English as a Universal Language

by Carlos Carrion Torres - Vitoria ES - Brazil

English is without a doubt the actual universal language. It is the world's second largest
native language, the oicial language in !" countries, and English-s#ea$ing countries are
res#onsible or about %"& o world's total '().
English can be at least understood al*ost everywhere a*ong scholars and educated
#eo#le, as it is the world *edia language, and the language o cine*a, TV, #o# *usic
and the co*#uter world. +ll over the #lanet #eo#le $now *any English words, their
#ronunciation and *eaning.
The causes or this universality are very well $nown and understandable. English irst
began to s#read during the ,-th century with British E*#ire and was strongly reinorced
in ."th by /S+ world do*ination in econo*ic, #olitical and *ilitary as#ects and by the
huge inluence o +*erican *ovies.
The conce#t o a /niversal 0anguage is *ore signiicant only now, in the era o world
*ass co**unication. Beore this era 'ree$, 0atin, 1rench were to so*e e2tent universal
languages, though *ainly in Euro#e.
By a luc$y coincidence due to actors above, English, the /niversal language, is one o
the si*#lest and easiest natural languages in the world. The only other si*#le and easy
languages are constructed ones.
3 course the conce#t o easiness is relative, and it de#ends on which language you
$now already. 4owever the conce#t o si*#licity is undeniable5 English in an easy
language to learn, understand and s#ea$. + co*#le2 language such as 4ungarian would
be a very unli$ely candidate or a universal language.
1irst o all, English 0anguage uses 0atin al#habet, the *ost universal, si*#le and short
one 6only the 'ree$ al#habet is shorter and si*#ler7. In addition, in English, the 0atin
+l#habet #resents its *ost 8clean8 or* as a true al#habet with only .- basic letters and
no diacritics9
Verb con:ugation is very si*#le and easy. Even or irregular verbs, there is al*ost no
variation in #erson 6e2ce#t ;rd singular in #resent tense7.
<egular verbs have only our or*s5 Ininitive = )resent, )ast Tense = )ast )artici#le,
;rd #erson singular )resent Indicative, )resent )artici#le.
There are al*ost no Inlections. (o nu*ber or gender inlection or ad:ectives, articles,
adverbs. 1or ad:ectives there is only co*#arative and su#erlative, al*ost only nu*ber
or nouns. In #ronouns there are gender and nu*ber inlections and only three
declension cases 6+cc>?at, (o*, 'en7.
English is one o the *ost analytical languages, with no signiicant synthetic, usional or
agglutinative characteristics.
Could be there any other alternative for Universal Language, instead of
English?
There are other languages that are @uite si*#le and synthetic, with al*ost no verb
con:ugation, no declension, such as +sian languages li$e Thai and Chinese, but they are
written with co*#licated scri#ts and are tonal languages. 4owever i Chinese were to be
written with the 0atin al#habet, it could #otentially beco*e a univeral language.
There are other strong languages that, due to #o#ulation and econo*ic #ower, could be
univeral languages, but they have a nu*ber o disadvantages when co*#ared with
English.
So*e e2a*#les5
Aa#anese5 has very regular verbs but also a very co*#licated scri#t.
Chinese5 no con:ugations or declension, but a very co*#licated scri#t and tones.
'er*an has *any *ore inlections than English.
The *a:or <o*ance languages, such as 1rench, S#anish and )ortuguese, have
ewer inlections than *ost o languages, but their verb con:ugation is very
co*#licated.
<ussian has both co*#le2 verb con:ugations and nu*erous noun declensions.
In conclusion, it is luc$y or us that our universal language is the si*#lest and easiest,
even though that si*#licity and easiness weren't the reasons that lead English to that
condition.
English language
English is a West Germanic language spoken originally in England, and is now the most
widely used language in the world. It is spoken as a first language by a majority of the
inhabitants of several nations, including the United ingdom, the United !tates, "anada,
#ustralia, Ireland and $ew %ealand. It is the third most common native language in the
world, after &andarin "hinese and !panish. It is widely learned as a second language and is
an official language of the European Union, many "ommonwealth countries and the United
$ations, as well as in many world organisations.
English arose in the #nglo'!a(on kingdoms of England and what is now south'east !cotland,
but was then under the control of the kingdom of $orthumbria. )ollowing the e(tensive
influence of Great *ritain and the United ingdom from the +,th century, via the *ritish
Empire, and of the United !tates since the mid'-.th century,
/01/21/,1/31
it has been widely
propagated around the world, becoming the leading language of international discourse and
the lingua franca in many regions.
4istorically, English originated from the fusion of closely related dialects, now collectively
termed 5ld English, which were brought to the eastern coast of Great *ritain by Germanic
6#nglo'!a(on7 settlers by the 8th century 9 with the word English being derived from the
name of the #ngles, and ultimately from their ancestral region of #ngeln 6in what is now
!chleswig'4olstein7. # significant number of English words are constructed based on roots
from :atin, because :atin in some form was the lingua franca of the "hristian "hurch and of
European intellectual life. ;he language was further influenced by the 5ld $orse language
due to <iking invasions in the ,th and 3th centuries.
;he $orman con=uest of England in the ++th century gave rise to heavy borrowings from
$orman')rench, and vocabulary and spelling conventions began to give the appearance of a
close relationship with >omance languages to what had then become &iddle English. ;he
Great <owel !hift that began in the south of England in the +8th century is one of the
historical events that mark the emergence of &odern English from &iddle English.
5wing to the assimilation of words from many other languages throughout history, modern
English contains a very large vocabulary, with comple( and irregular spelling, particularly of
vowels. &odern English has not only assimilated words from other European languages but
also from all over the world, including words of 4indi and #frican origin. ;he Oxford
English Dictionary lists over -8.,... distinct words, not including many technical, scientific,
and slang terms
Importance of the English Language
Summary: A look at the importance of English in India and the
world.
By: ?r. G. &anivannan @ Audience: ;eachers @ Category: ;eaching English in #sia
# language is a systematic means of communication by the use of sounds or
conventional symbols. It is the code we all use to e(press ourselves and communicate to
others. It is a communication by word of mouth. It is the mental faculty or power of vocal
communication. It is a system for communicating ideas and feelings using sounds, gestures,
signs or marks. #ny means of communicating ideas, specifically, human speech, the
e(pression of ideas by the voice and sounds articulated by the organs of the throat and mouth
is a language. ;his is a system for communication. # language is the written and spoken
methods of combining words to create meaning used by a particular group of people.
:anguage, so far as we know, is something specific to humans, that is to say it is the basic
capacity that distinguishes humans from all other living beings. :anguage therefore remains
potentially a communicative medium capable of e(pressing ideas and concepts as well as
moods, feelings and attitudes.
# set of linguists who based their assumptions of language on psychology made claims that
language is nothing but Ahabit formationB. #ccording to them, language is learnt through use,
through practice. In their view, Athe more one is e(posed to the use of language, the better one
learnsB.
Written languages use symbols 6characters7 to build words. ;he entire set of words is the
languageBs vocabulary. ;he ways in which the words can be meaningfully combined is
defined by the languageBs synta( and grammar. ;he actual meaning of words and
combinations of words is defined by the languageBs semantics.
;he latest and the most advanced discoveries and inventions in science and technology are
being made in the universities located in the United !tates of #merica where English
language is the means of scientific discourse.
;he historical circumstances of India 6having been ruled by the *ritish for over two
centuries7 have given the Indians an easy access to mastering English language, and
innumerable opportunities for advancement in the field of science and technology. &any
Indians have become so skilled in English language and have won many international awards
for creative and comparative literatures during the last few years. !ometime ago, an Indian
author, #rundhati >oy, won the prestigious booker priCe for her book D;he God of !mall
;hingsE. 4er book sold lakhs of copies all over the globe.
5ver the years, English language has become one of our principal assets in getting a global
leadership for books written by Indian authors and for films made by Indians in English
language. # famous Indian movie maker !hekhar apoorBs film DEliCabethE has got several
nominations for 5scar #wards. It does not re=uire any further argument to establish the
advantage English language has brought to us at the international level.
English language comes to our aid in our commercial transactions throughout the globe.
English is the language of the latest business management in the world and Indian proficiency
in English has brought laurels to many Indian business managers. English is a means not only
for international commerceF it has become increasingly essential for inter'state commerce and
communication.
In India, people going from $orth to !outh for education or business mostly communicate in
English, which has become a link language. eeping this in mind, the Garliament has also
recogniCed English as an official language in addition to 4indi. #ll the facts of history and
developments in present day India underline the continued importance of learning English in
addition to vernaculars.
!ome of the states of India are witnessing popular increase in public demand for teaching of
English language from the primary classes. >ealiCing the importance, recently, the &inister
of Indian >ailways, :aloo Grasad Hadav, demands teaching of English language in schools.
;he great demand for admission in English medium schools throughout the country is a
testimony to the attraction of English to the people of India. &any of the leaders, who
denounce English, send their own children to English medium schools. &any of the schools
in the country have English as the sole or additional medium of instruction.
# language attracts people because of the wealth of literature and knowledge enshrined in it.
English poses no danger to Indian languages. ;he Indian languages are vibrant and are
developing by the contributions of great minds using them as their vehicle of e(pression.
English is available to us as a historical heritage in addition to our own language. We must
make the best use of English to develop ourselves culturally and materially so that we can
compete with the best in the world of mind and matter. English language is our window to the
world.
English language is one tool to establish our viewpoint. We can learn from others e(perience.
We can check the theories of foreigners against our e(perience. We can reject the untenable
and accept the tenable. We can also propagate our theories among the international audience
and readers.
We can make use of English to promote our worldview and spiritual heritage throughout the
globe. !wami <ivekananda established the greatness of Indian view of religion at the world
conference of religions in "hicago in +,3I. 4e addressed the gathering in impressive
English. &any spiritual gurus have since converted thousands of English people to our
spirituality by e(pressing their thought and ideas in masterful English. English has thus
become an effective means of promoting Indian view of life, and strengthening our cultural
identity in the world.
When William "a(ton set up his printing press in :ondon 6+J227 the new hybrid language
6vernacular English mi(ed with courtly )rench and scholarly :atin7 became increasingly
standardiCed, and by +0++, when the #uthoriCed 6ing Kames7 <ersion of the *ible was
published, the educated English of :ondon had become the core of what is now called
!tandard English. *y the time of KohnsonBs dictionary 6+2887 and the #merican ?eclaration
of Independence 6+2207, English was international and recogniCable as the language we use
today. ;he 5rthography of English was more or less established by +08. and, in England in
particular, a form of standard educated speech, known as >eceived Gronunciation 6>G7 spread
from the major public schools in the +3th century. ;his accent was adopted in the early -.th
century by the *ritish *roadcasting "orporation 6**"7 for its announcers and readers, and is
variously known as >G, **" English, 5(ford English, and the ingBs or LueenBs English.
Generally, !tandard English today does not depend on accent but rather on shared educational
e(perience, mainly of the printed language. Gresent'day English is an immensely varied
language, having absorbed material from many other tongues. It is spoken by more than I..
million native speakers, and between J.. and ,.. million foreign users. It is the official
language of air transport and shippingF the leading language of science, technology,
computers, and commerceF and a major medium of education, publishing, and international
negotiation. )or this reason, scholars fre=uently refer to its latest phase as World English.
Second Language Acquisition
What is second language acquisition?
Second language ac@uisition, or se@uential language ac@uisition, is learning a second language
ater a irst language is already established. Bany ti*es this ha##ens when a child who s#ea$s a
language other than English goes to school or the irst ti*e. Children have an easier ti*e learning
a second language, but anyone can do it at any age. It ta$es a lot o #racticeC
What is the best way to teach a second language?
There are *any dierent things that actor into the decision about how to teach a #erson a second
language, including the ollowing5
language s#o$en in the ho*e
a*ount o o##ortunity to #ractice the second language
internal *otivation o the learner
reason that the second language is needed 6e.g., to learn at school, to tal$ to a riend, or
or wor$7
There are dierent ways that to introduce the second language5
by setting 6e.g., English is s#o$en only in the school, and /rdu is s#o$en only in the ho*e7
by to#ic 6e.g., 1rench is s#o$en only during *eal ti*e, and S#anish is s#o$en during
school>wor$ activities7
by s#ea$er 6e.g., Bo* will s#ea$ only in 'er*an, and ?ad s#ea$s <ussian only7
The ability o a #erson to use a second language will de#end on his or her a*ily's ability to s#ea$
*ore than one language. It is i*#ortant or #arents>caregivers to #rovide a strong language
*odel. I you cannot use the language well, you should not be teaching it.
How can a speech-language pathologist help?
+ s#eech-language #athologist 6S0)7 can #rovide elective services or individuals who are learning
English as a second language. These services are not covered by insurance.
Language acquisition is the process by which humans ac=uire the capacity to perceive and
comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words to communicate. ;he capacity to
successfully use language re=uires one to ac=uire a range of tools including synta(,
phonetics, and an e(tensive vocabulary. ;his language might be vocaliCed as with speech or
manual as in sign. ;he human language capacity is represented in the brain. Even though the
human language capacity is finite, one can say and understand an infinite number of
sentences, which is based on a syntactic principle called >ecursion. Evidence suggests that
every individual has three recursive mechanisms that allow sentences to go indeterminately.
;hese three mechanisms areM relativization, complementation and coordination. :anguage
ac=uisition usually refers to first language acquisition, which studies infantsN ac=uisition of
their native language. ;his is distinguished from second language acquisition, which deals
with the ac=uisition 6in both children and adults7 of additional languages.
;he capacity to ac=uire and use language is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from
other beings. #lthough it is difficult to pin down what aspects of language are uni=uely
human, there are a few design features that can be found in all known forms of human
language, but that are missing from forms of animal communication. )or e(ample, many
animals are able to communicate with each other by signaling to the things around them, but
this kind of communication lacks the arbitrariness of human vernaculars 6in that there is
nothing about the sound of the word OdogO that would hint at its meaning7. 5ther forms of
animal communication may utiliCe arbitrary sounds, but are unable to combine those sounds
in different ways to create completely novel messages that can then be automatically
understood by another. 4ockett called this design feature of human language OproductivityO.
It is crucial to the understanding of human language ac=uisition that we are not limited to a
finite set of words, but, rather, must be able to understand and utiliCe a comple( system that
allows for an infinite number of possible messages. !o, while many forms of animal
communication e(ist, they differ from human languages, in that they have a limited range of
non'syntactically structured vocabulary tokens that lack cross cultural variation between
groups.
# major =uestion in understanding language ac=uisition is how these capacities are picked up
by infants from what appears to be very little input. Input in the linguistic conte(t is defined
as O#ll words, conte(ts, and other forms of language to which a learner is e(posed, relative to
ac=uired proficiency in first or second languagesO It is difficult to believe, considering the
hugely comple( nature of human languages, and the relatively limited cognitive abilities of
an infant, that infants are able to ac=uire most aspects of language without being e(plicitly
taught. "hildren, within a few years of birth, understand the grammatical rules of their native
language without being e(plicitly taught, as one learns grammar in school. # range of
theories of language ac=uisition have been proposed in order to e(plain this apparent
problem. ;hese theories, championed by the likes of $oam "homsky and others, include
innatism and Gsychological nativism, in which a child is born prepared in some manner with
these capacities, as opposed to other theories in which language is simply learned as one
learns to ride a bike. ;he conflict between the traits humans are born with and those that are a
product of oneNs environment is often referred to as the O$ature vs. $urtureO debate. #s is the
case with many other human abilities and characteristics, it appears that there are some
=ualities of language ac=uisition that the human brain is automatically wired for 6a OnatureO
component7 and some that are shaped by the particular language environment in which a
person is raised 6a OnurtureO component7.
Second-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people
learn a second language. !econd'language ac=uisition 6often abbreviated to SLA7 is also the
name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process. Second language refers to
any language learned in addition to a personNs first languageF although the concept is named
second language ac=uisition, it can also incorporate the learning of third, fourth or subse=uent
languages. !econd'language ac=uisition refers to what learners doF it does not refer to
practices in language teaching.
;he academic discipline of second'language ac=uisition is a sub'discipline of applied
linguistics. It is broad'based and relatively new. #s well as the various branches of
linguistics, second'language ac=uisition is also closely related to psychology, cognitive
psychology, and education. ;o separate the academic discipline from the learning process
itself, the terms second-language acquisition research, second-language studies, and second-
language acquisition studies are also used. !:# research began as an interdisciplinary field,
and because of this it is difficult to identify a precise starting date. 4owever, it does appear to
have developed a great deal since the mid'+30.s. ;he term acquisition was originally used to
emphasiCe the subconscious nature of the learning process, but in recent years learning and
acquisition have become largely synonymous.
!econd'language ac=uisition can incorporate heritage language learning,
/J1
but it does not
usually incorporate bilingualism. &ost !:# researchers see bilingualism as being the end
result of learning a language, not the process itself, and see the term as referring to native'like
fluency. Writers in fields such as education and psychology, however, often use bilingualism
loosely to refer to all forms of multilingualism. !econd'language ac=uisition is also not to be
contrasted with the ac=uisition of a foreign languageF rather, the learning of second languages
and the learning of foreign languages involve the same fundamental processes in different
situations.
;here has been much debate about e(actly how language is learned, and many issues are still
unresolved. ;here have been many theories of second'language ac=uisition that have been
proposed, but none has been accepted as an overarching theory by all !:# researchers. ?ue
to the interdisciplinary nature of the field of second'language ac=uisition, this is not e(pected
to happen in the foreseeable future
Second Language is Important
Language acquisition is the process by which humans ac=uire the capacity to perceive and
comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words to communicate. ;he capacity to
successfully use language re=uires one to ac=uire a range of tools including synta(,
phonetics, and an e(tensive vocabulary. ;his language might be vocaliCed as with speech or
manual as in sign. ;he human language capacity is represented in the brain. Even though the
human language capacity is finite, one can say and understand an infinite number of
sentences, which is based on a syntactic principle called >ecursion. Evidence suggests that
every individual has three recursive mechanisms that allow sentences to go indeterminately.
;hese three mechanisms areM relativization, complementation and coordination.
/+1
:anguage
ac=uisition usually refers to first language acquisition, which studies infantsN ac=uisition of
their native language. ;his is distinguished from second language acquisition, which deals
with the ac=uisition 6in both children and adults7 of additional languages.
;he capacity to ac=uire and use language is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from
other beings. #lthough it is difficult to pin down what aspects of language are uni=uely
human, there are a few design features that can be found in all known forms of human
language, but that are missing from forms of animal communication. )or e(ample, many
animals are able to communicate with each other by signaling to the things around them, but
this kind of communication lacks the arbitrariness of human vernaculars 6in that there is
nothing about the sound of the word OdogO that would hint at its meaning7. 5ther forms of
animal communication may utiliCe arbitrary sounds, but are unable to combine those sounds
in different ways to create completely novel messages that can then be automatically
understood by another. 4ockett called this design feature of human language OproductivityO.
It is crucial to the understanding of human language ac=uisition that we are not limited to a
finite set of words, but, rather, must be able to understand and utiliCe a comple( system that
allows for an infinite number of possible messages. !o, while many forms of animal
communication e(ist, they differ from human languages, in that they have a limited range of
non'syntactically structured vocabulary tokens that lack cross cultural variation between
groups.
# major =uestion in understanding language ac=uisition is how these capacities are picked up
by infants from what appears to be very little input. Input in the linguistic conte(t is defined
as O#ll words, conte(ts, and other forms of language to which a learner is e(posed, relative to
ac=uired proficiency in first or second languagesO It is difficult to believe, considering the
hugely comple( nature of human languages, and the relatively limited cognitive abilities of
an infant, that infants are able to ac=uire most aspects of language without being e(plicitly
taught. "hildren, within a few years of birth, understand the grammatical rules of their native
language without being e(plicitly taught, as one learns grammar in school. # range of
theories of language ac=uisition have been proposed in order to e(plain this apparent
problem. ;hese theories, championed by the likes of $oam "homsky and others, include
innatism and Gsychological nativism, in which a child is born prepared in some manner with
these capacities, as opposed to other theories in which language is simply learned as one
learns to ride a bike. ;he conflict between the traits humans are born with and those that are a
product of oneNs environment is often referred to as the O$ature vs. $urtureO debate. #s is the
case with many other human abilities and characteristics, it appears that there are some
=ualities of language ac=uisition that the human brain is automatically wired for 6a OnatureO
component7 and some that are shaped by the particular language environment in which a
person is raised 6a OnurtureO component7.
First Language Acquisition
How children so quickly and as if by magic acquire language has
interested people for thousands of years.
Psammeticus, an Egyptian Pharoah during the 7
th
century !,
belie"ed language was inborn and that children isolated from birth from
any linguistic in#uence would de"elop the language they had been born
with. He isolated two children, who were reported to ha"e spoken a few
words of Phyrgian, an $E language of present day %urkey. Psammeticus
belie"ed that this was the &rst, or original, language.
$n the '(th century King James V of Scotland performed a similar
e)periment* the children were reported to ha"e spoken good Hebrew.
%hese &rst studies of human language tended to be concerned with
the origin of the oldest, or &rst, language +%hey were phlogenetic,, and
were only secondarily concerned with the precise way in which indi"idual
infants acquire speech. %rue studies of language de"elopment in the
infant +ontogenetic studies, came later.
-kbar, a '.th cent. /ogul emperor of $ndia, desired to learn whether
language was innate or acquired through e)posure to the speech of
adults. He belie"ed that language was learned by people listening to each
other and therefore a child could not de"elop language alone. So he
ordered a house built for two infants and stationed a mute nurse to care
for them. %he children did not acquire speech, which seemed to pro"e
-kbar0s hypothesis that language is acquired and does not simply emerge
spontaneously in the absence of e)posure to speech.
1nly in the last 23 years after the in"ention of the tape recorder was
child language recorded carefully and studied in any systematic fashion.
Sophisticated recording machinery of all sorts are now used to monitor
language pro&ciency in infants and small children.
!hild language acquisiton studies often attempt to map out the stages
of language acquisition. Such studies are of two types:
longitudinal44 de"elopment of speech in the same group o"er time. /ost
studies of child language acquisition are of this form.
cross sectional44 search for a certain type of data in a broad spectrum of
di5erent children, such as a study of the language of two4year olds across
the country.
Since this discipline is so new there is little conclusi"ely known about child
language acquisition. 1ne fact is de&nite: 6anguage acquisition depends
upon the child being e)posed to language. +-khbar0s e)periment was
correct., %he language a child acquires is that of his7her surroundings.
!hildren who are depri"ed of language in their en"ironment simply do not
begin to speak spontaneously. +8olf children, 9enie, had no language.,
%he main question in all modern studies of child language acquisition
in"ol"es &nding out what in human language is inborm, innate, we say
hard!wired" into the infant0s brain structure, and what is learned through
e)perience. -lthough this question hasn0t been answered to anyone0s
complete satisfaction, it seems clear that the basic capacity to learn
language is innate, while the particular form7meaning connections of
indi"idual languages are acquired through prolonged e)posure to a
speci&c speech community.

%here are three main theoretical approaches to child language
acquisition* all of them ha"e merit but none can fully e)plain the
phenomenon of child language acquisition.
#. $ogniti%e theor!! Jean Piaget +':;.4';:3,
<iews lang. acq. within the conte)t of the child0s broader intellectual
de"elopment. - child &rst becomes aware of a concept, such as relati"e
si=e, and only afterward do they acquire the words and patterns to con"ey
that concept. Simple ideas are e)pressed earlier than more comple) ones
e"en if they are grammatically more complicated44 !onditional mood is
one of the last. +cf. Spanish "s. >ussian.,
%here is a consistent order of mastery of the most common function
morphemes in a language E)ample from English: &rst44 4ing, then in and
on, then the plural 4s, last are the forms of the "erb to be. Seems to be
conditioned by logical comple)ity: plural is simple, while forms of the "erb
to be require sensiti"ity to both number and tense.
Pros and cons44 clearly there is some link between cogniti"e
de"elopment and language acquisiton* Piaget0s theory helps e)plain the
order in which certain aspects of language are acquired.
ut his theory does not e)plain why language emerges in the &rst
place. -pes also de"elop cogniti"ely in much the same way as young
children in the &rst few years of life, but language acquisition doesn0t
follow naturally from their de"elopment. ees de"elop the cogniti"e
ability to respond to many shades of color, but bees ne"er de"elop any
communication signals based on shades of color.
&. Imitation and positi%e reinforcement
!hildren learn by imitating and repeating what they hear. Positi"e
reinforcement and corrections also play a ma?or role in 6anguage
acquisition. !hildren do imitate adults. >epetition of new words and
phrases is a basic feature of children0s speech. %his is the beha"iorist
"iew popular in the 230s and (30s, but challenged, since imitation alone
cannot possibly account for all language acquisition.

!on: ', !hildren often make grammatical mistakes that they couldn0t
possibly ha"e heard: Cookies are gooder than bread. Bill taked the toy.
We goed to the store, Don't giggle me.
@, %his hypothesis would not account for the many instances when
adults do not coach their children in language skills. Positi"e
reinforcement doesn0t seem to speed up the language acquisition
process. !hildren do not respond to or produce metalanguage until A or 2,
after the main portion of the grammar has been mastered. +!hildren don0t
comprehend discussions about language structure., Story about %yler,
Bornei !huko"sky: yabloka, tibloka,
'. %he &nal theory we will discuss in"ol"es the belief in the innateness
of certain linguistic features. %his theory is connected with the
writings of Coam !homsky, although the theory has been around for
hundreds of years. !hildren are born with an innate capacity for learning
human language. Humans are destined to speak. !hildren disco"er the
grammar of their language based on their own inborn grammar. !ertain
aspects of language structure seem to be preordained by the cogniti"e
structure of the human mind. %his accounts for certain "ery basic
uni"ersal features of language structure: e"ery language has nouns7"erbs,
consonants and "owels. $t is assumed that children are pre4programmed,
hard4wired, to acquire such things. +%he Dga"agaiD e)periment.,
Eet no one has been able to e)plain how quickly and perfectly all
children acquire their nati"e language. E"ery language is e)tremely
comple), full of subtle distinctions that speakers are not e"en aware of.
Ce"ertheless, children master their nati"e language in ( or . years
regardless of their other talents and general intellectual ability.
-cquisition must certainly be more than mere imitation* it also doesn0t
seem to depend on le"els of general intelligence, since e"en a se"erely
retarded child will acquire a nati"e language without special training.
Some innate feature of the mind must be responsible for the uni"ersally
rapid and natural acquisition of language by any young child e)posed to
speech.
Co one has been able to e)plain ?ust what this mysterious language
acquisition de"ice, or 6-F, is. Some language acquisition must certainly
be due to simple repetition: greetings, swear words* much of it is not. -
three year old child generally can recall and use a new word heard once
e"en months afterward.
!homsky originally belie"es that the 6-F is a series of syntactic
uni"ersals, structural properties uni"erally found in all languages. %hese
syntactic structures are inborn. 1nly the words are learned. -llows us
in&nite creati"ity based on a limited number of patterns. !hildren thus
generate sentences based on learned words and innate syntactic
patterns. %his is why children make grammatical mistakes that they could
not be repeating.
-nd yet, so far, no properties ha"e been disco"ered that are truly
uni"ersal in all languages. $t seems that the syntactic structures di5er
from language to language and couldn0t be innate. -ll attempts to
construct a uni"ersal grammar that would underlie all structures in all
languages ha"e come to failure, !homsky0s theory of transformational
grammar being a case in point.
%oday !homsky belie"es that the uni"ersal properties are constraints,
rules that dictate what cannot be in any language rather than structures
which are uni"ersal. Some of these apparently uni"ersal constraints
include the obser"ation that forms a question by reciting words
backwards* the sub?ect of a subordinate clause ne"er go"erns the "erb in
the main clause, etc. $t is assumed that something about the structure of
our brain causes languages to be somewhat limited in how they can di5er
syntactically. %his built in limitation aids the child in acquiring the
language by narrowing down the possible patterns to a few.
%he problem with the theory of innateness, then, is not in deciding
whether the theory is correct, since the ability to learn language is
certainly innate, but rather in identifying ?ust what the mysterious
language acquisition de"ice actually is, what constraints or structural
features are hard4wired in the mind. %he 6-F must be something more
than general intelligence. -nd yet there doesn0t seem to be any structural
property or set of properties found in all languages that would allow us to
identify any purely linguistic skill that is separate from human intelligence.
6et0s take up the sub?ect of ?ust how structured the input is in child
learning acquisition. !homsky maintains that children couldn0t simply
&gure out language structure by repetition and analogy because the
language they hear is highly irregular. He claims that language spoken
around the child e)tremenly fragmentary, random simpli&cation of adult
speech. Speech between adults is often fragmentary or e"en
ungrammatical. Such run on and incomplete sentences must ser"e as
clues to something already in the mind.
/ore recent studies show that language spoken around child is not as
full of random errors, not as fragmented or randomly pidgini=ed as one
might belie"e. $t has been found that mothers use a special register of
language, dubbed motherese, to talk to their children. /otherese, ?ust
like other social registers, is highly structured* it is not random and
irregular as !homsky would ha"e us all belie"e. %here is a set correlation
between motherese and adult language and the featurese characteristic
of motherese di5er across cultures:
6et0s look at a few features of -nglo4-merican motherese:
Pragmatic features: sentences are shorter +2 or fewer words,, speed
slower, use of more clari&cational features than in speech between adults,
more questions, attempts at getting feedback from the child. $n Samoan
these features are lacking.
9rammatical elements found in motherese are e"en more di"erse, but
each language group has its own structured set: e)pressi"e element
+intonation,, lip rounding +6at"ian palatali=es consonants,, reduplication:
choo4choo, use of special words, especially for toys, bodily functions:
bunny, kaka, poo-poo. Gse of special morphemes, like English y7ie:
doggy, kitty, ducky, +erber suH): sh7sht, >ussian 4ik, ichiko, itsa,. Such
0baby0 morphemes often are used in speech between adults to make
hpochoristics. Some language apparently lack any special grammatical
or le)ical markers for motherese: Samoan, /aya.
%here is also a social register called fatherese: more demanding of
information, using more direct questions and a wider "ocabulary than
motherese. %here is also otherese. 1lder children and neighbors also
talk to infants and "ery small children using special baby talk. %he special
social registers that de"eloped from the need to speak to small children
ha"e de"eloped into forms that are speci&c to each language. <ery little
work has been done to study these types of speech.
$t seems increasingly apparent that the language a child hears is not
fragmented randomly, but is highly structured and this structure plays a
role in language acquisition. %his pro"es, once again, that the structures
themsel"es are not innate but acquired through e)posure* the capacity to
learn is what is innate.
(tages in child language acquistion!!)ni%ersal
#. Pre!speech: /uch of importance goes on e"en before the child utters
his &rst word: infants learn to pay attention to speech, pays attention to
intonation and the rhythm of speech long before they begin to speak.
$nfants respond to speech more keenly than to other sounds. Speech
elicits greater electrical acti"ity in the left side of the @ month old infant0s
brain than do other sounds. E)periment with microphone and nipple
showed that infants suck more "igorously if the action triggers a human
"oice as opposed to music or other sounds.
!hild learn to recogni=e the distincti"e sounds, the phonemes of the
language they hear from birth long before they are able to pronounce
them. $nfants can distinguish between 7p7 and 7b7 at three or four months
+in an e)periment with 7ba7 played "s. 7pa7, a two month infant showed
awareness of the change,. ut children do not learn how to use these
sounds until much later44 around the second year or later44as shown by the
e)periment with 7pok7 and 7bok7. %he same is true for rising "s. falling
intonation, which only becomes systematically funtional much later.
$nfants know the di5erence between one language and another by
recognition of phonological patterns +Story of the Russian fairy tale book.,
&. *a++ling stage. egins at se"eral months of age. !haracteri=ed by
indiscriminate utterance of speech sounds44 many of which may not be
used in the gi"en language but are found in other languages44 clicks.
/any nati"e speech sounds may be absent44 some are naturally harder to
pronounce44 7r7 7th7. <ery few consonant clusters and repeated syllables
are common.
'. ,ne word -holophrastic. stage. $nfants may utter their &rst word
as early as nine months: usually mama, dada +these words resemble
babbling,. Feaf babies whose parents use sign language begin making
their &rst word7gestures around eight months. %his stage is characteri=ed
by the production of actual speech signs. 1ften the words are simpli&ed:
DduD for duck, DbaD for bottle. 8hen the child has acquired about (3 words
he de"elops regular pronunciation patterns. %his may e"en distort certain
words44 turtle becomes DkurkaD. $ncorrect pronunciations are systematic at
this time: all words with 7r7 are pronounced as 7w7. sick44thick, thick44&ck.
!hildren tend to percei"e more phonemic contrasts than they are able to
produce themsel"es.
%he &rst (3 words tend to be names of important persons, greetings,
foods, highlights of the daily routine such as baths, ability to change their
en"ironment4gie, take, go, up, do!n, open.
%he meaning of words may not correspond to that of adult language:
o%ere/tension44 dog may mean any four legged creature. apple may
mean any round ob?ect. bird may mean any #ying ob?ect. !hild can still
distinguish between the di5erences, simply hasn0t learned that they are
linguistically meaningful. Fissimilarities linguistically redundant.
two patterns in child word learning44
referential44 names of ob?ects.
e/pressi%e44 personal desires and social interactions: bye4bye, hi,
good,
%his is a continuum. !hild0s place on this continuum partly due to
parent0s style: naming "s. pointing.
%he e)tra4linguistic conte)t pro"ides much of the speech info. >ising
and falling intonation may or may not be used to distinguish questions
from statements at the one4word stage. 8ords left out if the conte)ts
makes them ob"ious. -t this stage, utterances show no internal
grammatical structure +much like the sentence yes in adult speech, which
can0t be broken down into sub?ect, predicate, etc.,
0. $om+ining words44 ': mo44@ years. y two and a half years most
children speak in sentences of se"eral words44but their grammar is far
from complete. %his stage rapidly progresses into what has been termed a
&fth and &nal stage of language acquisition, the All hell +reaks loose
stage. y si) the child0s grammar appro)imates that of adults.

!hildren learning any language seem to encode the same limited set
of meanings in their &rst sentences:
ownership44 Faddy0s shoes* describing e"ents44 /e fall* labeling44 %hat
dog* locational relations44 toy in bo).
Sentences usually two words. !hildren can repeat more comple)
sentences spoken by adults but cannot create them until later +called
prefabricated routines, not indicati"e of the child0s grammar.
1ther patterns in early speech
%he ends of words learned more quickly: 4ra5 for gira5, 4mato for
tomato, 4narna for banana. %his is true e"en in lang. where the stress in
always on the &rst syllable.
-"oidance of e)ceptions44 o"ere)tention of a pattern: go44goed* good44
gooder.
%he rest of the acquisition of grammar is idiosyncratic44 some children
repeat more, others create more. Some children produce a great number
of words before beginning to combine them into sentences. 1thers
immediately begin to make sentences. %here may be se"eral indi"idual
routes to mastering one0s nati"e language.
$onclusion. -ll three theories44the imitation theory, the innateness
theory, and the cogniti"e theory44are probably correct to a degree* each
describes particular facets of a comple) phenomenon.
', !ogniti"e de"elopment is an essential prerequisite for linguistic
de"elopment. ut language acquisition doesn0t occur spontaneously
because of cogniti"e de"elopment +as seems to be the case in animal
systems of communication.
@, >epetition, imitation, structured input are all a part of language
acquisition. 9reater e)posure to language might speed language
acquisition up but is not essential.
A, $nnate learning de"ice. -ll children e)posed to language,
regardless of en"ironmental factors and di5erences in intelligence, are
able to acquire "ery comple) grammars at a "ery early age. Something
innate to the child44the 6-F44allows for such rapid and successful language
acquisition by children.
-ll of the abo"e studies ha"e re"ealed a few uni"ersally accepted facts
about child language acquisition.
', !hild 6anguage acquisition is a natural consequence of human
society. -ll children e)posed to language acquire it naturally without
deliberate e5orts of teaching or learning.
@, %he outcome of &rst language acquisition will be the same
regardless of indi"idual di5erences in intelligence. %wo children with quite
di5erent intellectual abilities will both acquire a highly comple) nati"e
language by age si).
A, -lthough the basic ability to acquire language is innate to the child,
no speci&c structural property of language has yet been pro"en to be
innate. %herefore, any infant is equally capable of acquiring any
language. $nfants born of di5erent racial stocks will acquire the same
form of language if raised in the same linguistic en"ironment. %here is no
such a thing as a >ussian language gene or a Swahili language gene. -n
infant born of >ussian parents and adopted into an -merican family will
acquire the same form of English as his stepbrothers and sisters.
1therwise, the phenomenon of child language acquisition is ?ust as
much a mystery to us as it was to Pharoah Psammeticus.
;he importance of language is essential to every aspect and interaction in our everyday lives.
We use language to inform the people around us of what we feel, what we desire, and
=uestionPunderstand the world around us. We communicate effectively with our words,
gestures, and tone of voice in a multitude of situation. Would you talk to a small child with
the same words you would in a business meeting. *eing able to communicate with each
other, form bonds, teamwork, and itBs what separates humans from other animal species.
"ommunication drives our lives and better ourselves.
5rigins of why their are so many different languages as plagued scholars and linguistics for
centuries and will continue to puCCle them far beyond our lifetimes to come. In most cultures
have myths that there was a common language spoke among the people with a deity getting
angry and confusing the people or separating them from each otherPsegmenting the people to
create their own language. Grime e(amples of stories like this is the D;ower of *abelE, 4indu
with the story of the Dnowledge ;reeE, and even $ative #mericans believing in a DGreat
?eluge6)lood7E separating people and speech.
;he importance of communication can be often overlooked. Even with the ability to
communicate with each other. &isunderstandings happen. >emember, communication is a
two way street that should be embraced and not ignored. *elieve it or not, some people can
be arrogant to believe they canBt go to foreign countries without knowing anything of the
language or culture of the people in the places they visit. ;he importance of language is
beneficial regardless if you do it for fun or for your career or even just for personal travel.
;hey e(pect the indigenous people to accommodate them and know their language. ;he
importance of language isnBt much different no matter what your nationality is. 4onestly, if
you were to study other languages you will find that most of them are actually pretty similar.
&ainly the differences are in alphabet, pronunciation, and grammar with the synta( generally
staying the same. We should use it to show our understanding of the cultures and lives of our
fellow men in other lands. We should go behind the outer shell and see the speaker beneath.
Gart where the importance of languages really shines in business with companies trying to
reach global audiences and markets. &ore and more business leaders are recogniCe to
compete you have to have knowledge in many foreign languages. nowledge of their
language as well as their culture shows that you respect the ideas that they bring to the table
and you understand their needs and wants better than somebody who does not have this
background.
#dditionally, there is the psychological aspect of direct communication during your business
transactions. Hour clients will be more likely to trust what you are saying and there will be a
more intimate relationship than if you were to conduct all communication through a
translator. ;his could be an important step in building strong and lasting business
relationships that help ensure the success of your own business.
&ore and more school are recogniCing the importance of language. !ome schools begin
offering to teach a second language as early as middle school. &any schools and employers
are re=uiring specific language re=uirements as part of their application process.
;hrough language we can connect with other people and make sense of our e(periences.
Imagine what it must be like for your child to develop these skills that we take for granted. #s
a parent, teacher, or other type of caregiver, you shape a childBs language development to
reflect the identity, values, and e(periences of your family and community.
;herefore, it is up to you to create a warm and comfortable environment in which your child
can grow to learn the comple(ities of language. ;he communication skills that your child
learns early in life will be the foundation for his or her communication abilities for the future.
!trong language skills are an asset that will promote a lifetime of effective communication.
I have always been interested in languages. 5ur language is the most important part of our
being. I think it is important to learn other languages besides our own because it helps us to
learn about other peoples and cultures but the most important one that we can learn is our
own mother tongue as this is one of the most basic parts of our identity. If we lose our own
tongue, for e(ample, when we grow up in a country which is not our own, in my opinion, we
are losing a part of ourselves.
"uneiform is the first known form of written language, but spoken language predates writing
by at least tens of thousands of years.
:anguage diversity. >edM the eight countries that together hold more than 8.Q of the worldNs
languages. *lueM areas of great diversity.
/+1
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for ac=uiring and using
comple( systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of comple(
communication. ;he scientific study of language in any of its senses is called linguistics.
;he appro(imately I,...90,... languages that are spoken by humans today are the most
salient e(amples, but natural languages can also be based on visual rather than auditory
stimuli, for e(ample in sign languages and written language. "odes and other kinds of
artificially constructed communication systems such as those used for computer
programming can also be called languages. # language in this sense is a system of signs for
encoding and decoding information. ;he English word derives ultimately from :atin lingua,
Olanguage, tongueO, via 5ld )rench.
/-1
When used as a general concept, OlanguageO refers to
the cognitive faculty that enables humans to learn and use systems of comple(
communication.
:anguage as a communication system is thought to be fundamentally different from and of
much higher comple(ity than those of other species as it is based on a comple( system of
rules relating symbols to their meanings, resulting in an indefinite number of possible
innovative utterances from a finite number of elements. :anguage is thought to have
originated when early hominids first started cooperating, adapting earlier systems of
communication based on e(pressive signs to include a theory of other minds and shared
intentionality. ;his development is thought to have coincided with an increase in brain
volume, and many linguists see the structures of language as having evolved to serve specific
communicative functions. :anguage is processed in many different locations in the human
brain, but especially in *rocaBs and WernickeBs areas. 4umans ac=uire language through
social interaction in early childhood, and children generally speak fluently when they are
around three years old. ;he use of language has become deeply entrenched in human culture
and, apart from being used to communicate and share information, it also has social and
cultural uses, such as signifying group identity, social stratification and for social grooming
and entertainment. ;he word OlanguageO can also be used to describe the set of rules that
makes this possible, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules.
#ll languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate a sign with a particular meaning.
!poken and signed languages contain a phonological system that governs how sounds or
visual symbols are used to form se=uences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic
system that governs how words and morphemes are used to form phrases and utterances.
Written languages use visual symbols to represent the sounds of the spoken languages, but
they still re=uire syntactic rules that govern the production of meaning from se=uences of
words. :anguages evolve and diversify over time, and the history of their evolution can be
reconstructed by comparing modern languages to determine which traits their ancestral
languages must have had for the later stages to have occurred. # group of languages that
descend from a common ancestor is known as a language family. ;he languages that are most
spoken in the world today belong to the Indo'European family, which includes languages
such as English, !panish, Gortuguese, >ussian and 4indiF the !ino';ibetan languages, which
include &andarin "hinese, "antonese and many othersF !emitic languages, which include
#rabic, #mharic and 4ebrewF and the *antu languages, which include !wahili, %ulu, !hona
and hundreds of other languages spoken throughout #frica. )orty per cent of the worldNs
languages are endangered and likely to become e(tinct.
/I
he word OlanguageO has at least two basic meaningsM language as a general concept, and Oa
languageO 6a specific linguistic system, e.g. O)renchO7. )erdinand de !aussure first e(plicitly
formulated the distinction, using the )rench word langage for language as a concept, and
langue as the specific instance of language.
When speaking of language as a general concept, several different definitions can be used
that stress different aspects of the phenomenon. ;hese definitions also entail different
approaches and understandings of language, and they inform different and often incompatible
schools of linguistic theory.
1e2nitions
;he word OlanguageO has at least two basic meaningsM language as a general concept, and Oa
languageO 6a specific linguistic system, e.g. O)renchO7. )erdinand de !aussure first e(plicitly
formulated the distinction, using the )rench word langage for language as a concept, and
langue as the specific instance of language.
When speaking of language as a general concept, several different definitions can be used
that stress different aspects of the phenomenon. ;hese definitions also entail different
approaches and understandings of language, and they inform different and often incompatible
schools of linguistic theory.
3edit4 5ental facult" organ or instinct
5ne definition sees language primarily as the mental faculty that allows humans to undertake
linguistic behaviourM to learn languages and produce and understand utterances. ;his
definition stresses the universality of language to all humans and the biological basis of the
human capacity for language as a uni=ue development of the human brain.
/01/21
;his view
often understands language to be largely innate, for e(ample as in "homskyNs theory of
Universal Grammar, Kerry )odorBs e(treme innatist theory. ;hese kinds of definitions are
often applied by studies of language within a cognitive science framework and in
neurolinguistics.
Formal sm+olic sstem
#nother definition sees language as a formal system of signs governed by grammatical rules
of combination to communicate meaning. ;his definition stresses the fact that human
languages can be described as closed structural systems consisting of rules that relate
particular signs to particular meanings. ;his structuralist view of language was first
introduced by )erdinand de !aussure, and his structuralism remains foundational for most
approaches to language today. !ome proponents of this view of language have advocated a
formal approach to studying the structures of language, privileging the formulation of
underlying abstract rules that can be understood to generate observable linguistic structures.
;he main proponent of such a theory is $oam "homsky, who defines language as a particular
set of sentences that can be generated from a particular set of rules.
/,1
;he structuralist
viewpoint is commonly used in formal logic, semiotics, and in formal and structural theories
of grammar, the most commonly used theoretical frameworks in linguistic description. In the
philosophy of language these views are associated with philosophers such as *ertrand
>ussell, early Wittgenstein, #lfred ;arski and Gottlob )rege.
6ool for communication
Het another definition sees language as a system of communication that enables humans to
cooperate. ;his definition stresses the social functions of language and the fact that humans
use it to e(press themselves and to manipulate objects in their environment. )unctional
theories of grammar e(plain grammatical structures by their communicative functions, and
understands the grammatical structures of language to be the result of an adaptive process by
which grammar was OtailoredO to serve communicative needs of its users. ;his view of
language is associated with the study of language in pragmatic, cognitive and interactional
frameworks, as well as in socio'linguistics and linguistic anthropology. )unctionalist theories
tend to study grammar as a dynamic phenomenon, as structures that are always in the process
of changing as they are employed by their speakers. ;his view leads to the study of linguistic
typology being of importance, as it can be shown that processes of grammaticaliCation tend to
follow trajectories that are partly dependent on typology. In the philosophy of language these
views are often associated with WittgensteinBs later works and with ordinary language
philosophers such as G. E. &oore, Gaul Grice, Kohn !earle and K. :. #ustin.
7hat makes human language unique
4uman language is uni=ue in comparison to other forms of communication, such as those
used by animals, because it allows humans to produce an infinite set of utterances from a
finite set of elements, and because the symbols and grammatical rules of any particular
language are largely arbitrary, so that the system can only be ac=uired through social
interaction. ;he known systems of communication used by animals, on the other hand, can
only e(press a finite number of utterances that are mostly genetically transmitted.
/+.1
4uman languages also differ from animal communication systems in that they employ
grammatical and semantic categories such as noun and verb, or present and past, to e(press
e(ceedingly comple( meanings.
/++1
4uman language is also uni=ue in that its comple(
structure serves a much wider range of functions than any other known communication
system.
:anguage is also uni=ue in that it has the important property that it organiCes elements into
recursive structuresF this allows, for e(ample, a noun phrase to contain another noun phrase
6as in Othe chimpanCeeNs