This document discusses language acquisition and processing in the brain. It addresses the critical period hypothesis for first language acquisition and benefits of early versus late language learning. It describes language centers in the left hemisphere for most right-handed individuals. The stages of language development are outlined from babbling to one and two-word stages. Bilingualism and second language acquisition are also discussed, including potential critical periods for pronunciation and syntax acquisition.

2. 
Is there a critical Age Hypothesis for first
language acquisition? If so, why?

What are the benefits of learning a
language early versus later?

What do you know about the brain and
how it processes language?

4. 
Neurolinguistics: neural and
electrochemical bases of language
development and use

Psycholinguistics: acquisition, storage,
comprehension and production

5. THE HEMISPHERES

6. LATERALIZATIONLATERALIZATION

8. Connections between the brain and
the body are almost completely
CONTRALATERALCONTRALATERAL

10. 
WHICH FOOT DID YOU USE?WHICH FOOT DID YOU USE?

WHICH HAND DID YOU USE?WHICH HAND DID YOU USE?

11. LEFT hemisphere DOMINATES the right

14. For over 90% of right-handed people
and approximately 70% of left-handed
people language centerslanguage centers are in the
left hemisphereleft hemisphere..

16. BROCA'S AREABROCA'S AREA

at the base of the motor cortex; responsible for
organizing the articulatory patternsorganizing the articulatory patterns of a
language and directing the motor cortex when
we want to talk.

Controls the use of inflectional morphemes
(e.g. plural; past tense markers; etc.) as well as
fuction words (e.g. determiners, prepositions,
etc.).
LANGUAGELANGUAGE
PRODUCTIONPRODUCTION

17. WERNICKE'S AREAWERNICKE'S AREA

Near the back section of the auditory cortex;
involved in the comprehension of words and
sentences and the selection of words from the
mental lexicon.
LANGUAGE PERCEPTIONLANGUAGE PERCEPTION
AND COMPREHENSIONAND COMPREHENSION

18. PRODUCING A SPOKEN WORDPRODUCING A SPOKEN WORD
WERNICKE'S AREAWERNICKE'S AREA (accessing the lexicon)
arcuate fasciculusarcuate fasciculus (phonetic info)
BROCA'S AREABROCA'S AREA (interprets info; trasmits,
articulatory info)
motor cortexmotor cortex (muscles movement)

20. 
How do we learn a language?

What processes are involved?

How do we learn to talk?

21. INNATENESS HYPOTHESISINNATENESS HYPOTHESIS
IMITATION THEORYIMITATION THEORY
ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION of aACTIVE CONSTRUCTION of a
GRAMMAR THEORYGRAMMAR THEORY
CONNECTIONIST THEORY andCONNECTIONIST THEORY and
SOCIAL INTERACTION THEORYSOCIAL INTERACTION THEORY

22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeYkGsWtUVY

23. Children must:

Be able to identify the sounds of the L they hear
(phonemes)

Learn how to produce each allophone of these
phonemes

Decode the large string of sounds

Combine the sounds

25. How and when babies begin toHow and when babies begin to
talk?talk?

COOINGCOOING (2-4 months)
- vowel like sounds
- palatal like sound
- articulatory practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KHZe0rr8q8

26. 
BABBLINGBABBLING (4-6 months)
- syllable-like sequences (C+V)
- production of labials /b/ and /m/
- articulatory and muscles practice

27. Repeated and canonicalRepeated and canonical
babblingbabbling (7-10 months)
[mamamamama]
Variegated babblingVariegated babbling
(10-12 months)
[bugabimo]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDx26C479BI

28. Children arrive at the idea of a wordChildren arrive at the idea of a word
as a sequence of phonemes whoseas a sequence of phonemes whose
pronunciation is systematic and predictable.pronunciation is systematic and predictable.
They first master souds that differThey first master souds that differ
maximally from one another.maximally from one another.

29. Children of all backgroundsChildren of all backgrounds,, PROVIDEDPROVIDED
THEY HAVE ENOUGH INPUTTHEY HAVE ENOUGH INPUT,,
will learn a language and master thewill learn a language and master the
phonological system of their native Lphonological system of their native L

30. 
ONE-WORD STAGEONE-WORD STAGE (12 months)
"holophrastic""holophrastic"
-the single words are used for: naming,
commenting, requesting, etc.
- phrases single words
e.g. "What's that?" "Whasat?"

TWO-WORD STAGETWO-WORD STAGE (18-24 months)
"telegraphic""telegraphic"
- the word-order has a semantic relation
- omission of function words (e.g. Prepositions,
auxiliaries, articles, etc.)

31. By the age of 6 children have aBy the age of 6 children have a
vocabulary approaching.....vocabulary approaching.....

32. ALL CHILDREN TEND TO GO THROUGHALL CHILDREN TEND TO GO THROUGH
THE SAME STAGES OF ACQUISITION!THE SAME STAGES OF ACQUISITION!

35. MOTHERESEMOTHERESE

Child direct speechChild direct speech

Comfort languageComfort language (it captures babies attention)

"Universal language""Universal language"

Simple, slow, repetitive, clearSimple, slow, repetitive, clear

36. L1 ACQUISITION CRITICAL AGEL1 ACQUISITION CRITICAL AGE
HYPHOTESISHYPHOTESIS

E. Lenneberg proposed that "innate behaviors have a
critical periodcritical period" that is a period of time in ana period of time in an
individual's life during which a behavior must beindividual's life during which a behavior must be
acquired.acquired.
The critical period for first languageThe critical period for first language
acquisition is assumed to extend from birthacquisition is assumed to extend from birth
to approximately the onset of puberty.to approximately the onset of puberty.

37. GENIEGENIE ISABELLEISABELLE

14 years old

She was beaten for
making noises

Abused and
isolated

When found was
completey silent

Never learned
grammar or how to
speak properly.

6 and a half years old

Kept isolated but
never abused.

Always with her mom
who was deaf

After been taught for
two years (at Ohio State
University) her
language and
intelligence were
normal

39. BILINGUALISMBILINGUALISM
Bilingual: a person able to hold a conversation with
monolingual speakers of two different languages.
1) Simultaneous bilingualism
2) Sequential bilingualism
3) Second-language acquisition
First
Language
Acquisition

40. BILINGUALBILINGUAL vsvs MONOLINGUALMONOLINGUAL

Are bilingual children less intelligent than monolingual
children?

41. Vygotsky: "being able to express the same
thought in different languages enables
the child to see the language as onelanguage as one
particular system among manyparticular system among many, to view
its phenomena under more general
categories and this leads to awarenessawareness
of these linguistics operations.of these linguistics operations."

42. Bilingual children go through the sameBilingual children go through the same
stages of language acquisition asstages of language acquisition as
monolingual children of each of the twomonolingual children of each of the two
languages.languages.

44. Second-Language AcquisitionSecond-Language Acquisition
Critical HypothesisCritical Hypothesis

Is there an optimal age for Second Language
Acquisition?

Can we talk about mutiple critical periods?
And what do we mean with that?

45. 
Critical Age for Pronunciation:Critical Age for Pronunciation:
-An upper limit for the acqisition of phonology
has been proposed as being the age of 6 "in
many individuals" and the age of 12 for the rest.
(Long, 1990)
- Scovel: "Joseph Conrad phenomenon".

Critical Age for Syntax Grammar:Critical Age for Syntax Grammar:
-The critical age for syntactical/grammatical
accuracy is likely to be around 15.
BUT some argue that there is no critical age in
terms of acquiring the syntax of a second
language.

46. Social and psychological factorsSocial and psychological factors such
as motivation and language aptitude canmotivation and language aptitude can
compensatecompensate for the negative effects of
maturation.