The Theories of Language

Acquisition
Mommy
!

I’m right
here
 I’m Can I
I’m How are
Hello fine! help
Hungry you? What’s
you?
up?

“It is hard to think of a topic

that has been of interest to
more academic disciplines
I can do
it!
than language.” Can I go
Bye-bye!
play?
I can I can
write! Daddy! read!
Mommy Night-
! night!
(Holtgraves, 2002)
 Let’s first explore the milestones of
language development:
• 12 weeks: cooing; less crying; smiling when spoken to
• 16 weeks: chuckling; searching for speaker
• 20 weeks: cooing with consonant-like sounds
• 6 months: single-syllable babbling; uttering ma, mu, da, di
• 8 months: echolalia, or babbling with reduplication ( ma, ma, ma); distinct intonation; uttering with
emphasis and emotion
• 10 months: babbling adds gurgling, bubble blowing, trying to imitate older people’s words
• 12 months: imitating sound sequences well; mamma and dadda; following requests (Where are your
ears?)
• 18 months: 3-50 words; holophrases, or single words to express complex meanings; prolific
vocabulary growth; babbling with several syllables and intonation; communicating information;
understanding nearly all spoken information; overextension, or the use of words in situations where
their meanings become inappropriate (i.e. calling all men dada)
• 24 months: 50+ word vocabulary; two-word sentences, such as telegraphic speech; clear effort to
communicate
• 2.5 years: new vocabulary everyday; no babbling; 2-3 word sentences; use of plurals, possessives,
past tense, prepositions
• 3 years: vocabulary of 1,000 words; near 100% intelligibility; L and R are frequently inarticulate; 3-4
word sentences; use of yes-no questions, wh questions, negatives
• 4 years: 1,500-1,600 words, fluent speech; most articulation is good except for sh, z, ch, j; 5-6 word
sentences

(Rathus, 2006)
 Other Characteristics of Children’s
Speech in the Pre-school Years
 Overregulization-Using regular rules (such as -ed
and -s) to change a word that is irregular (such
as go or buy).
 Fast-mapping-Quickly defining a word to
increase a child’s vocabulary.
 Whole-object assumption-The idea that a word
refers to an entire thing and not just a piece of
the whole.
 Contrast assumption/mutual exclusivity-The idea
that things can only have one name, and that
word cannot mean anything else.

(Rathus, 2006)
 Two Stages of Language
Acquisition:

• The first stage is known as the Prelanguage

Stage. Lasting from in utero to 10-12 months,
babies absorb what they hear even if we cannot
detect it and they cannot demonstrate what they
have learned. If children are not introduced to
language shortly after birth, it may difficult or
impossible to teach them language.
• The second stage is the Linguistic Stage. It
lasts from 12 to 36 months of age. Environment
and experience do affect language development.
(Wasserman, 2007)
 Also:
• The window for language acquisition is birth to 10 years; during this
period, it would be possible for a child to acquire a second
language.
• The brain is prepared for language acquisition prior to birth. Brain
synapses are where information is stored and synapses are pruned,
or die off, if they are not used. (Wasserman, 2007)
• A sensitive period is defined from 18-24 months until puberty, at
which time neural development provides plasticity which, in turn,
facilitates language learning. (Rathus, 2006)

Hell Hola
o
 Language is a human trait:
It separates our species from other animals.
Language helps us to survive as a group
and maintain our culture. Human
language is effective and economical,
using symbols to represent both the
physical and nonphysical; single items and
whole categories; fixed states and
changing processes; fiction and nonfiction,
truth and lies.

(Zhou, 2003)
PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
The concept that children learn
language through both
environment and innate
abilities.

Rathus, 2006
 Language is made of four
subsystems:
• Phonology: the use of phonemes, or the smallest speech sound
unit with a unique meaning. Phonology uses these building blocks
to create syllables and words. “Meat” uses three phonemes /m/, /ē/,
and /t/ to form one syllable.
• Semantics: makes language meaningful. Lexical semantics is the
word meaning and grammatical semantics is the meaning derived
from morphemes, or smallest meaning units.
• Grammar: includes morphology and syntax. Morphology are the
rules to form words (i.e. prefixes, suffixes, compounds). Syntax are
the rules for word order in sentences.
• Pragmatics: are the practical aspects of communication, involving
speech registers, intended meanings, polite expressions,
conversation rules, clearness and clarification.

(Zhou, 2003)
 The views are diverse:
Some believe that language development follows one universal path
with stage-like shifts, propelled by innate factors such as cooing,
babbling, using gestures, first words, telegraphic speech, vocabulary
growth spurts, overregularization, vocabulary growth, sentence
complexity, and subtle usages learned via formal education.

While others believe in options for different paths, changes through

learning and cognitive pre-requisites for language development.

Analyses of children's early words have led to an appreciation of

children's different approaches to language. There are different
pathways of two general styles known as analytic and holistic.

(Zhou, 2003)
Cecelia Shore, in her 1995 book, Individual
Differences in Language Development , analyzed
the different pathways of the two styles:
•Phonology: Holistic babies listen to intonation, take risks at trying larger sound
chunks. Analytic babies are phoneme-oriented, listening to distinct speech
patterns, articulation is clearer.
•Semantics: vocabulary size and type varies. Children are known as either having
referential vocabulary (labeling objects), or expressive vocabulary (personal-social
phrases as "don't do dat")
•Grammar: Analytic children use a nominal approach and telegraphic grammar,
while holistic children use a pronominal approach and pivot-open grammar.
Pragmatics: Children may differ in their understanding of the primary function of
language. Referential children appreciate the informative function of language, are
more object-oriented, declarative, with a low variety of speech acts. Expressive
children appreciate the interpersonal function of language, are more person-
oriented, imperative, with a high variety of speech acts.

Children use both styles; they are not mutually exclusive.

They may use them to different extents at different times.
(Zhou, 2003)
(Shore, 1995)
(Rathus, 2006)
 B.F.Skinner and Learning Theory
emphasized language performance rather than language competence. Contended
that children learn their "verbal behavior" through conditioning and imitation, not
maturation. Skinner did recognize that cooing and babbling may be inborn.
(Rathus, 2006)

A. Classical conditioning allows child to make associations between verbal stimuli,

internal responses, and situational contexts to understand words’ meanings.
B. Operant conditioning shapes child's speech through selective reinforcement
and punishment. Recent research shows support of Skinner’s view in that
children’s vocabulary accelerates with reinforcement. (Rathus, 2006)
C. Adult verbal behavior serves as environmental stimuli for Children’s
responses and as shaping agents. The use of “Motherese”, the simplified form of
speech; engaging a child in conversation with the use of questions; and responding
to a child’s expressive language efforts are all ways to enhance language growth.
(Rathus, 2006)
D. Learning theories do not explain:
1.children's creative logical sayings: calling the gardener "plantman"
2.adults don't always shape: especially grammar corrections, or adults
mimic cute mistakes
3. homes are not laboratories: stimulus-response-consequences are far
from perfect. (Zhou, 2003)
 Noam Chomsky and Nativist Perspective
Said that innate mechanisms for language development are pre-wired. Believed
that language is human species-specific; "unlearnable" due to impossibility of an
immature child to figure out a complex linguistic system from an imperfect,
inconsistent, opaque, and ambiguous language environment and that there is a
common structural core to all human languages. (Zhou, 2003)

A. Language-acquisition device (LAD) is assumed to be part of the brain as a

specialized area for processing language. Within the LAD is universal grammar, or
deep structure for transforming ideas into sentences. (Rathus, 2006) This explains
children's rapid ability in language or multiple languages. Once the LAD is triggered
by language exposure, the innate universal grammar will help the child to extract
specific rules for specific languages. Early production of sounds is universal, even
among deaf children.
1. At the linguistic level, people are sensitive to grammatical and linguistic
structures. Sentences in the active voice are processed more quickly than
sentences in the passive voice due to pauses or interruptions which cause people to
remember the "gist" of a sentence and not word-for-word phrasing. This suggests a
transformation from surface structure to deep structure by universal grammar. This
holds true for "creolized" or invented languages, including sign languages invented
by deaf children which resemble early childhood language. (Zhou, 2003)
 Noam Chomsky and Nativist Perspective
(continued)

2. At the biological level, babies seem to prefer the human voice and human face
to other sounds and figures. The developmental sequence is universal
worldwide. Deaf children coo and babble at the same times as hearing children.
Although the language environment is chaotic, it only takes a child 4-5 years to
speak their mother tongue as an adult without overt, systematic teaching.
a. infant brains respond asymmetrically to language versus nonlanguage
sounds. Studies confirm left hemisphere language specialization including
Broca's and Wernicke's areas.
B. Criticisms:
1. Universal grammar doesn't explain grammatical diversity in all human
languages.
2. Growth spurts in the brain do not correspond to language development in a
synchronous manner.
3. Nativist Perspective doesn't cover social interaction, contextual factors,
pragmatic usage, subtle expressions, speech acts and styles. (Zhou, 2003)
 Interactionist Theories
Try to bring nature and nurture together. Recognize reciprocal influences:
facilitating/constraining, dependence/modification, and factors from
biological, cognitive, linguistic, and social domains.

A. Jean Piaget as Cognitive Interactionist believed language reflects a degree

of cognitive maturity. Cognitive development, he argued, preceded that of
language. (David, 2004)
1.action-based interaction with the world gives rise to:
a. the forming of object concepts
b. separation of self from external world
c. mental representation of reality by images, signs, symbols (language).
B. Lev Vygotsky as Social-Functional Interactionist viewed language
development first, independent of cognition, secondly an intersection with
cognition, which then contributes significantly to cognitive development
afterward. (Zhou, 2003) Vygotsky said “Speech begins to serve intellect and
thoughts begin to be spoken” (Rathus, 2006).
1. Private or inner speech occurs when children’s thoughts are first spoken
aloud. This possibly helps to regulate behavior and the speech gradually
internalizes by age 6 or 7. (Rathus, 2006)
 Language Faculty as a Module
Debates whether language is a separate faculty or a part of general cognition.
(Zhou, 2003)
A. Supported as independent faculty by:
1. cognitive neuroscience
2. speech-processing studies
a. vocabulary and grammar as an autonomic function
b. pragmatics requiring cognitive capabilities and social learning
3. data on aphasia studies
4. unique case studies

B. Not supported:
1. cognitive psychology
a. grammar deficits as a result of global cognitive reduction
b. Broca's aphasia with comprehension impairment and grammar impairment
c. semantically related word substitutions in Wernicke's aphasia
d. plasticity helping to adapt for damaged areas
e. inseparability of phonology, syntax, pragmatics
(Zhou, 2003)
 Connectionist Model: an info-
processing model
A. Strength of connections of neural network
1. neurons at work, just like simultaneous
processing of a computer, results in self-
regulated adjustments at the connections.
2. Learner has trial-and-error period that gives
rise to stage-like progressions.
3. input is random, and rules are not
programmed, yet language occurs.
4. This model emphasizes learning, though not
the tabula rasa assumption.

(Zhou, 2003)
 Dynamic Systems Model
An ecosystem with heuristic principles modeled
after the biological system in general and
evolutionary system in particular.
A. multiple "species" (i.e. vocabulary and grammar
rules) in interrelated connections:
1.outcomes depend on changes of components
in their mutual dependency in competition for
limited internal and external resources.

(Zhou, 2003)
Thanks for viewing
our presentation.
We hope you learned
a lot about language
acquisition and the
various theories
 Bibliography
David, T. (2004, September 16). Theories about how young children acquire and develop
language. Nursery World. Retrieved June 24, 2007, from
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/theories.html

Holtgraves, T.M. (2002). Language as Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

KQED: KidsWatch. (2005). Articles About Cognitive Development. Retrieved June 21, 2007, from:
http://www.kqed.org/topics/family/parents/kidswatch/articles/cognitivearticles.jsp

Phillip, J. (2001). Skinner-Language Theories. Retrieved June 24, 2007, from

http://golum.riv.csu.edu.au/~srelf/SOTE/EML504/Skinner.html

Rathus, S. A. (2006). Childhood: Voyages in Development (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Shore, C.M. (1995). Individual Differences in Language Development. Vol. 7 in R. Plomin (Ed.) Individual
Differences and Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wasserman, L.H. (2007). The correlation between brain development, language acquisition, and cognition.
Early Childhood Education Journal, 34 (6), 415.

Zhou, Ling-Yi. (2003). Language. In Magill’s Encyclopedia of Social Sciences: Psychology (pp.876-882).
Salem Press.