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Chapter 12. Age of onset in successive acquisition of bilingualism

Effects on grammatical development
  • Jürgen M. Meisel
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Language Acquisition across Linguistic and Cognitive Systems
This chapter is in the book Language Acquisition across Linguistic and Cognitive Systems

Abstract

In first language acquisition, monolingual as well as bilingual, every child develops a full gram­matical competence in the language s/he is exposed to. This is arguably not the case in second language acquisition (L2). My assumption here is that this is due to the fact that the Language Making Capacity which guides L1 development is not fully accessible any more to L2 learn­ers. My claim is that it becomes inaccessible as a consequence of neural maturation, supporting thus the Critical Period Hypothesis. The latter should, however, be understood as a cluster of sensi­t­ive periods, each defined in terms of an optimal period for the development of specific features of grammar. Age of onset of acquisition is consequently argued to be the single most important factor distinguishing acquisition types. As for the age periods at which crucial changes happen, my claim is that they occur significantly earlier than is commonly assumed. More spec­ifically, I will show that linguistic as well as neuropsychological evidence suggests that at least some as­pects of grammar, relating to inflectional morphology and to syntax, are indeed affected as early as at age of onset between age 3 and 4. Further significant changes seem to happen at around age 6 to 7.

Abstract

In first language acquisition, monolingual as well as bilingual, every child develops a full gram­matical competence in the language s/he is exposed to. This is arguably not the case in second language acquisition (L2). My assumption here is that this is due to the fact that the Language Making Capacity which guides L1 development is not fully accessible any more to L2 learn­ers. My claim is that it becomes inaccessible as a consequence of neural maturation, supporting thus the Critical Period Hypothesis. The latter should, however, be understood as a cluster of sensi­t­ive periods, each defined in terms of an optimal period for the development of specific features of grammar. Age of onset of acquisition is consequently argued to be the single most important factor distinguishing acquisition types. As for the age periods at which crucial changes happen, my claim is that they occur significantly earlier than is commonly assumed. More spec­ifically, I will show that linguistic as well as neuropsychological evidence suggests that at least some as­pects of grammar, relating to inflectional morphology and to syntax, are indeed affected as early as at age of onset between age 3 and 4. Further significant changes seem to happen at around age 6 to 7.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction. New perspectives in the study of first and second language acquisition 1
  4. Part I. Emergence and dynamics of language acquisition and disorders
  5. Chapter 1. A tale of two paradigms 17
  6. Chapter 2. Dynamic systems methods in the study of language acquisition 33
  7. Chapter 3. Early bootstrapping of syntactic acquisition 53
  8. Chapter 4. Language acquisition in developmental disorders 67
  9. Part II. First language acquisition
  10. Chapter 5. Language development in a cross-linguistic context 91
  11. Chapter 6. A typological approach to first language acquisition 109
  12. Chapter 7. Linguistic relativity in first language acquisition 125
  13. Chapter 8. On the importance of goals in child language 147
  14. Chapter 9. Promoting patients in narrative discourse 161
  15. Chapter 10. On-line grammaticality judgments 179
  16. Chapter 11. The expression of finiteness by L1 and L2 learners of Dutch, French, and German 205
  17. Part III. Bilingualism and second language acquisition
  18. Chapter 12. Age of onset in successive acquisition of bilingualism 225
  19. Chapter 13. The development of person-number verbal morphology in different types of learners 249
  20. Chapter 14. Re-thinking the bilingual interactive-activation model from a developmental perspective (BIA-d) 267
  21. Chapter 15. Foreign language vocabulary learning 285
  22. Chapter 16. Cerebral imaging and individual differences in language learning 299
  23. Chapter 17. The cognitive neuroscience of second language acquisition and bilingualism 307
  24. Index of languages 323
  25. Index of subjects 325
https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.52.16mei

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction. New perspectives in the study of first and second language acquisition 1
  4. Part I. Emergence and dynamics of language acquisition and disorders
  5. Chapter 1. A tale of two paradigms 17
  6. Chapter 2. Dynamic systems methods in the study of language acquisition 33
  7. Chapter 3. Early bootstrapping of syntactic acquisition 53
  8. Chapter 4. Language acquisition in developmental disorders 67
  9. Part II. First language acquisition
  10. Chapter 5. Language development in a cross-linguistic context 91
  11. Chapter 6. A typological approach to first language acquisition 109
  12. Chapter 7. Linguistic relativity in first language acquisition 125
  13. Chapter 8. On the importance of goals in child language 147
  14. Chapter 9. Promoting patients in narrative discourse 161
  15. Chapter 10. On-line grammaticality judgments 179
  16. Chapter 11. The expression of finiteness by L1 and L2 learners of Dutch, French, and German 205
  17. Part III. Bilingualism and second language acquisition
  18. Chapter 12. Age of onset in successive acquisition of bilingualism 225
  19. Chapter 13. The development of person-number verbal morphology in different types of learners 249
  20. Chapter 14. Re-thinking the bilingual interactive-activation model from a developmental perspective (BIA-d) 267
  21. Chapter 15. Foreign language vocabulary learning 285
  22. Chapter 16. Cerebral imaging and individual differences in language learning 299
  23. Chapter 17. The cognitive neuroscience of second language acquisition and bilingualism 307
  24. Index of languages 323
  25. Index of subjects 325
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