This process has been the subject of study of linguists, philosophers and psychologists throughout the history trying to understand and explain how a child makes the use of a language so spontaneously and how they learn it so accurately without any overt instruction. The question is how can children acquire a language and be able to use it in a so astonishing way? For the purposes of this essay I will focus on the process of language acquisition and the importance and influence of the environment as well as how Nature and nurture interact to support its complexity and elaboration throughout a human’s life. Language acquisition starts at birth. The child is exposed to a spoken language and the Phonological system starts working.
Compare to the time it takes in adults’ language learning, it is widely believed that children acquire their first language at a much higher speed. There have been a lot of researches concerning this topic. For example, White (2003) discussed about the theoretical problem of first language acquisition from the perspective of universal grammar; Krashen (1982) has proposed five hypothesis concerning principles and practices on the topic of second language acquisition. In order to analyze this topic, it is appropriate to start with children’s first language acquisition. By the comparison and analysis first language acquisition process, we may discover the features of language acquisition as well as the factors that affect the process.
Also, the capacity of the language is specific. The ability to acquire the languages or the child's first language is independent of intelligence. The acquisition pattern is comparatively orderly across children, different cultures and different languages. Language is acquired rapidity and easily, and without the instruction benefit. Children usually show creativity in their input which they exhibition to gain and acquire.
Second Language Acquisition- A literature review of the critical period hypothesis: are children more prone to learning a second language? The world human beings live in is rising due to an unstoppable tide of technology merging all cultures into one. This requires that individuals learn more than one language to fulfill their vocational and social duties in general. Ever since the beginning of time, individuals used different forms of language to communicate; this has distinguished them from animals, some used drawings, others used letters and finally humanity developed in a way to reach the ultimate idea of language and grammar. Language is one of the major tools of communication amongst human beings; cognitive psychologists thus thrive to
Language Acquisition “Natural language constitutes one of the most complex aspects of human cognition, yet children already have a good grasp of their native language before they can tie their shoes or ride a bicycle”. ……… said that: The relative simplicity of acqui-sition proposes that when a tyke makes an "estimate" about the structure of dialect on the premise of clearly constrained proof, the tyke has an uncanny propensity to figure right. This firmly proposes there must be a cozy relationship between the components by which the kid secures and forms dialect and the structure. (p)(3) “Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences
Language acquisition In An introduction to language, (Sixth Edition p. 319) Linguistic aptitude develops in stages. These stages are different from one another. There are different stages of language development a child goes through in order to acquire language. Phonological development is the first stage followed by lexical development and syntactic development. The Phonological stage can start at six months and can be a very difficult process for infants to go through and difficult for us adults to grasp or understand.
It states that if humans didn’t have the divine gift or evolution then how would have they devised the first language? There are other hypotheses as to how language might have been invented by humans on the basis of a primitive system of hominid communication. Each hypothesis was based on the idea that the invention of language and its gradual refinement served as a continuous stimulus to additional human mental development. However, most linguists believe that the origin of language is still a mystery. But the inventive, sarcastic names given these hypotheses by their critics prove that even linguists can at times be creative.
Describe the various stages of the first language acquisition. In the beginning, I'd like to say that learning a new language can be an interesting hobby as it provides the chance to understand and communicate with a foreign culture and to study literary works. When I know a language, I can speak and be understood by others who know that language. So we can conclude what the language is. It's a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar…etc.
Furthermore he states there is optimal age limit and stage of development of language and that there is no need to trigger it, one gets it regardless of culture or environment and that there was absolutely no need to learn any rules as there is no universal grammar. He says language do not have to be corrected and he says universal grammar is poverty of stimulus as you can write a sentence grammatically correct yet it might fail to make sense, for example (Ambridge & Lieven 2011) quoted Chomsky 1959 Universal Grammar example “colorless green ideas sleep furiously”, all the rules of grammar are correct but it makes no sense. Chomsky lacked empirical evidence and the complexity of his argument was shallow as there is no proof of his
Obviously, every speaker of a language has mastered and internalized a generative grammar that expresses his knowledge of his language. This is not say that he is aware of the rules of grammar or even that he can become aware of them or that this statement about his intuitive knowledge of the language are necessarily accurate”(Chomsky,A( 1965) Theory in Syntax). As it could be observed in the previous paragraphs is clear the main difference between those approaches. Moreover another important feature that distinguishes both is the study of language. In Structuralism is noticed that language is analysed syntactically like a structure, in order to link each element in a structural manner, therefore the study of the language is done in a specific manner.