What is defined as a significant slowness in language development for a child's age?

The term that describes a significant slowness in language development relative to a child's age is language delay. This condition indicates that a child's language skills are developing at a slower pace than their peers, which may affect various aspects of communication, including vocabulary, grammar, and the ability to use language in social contexts.

Language delay can manifest in different forms, such as limited speech, difficulty understanding language, or challenges in engaging in conversations. While all children develop language skills at different rates, a diagnosis of language delay suggests a need for assessment and potentially intervention to support the child in catching up to expected developmental milestones.

Options like language acquisition pertain to the overall process of learning language, language disorder refers to more significant impairments that affect one or more components of language, and language deficiency typically suggests an inadequacy in language skills without the specific emphasis on age-related development.