Language Acquisition
By Alan D. DeSantis
Biology vs. Culture
• Each culture supplies its inhabitants with their
own language
• But how and when we acquire language is
universal
• All human brains are hardwired to learn language
in the exact same way
The Open Language Window
• Think of a window opening in a child’s mind from 6
months to 8 years
• As language comes through the open window, there
is a “program” that arranges and organizes all
incoming data (talk) in the exact same way
Children’s Mistakes:
Not Just Mimicry
• We use to think children learn language solely
through mimicking adults
• But their mistakes become very predictable
Three Case Studies:
When Our Language
Window is Opened
Case Study Of “The Wild Boy”
• Victor is the name given to a boy found roaming the
woods of Averyon in southern France toward the end of
September 1799.
• He behaved like a wild animal and gave all indications
that he had been raised by wild animals, eating off the
floor, making canine noises, disliking baths and clothes.
• He also could not speak.
• He was taken in by a Doctor (Jean Marc Itard) who had
developed a reputation for teaching the deaf to speak.
• After years of work, Itard failed to teach Victor more
than a few words.
• Victor was eventually forgotten. A state pension kept
him alive, like an animal in a zoo.
• When he died no one noticed.
Case Study of Genie
• A similar event unfolded in Los Angeles in 1970 when a 13-year-old
girl was discovered who had been isolated in a baby crib
– Her father had decided that she was retarded at birth, and because of this
subjected her to severe isolation as well as ritual ill-treatment.
– There was no radio or TV in the house due to the father's intolerance of noise
– She was physically immature, had difficulty walking and could only babble like
an infant
• Psychologists at UCLA spent years trying to teach Genie to speak.
• While Genie did get to the point where she could communicate, her
speech never advanced beyond a 3-year old level
– In other words, she could use words to the same extent as chimpanzees but
could not manipulate grammar
• At middle age she stopped talking altogether and was soon committed
to a mental institution.
Case Study of Vincent
• “Hearing” speech is not enough—children need real life
people talking to them.
• Vincent was born to deaf parents who communicated with
him by signing
– He became fully competent from infancy
• His parents also encouraged him to watch a lot of TV
thinking that he would be able to learn the spoken word
• By 3, however, he was still speechless
– Researchers began working with him at 3
– He was seriously behind—and still feels some of the effects
• In short, TV is no substitute to real live people
What American Parents Do
• Characteristics of “responsible” parent talk
• But this is not necessary:
• Children don’t need it. They pick up language
simple by being in an environment where language
is used.
• The “responsible” model only functions to:
– 1)
– 2)
Stages of
Language Acquisition
Stages of Language Acquisition
• 1) Babbling
• Starts at 6 months
– A. Utters various identical syllables
– B. These sounds happen across all cultures
– C. Children learn to make these
“protowords” into meaningful utterances
Stages of Language Acquisition
• 2) One-Word Stage
• One year (Same time they learn to walk)
– A. They utter their first right word
– B. Words are overgeneralized
– C. Single words are used to convey whole
propositions
Stages of Language Acquisition
• 3) Two-Word Stage
• 20 Months
• A. Develop idea of Subject and Predicate
• B. Vocabulary is at 50 words
Stages of Language Acquisition
• 4) Beyond Two Words (big category)
• 2.0-2.6 Years of Age
– A. Statements show increasing knowledge of syntax,
grammar, word order, etc.
– B. No more overgeneralizations
Stages of Language Acquisition
• 5) Morpholigical (word parts) and
Grammatical Acquisition
Stages of Language Acquisition
• Some of Brown’s Stages:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1) is and was verbs
2) in prepositions
3) on prepositions
4) plural nouns--toys, cats, dogs
5) irregular past tense verbs--came, fell, saw, hurt
6) possessive nouns--daddy’s drums
7) articles--a and the
8) past tense verbs--played, washed, wanted
• Parent’s usage of these 14 has little impact
– Parents use articles (a & the) the most, but it is 7th
– Parents use prepositions rarely, but it is 2nd
• This point to “hardwiring”
Acquisition of
Vocabulary
Acquisition of Vocabulary
• At 1.8
• By 5
• By 6
• By 8
• After 8,
Acquisition of Vocabulary
• Some Additional Information on Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
An educated adult knows
Shakespeare used
King James Bible uses
1999 American Heritage Dictionary
• Oxford English Dictionary (mac daddy)
Phonological Acquisition
or making the right sounds
Phonological Acquisition
(Among Americans)
• A. At 2 months, babies react to sounds
• B. By 9 months, a child mimics adult
intonation
Phonological Acquisition
(Among Americans)
• C. Sounds learned by Age
– 1.0
– By 2.0
– By 3.0
– By 4.0
Phonological Acquisition
(Among Americans)
• D. Why This Acquisition Order?
– Not only parents usage
– More important is “Functional Load”
• E. Children know more than they can say!
– Understanding precedes usage
– 1.6 child recognizes 200 words, but can only say 50