Language Acquistion: A Brief View

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area? A person would be able to understand and process all of the words spoken to him, but he would not have the motor functions to be able to speak the words in a way that the listener could understand.

CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS

The Critical Period Hypothesis states that the first few years of life are a crucial time in which an individual can acquire a first language, if presented with adequate stimuli (Lenneberg, 1967). If language input does not occur until after the child has reached puberty, he or she will never achieve a full command of language, especially grammatical systems or syntax. In linguistics, syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language. Lenneberg (1967) states that there are maturational constraints on the time a first language can be acquired. Lenneberg tied the “critical period” to the lateralization of language (localization of language to one hemisphere of the brain). Language acquisition relies on neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, is an umbrella term that encompasses both synaptic plasticity and non-synaptic plasticity. It refers to changes in neural pathways and synapses due to changes in behavior, environment, neural processes, thinking, and emotions. Lenneberg (1967) also states that if language acquisition does not occur by puberty, some aspects of language can be learned, but full mastery cannot be achieved.

The Case of Genie and the Critical Period Hypothesis

Within three years of Lenneberg’s hypothesis discovery, it was able to be tested for the first time on a feral child, named Genie. Genie was a child that encountered one of the worst isolation cases scientists have ever seen (Rymer, 1993). Since Genie was isolated without sound

stimulation for most of her childhood, scientists found her case to be the golden opportunity to test Lenneberg’s hypothesis. According to Susan Curtiss (1977), a linguistic psychologist and professor at UCLA, Lenneberg’s hypothesis was proven correct and that Genie missed her window of acquiring a first language; therefore, the reason why she was unable to learn proper grammar. Genie was able to learn many vocabulary words, but she was unable to put sentences together (syntax). Even though a person could figure out what she was trying to say, her sentences were not grammatically correct. The majority of Genie’s progress was within the first year and a half of her hospitalization while working with doctors in the linguistic field of study. The progression of her vocabulary slowed down to a crawl. Eventually, Genie became mute and resorted more to sign language for her main form of communication (Curtiss, 1977; Rymer, 1993).

GROWTH AND MATURATION IN THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE

Characteristics

Most children with a normal function of their brains begin to speak between the ages of eighteen months and twenty-eight months. Why does this phenomena of language acquisition appear without fail in most children? Whether the mother or father tries to train their child to speak or not, the formation of language grows naturally within the first two years of life (Lenneberg, 1967; MacWhinney, 1999). This period of language that appears from the child seems to come into play when the child has the need for speaking; however, this need appears subjective. What changes at this time for the child? Is it his environment or is it the child himself that changes? Even though the parents change the child’s environment by changing their behaviors as the child grows, the majority of the changes occur within the child himself and the maturation of his brain as he gets older. This comparison between child versus environment shows that the environment has less impact compared to the development of the brain. Eventually, the brain relies more on stimulus once it reaches its natural growing peak of about two years of age (Guasti, 2004). Studies have proven this decline in the brain from the cases of child neglect (Genie) and aphasia (loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage).

The Regularity of Onset

The onset of speech consists of a gradual unfolding of capacities; it is a series of generally well-circumscribed events which take place between the second and third year of life (Lenneberg, 1967). Specific milestones of certain parts of speech come together in a patterned sequence and at specific ages with little variability (summarized in Table 1).

DISCUSSION

According to the table 1 shown below, the advancements of language acquisition within the child’s vocabulary are extensive and accrue at a fast past, as long as the brain is without impairment. The findings within this brief research have shown that humans are born with the special ability to acquire language (innate). Although specific brain mechanism research was not discussed, there are two main areas of the brain that contribute to the acquisition of language that should be remembered (Broca’s area & Wernicke’s area). The timeline of the research of these two areas of the brain was ahead of the times, when thinking about technology. Since these amazing human discoveries of these two areas, neurologists have studied and confirmed these two areas to be genuine in several ways.

The Critical Period Hypothesis is a hypothesis that was genius when created by Eric Lenneberg in the late 60’s. It is a hypothesis that still cannot be disproven to this day. The studies have shown that children can naturally acquire language up to a certain age, around twenty to twenty-four months. The brain then relies on outside stimuli for it to grow properly (lateralization & plasticity). If the brain is not susceptible to adequate outside stimuli, it will then deteriorate and eventually be unable to grow properly after the child has reached puberty (Genie); thus, making the full mastery of a language impossible to accrue.

CONCLUSION

This research paper has implications for providing knowledge and understanding of how children should acquire language and the positive effects of good outside stimuli and what it can do for the benefit of a growing child. The connections between certain areas of the brain and how they work together to produce language is a significant find even though description is brief. The discovery and research of language and how humans acquire it will always be a sought out study and what a person can learn will have endless benefits to understanding how a human brain is