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Questions tagged [language-acquisition]

The study of language learning, especially the processes by which first languages are learned by children.

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11 votes
17 answers
42k views

Simultaneous bilingualism vs Sequential bilingualism

Simultaneous bilingualism (or multilangualism) is when a child acquires two (or many) languages simultaneously, for example when they are raised by parents speaking more than one language. ...
Louis Rhys's user avatar
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22 votes
5 answers
1k views

What method do linguists use to rate language competence?

People on the street bandy about words like "fluent", "knows French", "speaks broken French" as if it all means something. How do linguists determine if a speaker is competent and what taxonomy do ...
MatthewMartin's user avatar
20 votes
2 answers
890 views

Are similar languages easier for children to acquire than dissimilar ones?

When a child is first learning a language in a bilingual environment, is it easier or harder to properly acquire the two distinct languages if they are more similar? For example, is it easier for a ...
Artem Kaznatcheev's user avatar
20 votes
4 answers
2k views

Corpus of baby-talk or motherese

Baby-talk or motherese is the language that parents tend to use when addressing preverbal or just-starting-to-speak children. What are the fundamental features or rules that define this subset of a ...
Artem Kaznatcheev's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
1k views

Are there any fundamental differences in personal pronoun acquisition across languages?

I am interest in reversal errors in personal pronoun acquisition. My knowledge comes mostly from studies done with English-speaking children, and I was wondering if there is any languages where this ...
Artem Kaznatcheev's user avatar
18 votes
5 answers
950 views

Language acquisition without interactive contact with fluent speakers

Children raised in a multilingual environment learn all the languages that they are exposed to with no effort. Does the same thing happen if a child has only indirect contact with a language? For ...
Otavio Macedo's user avatar

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