Know