Psycholinguistics: The Acquisition of Language

Paper Summary:

This paper presents an overview of studies on language acquisition and the relevance of critical periods of learning. The paper reports on studies done on the brain and actual learning situations, which have shed light on this topic and the implications of these studies.

From the Paper:

"The most concentrated period of language development is during the first three years of a human's life when the brain is developing and maturing. The first stages of communication take place right after birth when an infant learns that a cry will bring responses such as nourishment. The newborns also start recognizing essential sounds in their immediate environments such as their parent's voice. As they become older, children begin to learn the structure of their language. By six months of age, most recognize the basic sounds of their native language and are able to make simple repetitive sounds or phonemes such as "ma ma" or "ba ba." By the age of two, they can form short sentences and recognize symbols such as pictures in a book. By three or four, they can clearly make themselves understood, understand concepts that are near them or out of sight, and even read a letter or two or short words (ibid)."

More papers on Psycholinguistics: The Acquisition of Language:

• Research Paper # 96059 : "Psycholinguistics"
• Term Paper # 3684 : "Chomsky's Theory of Universal Grammar"
• Essay # 16461 : "Psycholinguistics"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: