1st Language 1st Language AcquisitionAcquisition

How do humans How do humans acquire speech?acquire speech?

Language acquisitionLanguage acquisition

We are not born speaking!We are not born speaking! Language must be acquired.Language must be acquired.If we think of all that is entailed If we think of all that is entailed

in knowing a language, it seems in knowing a language, it seems quite a challenge.quite a challenge.

What Does a Baby Hear?

Language instinct?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 UniversalsLanguage Universals What evidence is there for innate knowledge of

certain basic language features present in all human languages? LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS > UNIVERSAL LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS > UNIVERSAL

GRAMMARGRAMMAR All languages have:

A grammarBasic word order (in terms of SOV, etc.)Nouns and verbsSubjects and objectsConsonants and vowelsAbsolute and implicational tendencies

E.g., If a language has VO order, then modifiers tend to follow the head)

““Universal Grammar”Universal Grammar”

Humans then learn to specialize this “universal grammar” (UG) for the particulars of their language.

Word order, syntactic rule preferencesWord order, syntactic rule preferences Phonetic and phonological constraintsPhonetic and phonological constraints LexiconLexicon Semantic interpretationsSemantic interpretations Pragmatic ways to conversePragmatic ways to converse

Innateness of language?Innateness of language?

Evidence for innateness of language?

The biologist Eric LennebergEric Lenneberg defined a list of characteristics that are typical of innate (pre-programmed) behaviors in animals.

Innate behaviors . . .Innate behaviors . . .

1. Maturationally controlled, emerging before they are critically needed

2. Do not appear as the result of a conscious decision.

3. Do not appear due to a trigger from external events.

4. Are relatively unaffected by direct teaching and intensive practice.

5. Follow a regular sequence of “milestones” in their development.

6. Generally observe a critical period for their acquisition

1. Emerge before necessary, Emerge before necessary, cannot be forced before scheduledcannot be forced before scheduled

When is language necessary?

When do children usually begin speaking/using language coherently?

Is this criterion met?

2. Are not conscious2. Are not conscious

Does 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 triggered. Are not triggered

What would prompt a child to take up soccer?

What would prompt a child to begin speaking?

Is this criterion met?

4. Cannot be taughtCannot be taught

We CAN teach prescriptive rules of language. But we’re not talking about that here.

We correct children’s errors sometimes. Does it help?– ‘‘Nobody don’t like me’Nobody don’t like me’

In fact, “coaching” seems to hurt rather than help language ability in children.

Is this criterion met?

5. Follow milestonesFollow milestones

In 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 periodObserve a critical period

What is a critical period?What 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 HypothesisThe Critical Period Hypothesis

CPH: Proposed by LennebergCPH: Proposed by Lenneberg– This 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 language

• Genie: 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 More evidence for the Critical Critical PeriodPeriod HypothesisHypothesis

Second Language Acquisition:Second Language Acquisition:– Younger learners native fluency.– Older learners (>17) never quite make it.

ASL Acquisition:ASL Acquisition:– Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs) have an advantage over later-

learners of ASL in signing

Aphasia:Aphasia:– Less chance of recovery of linguistic function after age 5.– Lateralization

So how DO we learn So how DO we learn our first language?our first language?

L1 acquisitionL1 acquisition

Sound production/babblingSound production/babbling Phonological acquisitionPhonological acquisition Morphological/Syntactical Morphological/Syntactical

acquisitionacquisition Semantic developmentSemantic development

Caretaker SpeechCaretaker Speech A register characterized by:

– Simplified lexiconSimplified lexicon– Phonological reductionPhonological reduction– Higher pitchHigher pitch– Stressed intonationStressed intonation– Simple sentencesSimple sentences– High number of interrogatives (Mom) & High number of interrogatives (Mom) &

imperatives (Dad)imperatives (Dad)Caretaker Speech

ASL Caretaker SpeechASL Caretaker Speech

Some of the major features:Some 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 phoneticsAcquisition of phonetics Few 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 articulation

7-10 months: starts repeated babbling. 10-12 months, children produce a variety of

speech sounds. (even ‘foreign’ sounds)

Acquisition of phonologyAcquisition of phonology

Early 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, dadamama, dada - CV is main

syllable structure. They reduce = bananabanana [na.nana.na] 2 syllable words

Early mastery of intonation contours (even in non-tone languages)

Perception comes before production (‘fisfis’ or ‘fishfish’?)

Phonological Processes

LexiconLexicon Begin with simple lexical items for

people/food/toys/animals/body functions Lexical Achievement:Lexical Achievement:

• 1-2 years old 200-300 words (avg)• 3 years old 900 words• 4 years old 1500 words• 5 years old 2100 words• 6-7 years old 2500 words• High school grad 40,000 – 60,000 words!

“5,000 per year, 13 words a day” -- Miller & Gildea

But Don’t Animals Know Words, Too?But Don’t Animals Know Words, Too?

Yes, but…what about…?– Just (very) Just (very) brilliant vs. just (only)just (only) a little dirty vs. a

just (right)just (right) person– Blunt (dull)Blunt (dull) instrument vs. blunt (sharp)blunt (sharp) comment– I was literally (meaning figuratively)literally (meaning figuratively) climbing the

walls.– Clip (on)Clip (on) a pin vs clip (off)clip (off) hair– Cleave (together)Cleave (together) vs cleave (apart)cleave (apart)– Dust (remove)Dust (remove) or dust (sprinkle)dust (sprinkle)– And what does inflammableinflammable mean?

The acquisition ofThe acquisition of morphosyntax morphosyntax

At about 12 months, children begin producing words consistently.

One-word stageOne-word stage (holophrastic stage):– Name people, objects, etc.– An entire sentence is one word

Two-word stage:Two-word stage:– Approximately 18-24 months– Use consistent set of word orders: N-V, A-N,

V-N…– With structure determined by semantic

relationships• agent+action (baby sleep)• possessor+possession (Mommy book)

Telegraphic stageTelegraphic stage (only content words)

Word InflectionsWord Inflections Function word sequences:Function word sequences:

1. -ing

2. Plural –s

3. Possessive –’s

4. 3rd person singular –s

5. Past marker –ed

6. Future marker ‘will’

7. Verb ‘to be’ (is, are)

Plurals:1. All singular

2. Some irregulars

3. Regular ‘s’ overgeneralized

4. [-ez] for all

5. Only irregulars remain problematic

6. Irregulars memorized

Copulas before ProgressivesCopulas before Progressives

We see another consistent pattern:We see another consistent pattern:

Copula:Copula: am, is, are,am, is, are, as in I am a am a doctordoctor developed before progressive:progressive: am, is, are,am, is, are, as in I am singingI am singing.

Shortened copula:Shortened copula: as in He’s a bearHe’s a bear came before the shortened shortened progressive:progressive: He’s walkingHe’s walking.

Negative FormationsNegative Formations

Negatives 1st stage - attach no/notno/not to beginning of sentence

(sometimes at end) 2nd stage – negatives appear between subject and

verb (don’tdon’t stayed at beginning in imperatives, but not can’tcan’t)

3rd stage – appearance of nobody/nothingnobody/nothing & anybody/anythinganybody/anything & inconsistent use of “to be” verb isis and auxiliary “dummy” dodo verb.

Question FormationsQuestion Formations

1st stage – wh- word placed in front of rest of sentence: WhereWhere daddy go? daddy go?

2nd stage – addition of an auxiliary verb: Where you Where you willwill go? go?

3rd stage – subject noun changes places with the auxiliary: Where Where will will you go?you go?

Acquisition of SemanticsAcquisition of Semantics

Concrete before abstract:Concrete before abstract:– ‘‘in/on’ before ‘behind/in front’in/on’ before ‘behind/in front’

Overextensions:Overextensions: – Using ‘moon’ for anything roundUsing ‘moon’ for anything round– Using ‘dog’ for any four-legged Using ‘dog’ for any four-legged

animalsanimals

Underextensions:Underextensions:– The word ‘bird’ may not include The word ‘bird’ may not include

‘pigeon’, etc‘pigeon’, etc

Reviewing Linguistic StagesReviewing Linguistic Stages 6-12 weeks:6-12 weeks: Cooing (googoo, gurgling, coocoo) 6 months:6 months: Babbling (baba, mama, dada) 8-9 months:8-9 months: Intonation patterns 1-1.5 years:1-1.5 years: Holphrastic stage (one word) 2 years:2 years: Two-word stage 2.5 years:2.5 years: Telegraphic stage 3,4 – 11 years:3,4 – 11 years: Fluent speech w/errors 12 years+:12 years+: Fluent speech

What about What about Second Language Second Language

Acquisition?Acquisition?L2 L2

Second Language Second Language Acquisition Acquisition

Differences from L1 Differences from L1 acquisitionacquisition

Teaching MethodsTeaching Methods

Terms/AssociationsTerms/Associations

Native LanguageNative Language = L1 =1st Language, mother tongue, heart language

Second LanguageSecond Language = L2 = Target Language or Learner Language

Second Language Acquisition (SLA)Second Language Acquisition (SLA)– Research investigates how people attain proficiency in

a language which is not their mother tongue

Differences between L1 and L2Differences between L1 and L2 Interlanguage contrasts/similaritiesInterlanguage contrasts/similarities

– Equal transfer• Same word order, words, vowels

– 2 to 1, 1 to 2 (splits)• English his/herhis/her to Spanish susu

– 1 to 0, 0 to 1 (new items)• English must learn to add new determiners: El hombre es El hombre es

mortal, mortal, English learners of Spanish must learn to “forget” the English “do”“do” as a tense carrier

– Old 1 to New 1 (changes)• English must learn new distribution for French nasalized

vowels.

Mastering the L2Mastering the L2 Is there a critical period for L2?Is there a critical period for L2?

– For authentic accent perhaps (Scovel 1999) Cognitive considerations? Cognitive considerations?

– Does formal/abstract thought help or hinder?– Conscious vs. automatic learning

Affective considerations?Affective considerations?– Self-esteem, inhibition, risk-taking, anxiety, empathy,

extroversion Interference between L1 and L2? Interference between L1 and L2?

– Adult may be more vulnerable to interference from L1, but L1 can also be useful to adults

Second Culture Influence?Second Culture Influence?– Culture shock, social distance, policy and politics

Stages of L2 AquisitionStages of L2 Aquisition

Stage 1 – Random errors/wild guessesStage 1 – Random errors/wild guesses– The different city is another one in the another twoThe different city is another one in the another two. Or

John cans singJohn cans sing.

Stage 2 – EmergentStage 2 – Emergent– Learner cannot correct errors even when pointed out.

• L: I go New YorkL: I go New York

• NS: You will go to New York? When?NS: You will go to New York? When?

• L: 1972.L: 1972.

• NS: Oh, you went to New York in 1972.NS: Oh, you went to New York in 1972.

• L: Yes, I go 1972.L: Yes, I go 1972.

Stages of L2 AcquisitionStages of L2 Acquisition

Stage 3 – SystematicStage 3 – Systematic– Learners can correct errors if pointed out:

• L: Many fish are in the lake. These fish are serving in the L: Many fish are in the lake. These fish are serving in the restaurants near the lake.restaurants near the lake.

• NS: [laughing] The fish are serving?NS: [laughing] The fish are serving?• L: [laughing] Oh, no, the fish are served in the restaurants!L: [laughing] Oh, no, the fish are served in the restaurants!

Stage 4 – StabilizationStage 4 – Stabilization– Learners can self-correct.– However, often they may not correct errors that aren’t

brought to their attention and may manifest fossilizationfossilization of their L2.

L2 Teaching MethodsL2 Teaching Methods Grammar-translationGrammar-translation

– Mother tongue, vocabulary lists, grammar, classical texts, reading important

Direct (Berlitz) methodDirect (Berlitz) method– Active oral interaction, spontaneous use, no translation between

L1 and L2, little grammar, good for smaller classes Audio-lingual methodAudio-lingual method

– Dialogue form, mimicry, set phrases, drills, memorization, tapes, language labs, pronunciation important, little use of mother tongue, popular in military training, short-term effectiveness

Today’s approach?Today’s approach? – Multiple approaches, customized, interactive

Communicative CompetenceCommunicative Competence What is it, and how do we know when we What is it, and how do we know when we

have it?have it?– Pragmatic Competence:Pragmatic Competence:

• Functions of language: – Discourse, sociolinguistic, cultural, contexts of use

– Organizational Competence:Organizational Competence:• Grammatical:

– Vocabulary, morphology, syntax, phonology, graphology

• Textual:– Cohesion, rhetorical organization

What does it mean to beWhat does it mean to be fluentfluent??