Link to glossary

 

 

 

English Structures

First Language Acquisition

Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Moodle TESL 551: Crowley   Houts-Smith
 

 

 

 

 

Review and Introduction

In the last lesson we looked at where and how language is processed in the brain, and we also considered how language interrelates with thought. Vygotsky suggests that language and thought begin as separate abilities that begin to intertwine at about age two. This suggestion leads to a new question: by what processes do thought and language develop across the life of an individual? At what point to they begin to intertwine, and what happens after that beginning point?

This lesson looks closely at the process through which a child develops language. Although the question of how thought devlops is of interest, too, it will not be described with the level of detail devoted to language acquisition. However, the final section will consider how the interrelationship of thought and language develops along with the acquisition of language.

Defining First Language Acquisition

First language acquisition refers to how a child develops its ability to speak and use the language of its environment: its native language or languages.

Language is part of the environment that a child is born into, and it is even part of the environment before birth. Therefore, first language acquisition begins at or before birth. This means we have to begin by talking about babies.


Activity: Describing Baby Talk

Consider the following questions:

When people talk baby talk, what are they doing differently from talking regular talk?

And why is it called baby talk?

Discussion - Lesson 3, Page 1


Stages of First Language Acquisition

There are roughly six stages of acquisition:

    1. Prelinguistic Stage
    2. Babbling Stage
    3. First Words
    4. Two-word Stage
    5. Telegraphic Stage
    6. Beyond Telegraphic Stage

1. The Prelinguistic Stage

The prelinguistic stage ranges from birth to approximately 6 months. Noises in this stage include crying, whimpering, and cooing. These sounds are not considered language because they are involuntary responses to stimuli. Linguists consider human language creative – as free from internal or external stimuli. Since these noises do not fit within the definition of language, this stage occurs before language is produced by the child. It is, therefore, the prelinguistic stage.

During this stage, babies’ vocal tracts are more like an animal’s than an adult human’s. The larynx is high, there is no pharynx, and the epiglottis and velum can be in contact with each other. Additionally, the velum cannot firmly close off nasal cavity, so all sounds are nasalized. The tongue fills the entire mouth and is controlled by external muscles. Extrinsic muscle control of the tongue only allows the tongue to be "shoved" in and out, up and down, as a whole. Some muscular contractions of the tongue itself are possible, but tongue body constrictions are the only ones that can be produced. This accounts for nature of (early cooing).

Images from: http://www.unc.edu/~tofu/ling101/loggrab/vt-development.pdf

One development in the ability to produce sounds seems to occur in this stage. At about two months, infants seem to be able to coo voluntarily, whereas previously they were only able to make sounds involuntarily.

Even though infants can’t produce linguistic sounds, they can perceive them. This stage might more appropriately be called the pre-production stage. Infants alter their sucking patterns when presented with a phonetic distinction in sounds. The alteration in sucking shows an awareness of the change in sound, but infants do not seem to attach meaning to the changes in sounds. They only register that they notice them. This awareness is exhibited as early as one month old.

Infants can differentiate between sounds that are allophones in a language that adult speakers of that language have learned to ignore, such as [p] and [ph].


Activity: Listening to a Prelinguistic Baby

Click here to hear an infant near the end of the prelinguistic stage.

Continue to Part 2