Acquisition of Language

First language acquisition—the study of how children acquire their first language(s)––is the branch of psycholinguistics that deals with the process of acquisition. This field is variously called “first language acquisition,” “language acquisition,” or “language development.” Researchers have taken two main approaches in studies of children’s language: on the one hand, research that stems from Chomsky’s proposal that language––in particular, syntax––is innate, so children’s knowledge simply has to be triggered through exposure to the ambient language; on the other is research...

First language acquisition—the study of how children acquire their first language(s)––is the branch of psycholinguistics that deals with the process of acquisition. This field is variously called “first language acquisition,” “language acquisition,” or “language development.” Researchers have taken two main approaches in studies of children’s language: on the one hand, research that stems from Chomsky’s proposal that language––in particular, syntax––is innate, so children’s knowledge simply has to be triggered through exposure to the ambient language; on the other is research that assumes that general learning mechanisms apply to language as well as other aspects of development.