1st Language Acquisition

How do humans acquire speech?

Language acquisitionWe are not born speaking! Language must be acquired.If we think of all that is entailed in knowing a language, it seems quite a challenge.

What Does a Baby Hear?

Language instinct?Language is innate only surface details need be learned?Human brain pre-programmed for language?Language a result of general cognitive abilities of the brain?Neither tells us what specific language to learn or particular structures to memorize.

Language UniversalsWhat evidence is there for innate knowledge of certain basic language features present in all human languages?LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS > UNIVERSAL GRAMMARAll languages have:A grammarBasic word order (in terms of SOV, etc.)Nouns and verbsSubjects and objectsConsonants and vowelsAbsolute and implicational tendenciesE.g., If a language has VO order, then modifiers tend to follow the head)

Universal Grammar Humans then learn to specialize this universal grammar (UG) for the particulars of their language.Word order, syntactic rule preferencesPhonetic and phonological constraintsLexiconSemantic interpretationsPragmatic ways to converse

Innateness of language?Evidence for innateness of language?The biologist Eric Lenneberg defined a list of characteristics that are typical of innate (pre-programmed) behaviors in animals.

Innate behaviors . . .Maturationally controlled, emerging before they are critically needed Do not appear as the result of a conscious decision.Do not appear due to a trigger from external events.Are relatively unaffected by direct teaching and intensive practice.Follow a regular sequence of milestones in their development.Generally observe a critical period for their acquisition

1. Emerge before necessary, cannot be forced before scheduledWhen is language necessary?

When do children usually begin speaking/using language coherently?

Is this criterion met?

2. Are not consciousDoes a child decide to consciously pursue certain skills? (e.g., walking)Do babies make a conscious decision to start learning a language?

Is this criterion met?

3. Are not triggeredWhat would prompt a child to take up soccer?What would prompt a child to begin speaking?

Is this criterion met?

4. Cannot be taughtWe CAN teach prescriptive rules of language. But were not talking about that here.We correct childrens errors sometimes. Does it help?Nobody dont like meIn fact, coaching seems to hurt rather than help language ability in children.Is this criterion met?

5. Follow milestonesIn spite of different backgrounds, different locations, and different upbringings, most children follow the very same milestones in acquiring language.

Is this criterion met?

6. Observe a critical periodWhat is a critical period?For first language acquisition, there seems to be a critical period of the first five years, during which children must be exposed to rich input. There is also a period, from about 10-16 years, when acquisition is possible, but not native-like.For SLA, the issue is more complicated More on that later.

Is this criterion met?

The Critical Period HypothesisCPH: Proposed by LennebergThis hypothesis states that there is only a small window of time for a first language to be natively acquired.If a child is denied language input, she will not acquire languageGenie: a girl discovered at age 13 who had not acquired her L1 (-- Isabelle and Victor)Normal hearing child born to deaf parents, heard language only on TV, did not acquire English L1

More evidence for the Critical Period Hypothesis Second Language Acquisition:Younger learners native fluency.Older learners (>17) never quite make it.ASL Acquisition:Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs) have an advantage over later-learners of ASL in signingAphasia:Less chance of recovery of linguistic function after age 5.Lateralization

So how DO we learn our first language?

L1 acquisition

Sound production/babblingPhonological acquisitionMorphological/Syntactical acquisitionSemantic development

Caretaker SpeechA register characterized by:Simplified lexiconPhonological reductionHigher pitchStressed intonationSimple sentencesHigh number of interrogatives (Mom) & imperatives (Dad)Caretaker Speech

ASL Caretaker SpeechSome of the major features:

signing on the baby's body (when the location should be on the signer)using the baby's hands to sign on the adult's or child's bodyplacing the child on the lap and facing away from the mothersigning on the objectsigning using the objectsigning bigger than normalsigning repeated more often then normalsign lasts longer than normalsigning special baby signs rather than adult signs

BSL Caretaker Speech

Acquisition of phoneticsFew weeks: cooing and gurgling, playing with sounds. Their abilities are constrained by physiological limitations. 4 months: distinguish between [a] and [i], so their perception skills are good.4-6 months: children babble, putting together vowels and consonants. This is not a conscious process! Experiment with articulation7-10 months: starts repeated babbling.10-12 months, children produce a variety of speech sounds. (even foreign sounds)

Acquisition of phonologyEarly stage: Unanalyzed syllables 15-21 months: words as a sequence of phonemes. Mastery of sounds differing in distinctive features (e.g., voicing)Duplicated syllables: mama, dada - CV is main syllable structure. They reduce = banana [na.na] 2 syllable wordsEarly mastery of intonation contours (even in non-tone languages)Perception comes before production (fis or fish?)Phonological Processes

LexiconBegin with simple lexical items for people/food/toys/animals/body functionsLexical Achievement:1-2 years old200-300 words (avg)3 years old900 words4 years old1500 words5 years old2100 words6-7 years old2500 wordsHigh school grad40,000 60,000 words!5,000 per year, 13 words a day -- Miller & Gildea

But Dont Animals Know Words, Too?Yes, butwhat about?Just (very) brilliant vs. just (only) a little dirty vs. a just (right) personBlunt (dull) instrument vs. blunt (sharp) commentI was literally (meaning figuratively) climbing the walls.Clip (on) a pin vs clip (off) hairCleave (together) vs cleave (apart)Dust (remove) or dust (sprinkle)And what does inflammable mean?

The acquisition of morphosyntaxAt about 12 months, children begin producing words consistently. One-word stage (holophrastic stage):Name people, objects, etc.An entire sentence is one wordTwo-word stage:Approximately 18-24 monthsUse consistent set of word orders: N-V, A-N, V-NWith structure determined by semantic relationshipsagent+action (baby sleep)possessor+possession (Mommy book)Telegraphic stage (only content words)

Word InflectionsFunction word sequences:

-ingPlural sPossessive s3rd person singular sPast marker edFuture marker willVerb to be (is, are)Plurals:All singularSome irregularsRegular s overgeneralized[-ez] for allOnly irregulars remain problematicIrregulars memorized

Copulas before ProgressivesWe see another consistent pattern: Copula: am, is, are, as in I am a doctor developed before progressive: am, is, are, as in I am singing.Shortened copula: as in Hes a bear came before the shortened progressive: Hes walking.

Negative FormationsNegatives1st stage - attach no/not to beginning of sentence (sometimes at end)2nd stage negatives appear between subject and verb (dont stayed at beginning in imperatives, but not cant)3rd stage appearance of nobody/nothing & anybody/anything & inconsistent use of to be verb is and auxiliary dummy do verb.

Question Formations1st stage wh- word placed in front of rest of sentence: Where daddy go?2nd stage addition of an auxiliary verb: Where you will go?3rd stage subject noun changes places with the auxiliary: Where will you go?

Acquisition of SemanticsConcrete before abstract:in/on before behind/in frontOverextensions: Using moon for anything roundUsing dog for any four-legged animalsUnderextensions:The word bird may not include pigeon, etc

Reviewing Linguistic Stages6-12 weeks: Cooing (googoo, gurgling, coocoo)6 months: Babbling (baba, mama, dada)8-9 months: Intonation patterns1-1.5 years: Holphrastic stage (one word)2 years: Two-word stage2.5 years: Telegraphic stage3,4 11 years: Fluent speech w/errors12 years+: Fluent speech

What about Second Language Acquisition?L2

Second Language Acquisition Differences from L1 acquisitionTeaching Methods

Terms/AssociationsNative Language = L1 =1st Language, mother tongue, heart language Second Language = L2 = Target Language or Learner Language

Second Language Acquisition (SLA)Research investigates how people attain proficiency in a language which is not their mother tongue

Differences between L1 and L2Interlanguage contrasts/similaritiesEqual transferSame word order, words, vowels2 to 1, 1 to 2 (splits)English his/her to Spanish su1 to 0, 0 to 1 (new items)English must learn to add new determiners: El hombre es mortal, English learners of Spanish must learn to forget the English do as a tense carrierOld 1 to New 1 (changes)English must learn new distribution for French nasalized vowels.

Mastering the L2Is there a critical period for L2?For authentic accent perhaps (Scovel 1999)Cognitive considerations? Does formal/abstract thought help or hinder?Conscious vs. automatic learningAffective considerations?Self-esteem, inhibition, risk-taking, anxiety, empathy, extroversionInterference between L1 and L2? Adult may be more vulnerable to interference from L1, but L1 can also be useful to adults Second Culture Influence?Culture shock, social distance, policy and politics

Stages of L2 AquisitionStage 1 Random errors/wild guessesThe different city is another one in the another two. Or John cans sing. Stage 2 EmergentLearner cannot correct errors even when pointed out.L: I go New YorkNS: You will go to New York? When?L: 1972.NS: Oh, you went to New York in 1972.L: Yes, I go 1972.

Stages of L2 AcquisitionStage 3 SystematicLearners can correct errors if pointed out:L: Many fish are in the lake. These fish are serving in the restaurants near the lake.NS: [laughing] The fish are serving?L: [laughing] Oh, no, the fish are served in the restaurants!Stage 4 StabilizationLearners can self-correct.However, often they may not correct errors that arent brought to their attention and may manifest fossilization of their L2.

L2 Teaching MethodsGrammar-translationMother tongue, vocabulary lists, grammar, classical texts, reading importantDirect (Berlitz) methodActive oral interaction, spontaneous use, no translation between L1 and L2, little grammar, good for smaller classesAudio-lingual methodDialogue form, mimicry, set phrases, drills, memorization, tapes, language labs, pronunciation important, little use of mother tongue, popular in military training, short-term effectivenessTodays approach? Multiple approaches, customized, interactive

Communicative CompetenceWhat is it, and how do we know when we have it?Pragmatic Competence:Functions of language: Discourse, sociolinguistic, cultural, contexts of useOrganizational Competence:Grammatical:Vocabulary, morphology, syntax, phonology, graphologyTextual:Cohesion, rhetorical organizationWhat does it mean to be fluent?