preverbal

/priːˈvɜrbəl/
adjective
  1. Relating to the stage of development before a child learns to speak.
    • The study tracked preverbal children's responses to music and speech.
    • Preverbal infants can still understand simple words and tones of voice.
    • Babies communicate through crying and gestures during their preverbal stage.
  2. Occurring before a verb in a sentence or phrase.
    • Linguists analyzed the preverbal elements in ancient texts to understand word order.
    • The preverbal position in this sentence is occupied by an adverb.
    • In some languages, negation is expressed by a preverbal particle.
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