Language Acquisition
The theory that there is a critical period for linguistic acquisition may be analysed through the indirect observation of cognitive learning to communicate. Whilst there are many human languages, all demonstrate a number of universal traits. This allows us to theorise that there is a critical period in which individuals may learn a language. The most significant comparison to justify this argument, is that of a young girl named Genie. Through her experience of learning her first language during the maturational stages of her life instead of infancy, we can take an insight into the biological and environmental factors in understanding speech. Richard Meier (1991) argued, through indirect evidence, that there was a stage from infancy to maturity in which an individual has the ability to learn a language. Studies conducted on individuals conclude that throughout different stages of maturity, older individuals of the study were at a disadvantage to learn a second language and allow us to understand that there may be both a biological and psycholinguistic reason. It is already understood that children have a greater short-term memory over adults but a decreased attention span, which may be attributed to the biological process of
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 977
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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