Assignment

Assignment topic
Stages of Linguistics development
What is Critical Period Hypothesis
Course title:
Psycholinguistics
Course code:

Department:
BS English (Induction)

Semester:
6th semester
Section :
“E”
Submitted to:
[Link]
Submitted by:
Rabia Nawaz
(23017102-025)
 Stages of Linguistic Development
What is Linguistic development?

Children learn to process speech and communicate through a process known as linguistic
development. A child may go through this process of gradually grasping basic language patterns
and expanding their vocabulary before they become fluent. Although there are common stages in
language development, every child develops at a unique pace. A child's ability to learn a
language can be impacted by several factors, including motivation, upbringing, gender, and
physical maturation.

Stages of Linguistic Development:

The following are the key phases of a child's language development:

1. Pre-linguistic stage

Usually lasting from birth to six months, the pre-linguistic period is the first phase of language
development. During this stage, children use noises to communicate as their language skills are
still developing. Their nasal murmurs, coos, and screams are produced by their expanding vocal
tracts. Babies can discriminate between voices and other noises in addition to facial expressions
and voice tones.

2. Babbling stage
A child enters the second stage of language development between the ages of six and nine
months. Young children begin to babble, making noises and non-wordly syllables. Children's
mouth muscles and teeth grow in preparation for more complex speech.
3. Holophrastic stage:

The third stage of language development, known as the holophrastic stage, usually starts between
the ages of nine and eighteen months. By now, their language skills should have advanced to the
point that they can name necessities or give a one-word description of an object. For instance, at
this age, a youngster would say "dada" to catch their dad's attention.

4. Two-word stage

 At this point, the baby can speak in two-word sentences, the majority of which make
some sense. They combined words they learned throughout the holophrastic stage. Here
are a few possible examples:
 Saying “doggy small" to describe a dog
 Saying "thank mom!" to show appreciation
 Saying “more food” at the table

5. Telegraphic stage
There is a telegraphic stage that lasts for 24 to 30 months. Younger children are able to speak
lengthier phrases with more than two components. Says a child, "The cat stand up on the table,"
for instance. The sentence does not yet have proper syntax, but it does show that the cat is not
just on the table but also standing up. In addition, the child picks up the ability to understand
basic instructions like "go to your table and get your books."

6. Multi- word stage

After thirty months, children reach the multi-word stage. They create ever-more complex terms
in an attempt to convey their views more effectively. Furthermore, kids start utilizing
morphemes to form more semantically sound statements. For instance, they know that the term
"dogs" should be used instead of "dog" when discussing several dogs. There is a telegraphic
stage that lasts for 24 to 30 months.

Critical Period Hypothesis

What is Critical Period Hypothesis?
The critical period hypothesis and the extent to which language learning is age-dependent biologically have
been topics of long-standing debate in linguistics and language acquisition. The hypothesis states that learning
a language in a situation with a diversity of languages presents an optimal "window" of opportunity, beyond
which language acquisition becomes significantly more difficult and time-consuming.

The critical period hypothesis states that a person can acquire their first language during the crucial years of
life if they are exposed to the appropriate stimuli. Delays in language acquisition beyond this time will prevent
a person from ever fully understanding language, especially its grammatical systems. It is widely agreed that
such a period exists, despite the paucity of data supporting it (the majority coming from theoretical
considerations and analogies to other important biological eras, such as the genesis of eyesight). However, the
nature of this phenomenon has been one of the most contentious issues in psycholinguistics and cognitive
science at large for decades.

Some authors have suggested a "sensitive" or "optimal" era in place of a crucial one, but others dispute the
explanations (cognitive factors, physical maturity). Moreover, the duration of the gap varies considerably
throughout accounts. The most compelling evidence for the critical period hypothesis of second language
acquisition comes from studies of accents, since most older learners are unable to reach a native-like
proficiency. However, in certain contexts, native-sounding accents have been observed, suggesting that accent
is not solely determined by a critical biological constraint but also by a range of factors such as motivation and
identification. (Moyer, 1999; Bongaerts et al., 1995; Young-Scholten, 2002).

History of Critical Period Hypothesis

In their 1959 work Speech and Brain Mechanisms, Montreal neurologist Wilder Penfield and co-author Lamar
Roberts initially put forth the crucial period concept. Eric Lenneberg popularized it with Biological
Foundations of Language in 1967.

Lenneberg asserts that maturation sets a time limit on how long it takes to learn a first language. Learning a
first language requires neuroplasticity. While some aspects of language can be acquired, if language
acquisition does not occur before puberty, total mastery cannot be attained. This was dubbed the "critical
period hypothesis".

It was an ideal opportunity to test the theory that a nurturing environment could somehow make up for a total
lack of language past the age of 12. She was unable to acquire language completely, although the degree to
which she acquired language is disputed.

The story of Genie serves as an intriguing illustration of this. On November 4, 1970, Genie, a thirteen-year-old
victim of continuous child abuse, was found bound to a potty chair and wearing diapers at her home. She
seemed completely devoid of words. Because of her father's decision to isolate her and his belief that she was
retarded from birth, she stayed that way until she was found.

This presented an ideal opportunity to investigate the theory that a nurturing atmosphere could potentially
make up for a total loss of language after the age of twelve. She was unable to fully acquire the language,
despite differing opinions over the level of her language learning.
 This child and others like it (see Feral children) are hardly growing up in a nurturing environment, and
detractors of the "Critical Period Hypothesis" point out that the child's failure to acquire language in later life
may not be directly caused by a lack of exposure to language, but rather by an abusive environment in general.

There have been speculations recently that at least part of the presence of a critical period, if one exists, may
be explained by the delayed development of the prefrontal cortex in human children. Language acquisition is
substantially easier for early children than for cognitively mature adults or older children, possibly due to
delayed prefrontal brain development and associated delays in cognitive control development. This pattern of
prefrontal development is unique to humans among similar mammalian (and ape) species, and it may help to
explain why humans are more adept at learning language than chimpanzees.

Second Language Acquisition:

The theory has frequently been extended to a critical stage of second language acquisition (SLA), despite the
fact that this is significantly less commonly acknowledged. Indeed, older second language learners rarely
achieve the native-like fluency that younger learners display, even if in the early stages they often progress
faster than younger learners. David Singleton says that there are many exceptions to the general rule that
"younger = better in the long run" when it comes to learning a second language. For instance, even if they
begin learning their second language far into adulthood—long after any key time has most certainly ended—
just 5% of adult bilinguals successfully finish their studies.

The window of opportunity to learn a second language is never completely closed, but there are certain
linguistic components that appear to be more age-related than others. For example, adult learners of second
languages almost often retain a recognizable foreign accent; some even have perfect grammar (Oyama 1976).
Phonology should be taught from a younger critical age than syntax, according to certain writers. Singleton
(1995) asserts that there is no set period of time for learning vocabulary in a second language. Robertson
(2002) pointed out that factors such as age may not be as crucial for successful second language acquisition as
factors like individual motivation, anxiety, input and output capacities, settings, and time commitment.

Although "on average, there is a continuous decline in ability [to learn] with age," Bialystok and Hakuta
(1994) conclude that biological key times are not always relevant to the acquisition of a second language.