This linguistics course focuses one the phenomenon of child language acquisition. We look at how children develop language in the first years of life.
First, we examine how children learn words, that is, how they get to perceive sounds and recognise particular words, how they get to understand the meaning of words, and how they in turn get to produce words themselves.
Second, we ask how children string words together to form sentences. In doing so, we examine the development of grammar.
Third, we explore how children develop language skills in order to make conversation within a social context.
And fourth (time permitting), we will aim to review fundamental issues to do with cognitive functioning and the developing brain. To do so, we examine acquisition in exceptional circumstances, as well as cases of brain damage and of multilingual acquisition.
Throughout the course, we will be asking a number of questions relating to language development. For instance, we will question the importance of the social context of acquisition, as well as that of the natural cognitive complexity of the human brain. That is, we will ask to what extent nature and nurture are relevant to the successful development of a first language