This critical essay investigates the acquisition of phonology. It is amazing how rapidly children develop in the first years of their lives. The acquisition of their mother tongue is especially fascinating because it is such a complex process. Not only the linguistic code has to be fully acquired but also all its rules and norms. That is, apart from the language’s phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis and semantics, – constituting the code of every language –pragmatic rules are also important for the daily use and the full dominance of a language. This essay focuses on the most basic field, phonology, and explains how a child acquires the target language’s phonology. Although the stages of the acquisition process are described generally since they are universal and hold true for all children independently of their mother tongue, the attention is on the English phonology in particular. First language acquisition in general is an important topic, not only for linguists. To have knowledge about it also helps the parents to raise children, especially in bilingual situations. I, myself, consider it very useful to write about such a topic as one can learn to understand what and how many stages and steps are actually involved. If we know how it works, perhaps we may also understand why children initially make errors or quite unusual utterances or even extraordinary sounds (in the pre-language stages) while acquiring the native language. The essay will provide information about the whole acquisition process. However, the main focus will be on the first four to six years.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Acquisition of phonology
II.1. Definitions
II.2. Prerequisites to the acquisition of a language’s phonology
II.3. Infant speech perception
II.4. The sound laws of child language
II.5. Pre-language stage: cooing and babbling
II.6. Development: From early speech production onwards
II.7. In detail: Speech production
II.7.1. Building a system of contrasts
II.7.2. Phonological processes
II.8. The importance of stressed syllables in production
II.9. Baby talk
III. Markedness
III.1. About markedness: Definitions and approaches
III.2. Features of markedness
III.3. Phonological markedness: values and markedness reversals
III.4. Markedness and language acquisition
IV. Conclusion
Objectives & Core Topics
This essay investigates the process of first language acquisition, specifically focusing on the acquisition of phonology during the first four to six years of life. The research aims to explain how children transition from pre-language babbling stages to producing intelligible speech and how they develop a mental lexicon by identifying phonetic categories and phonemic contrasts.
- The universal stages and prerequisites of early phonological development.
- The influence of "sound laws" and the principle of maximal contrast on speech acquisition.
- The mechanisms of phonological processes (substitution, assimilation, and syllable structure) used to simplify language.
- The role of stressed syllables and baby talk in shaping children's linguistic competence.
- The application of markedness theory to analyze and predict the order of sound acquisition.
Excerpt from the Book
II.7.2. Phonological processes
Between the age of 1.6 and 4.0, young children undergo a considerable development in their phonological ability (cf. Ingram 1999: 223). In this stage, the child really starts with acquiring the phonology in the sense of producing ‘real’ words (but pronounces these slightly differently) and does not only imitate the words uttered in his/her environment. (Previously, the infant has acquired the language’s phonological sounds and understands to differentiate between these). Consequently, s/he has to obtain the sound laws of the target language and all these sounds have to be utilized in a correct way which means that children have to approximate their pronunciation of words to that of an adult. Thus, memorized sound representations have to be activated and linked with the ‘motor control level’. Its function is to develop an articulatory plan and to control the articulatory activities required for the utterance of a certain word. In a last step, these activities have to be carried out by the articulatory organs (cf. Piske 2002: 326). This is what is happening in phonological processes. These also help to ease the articulation of several sounds, syllables and words (cf. Fromkin et al. 2000: 670).
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter outlines the scope of the study, emphasizing the complexity of phonological acquisition and the importance of understanding universal stages in early childhood language development.
II. Acquisition of phonology: This chapter examines the chronological stages of phonological acquisition, covering prerequisites, infant perception, speech production, and specific phenomena like "baby talk".
III. Markedness: This chapter explores the theoretical framework of markedness, detailing feature systems and how they help explain the hierarchy and order in which children acquire phonological contrasts.
IV. Conclusion: This final section provides a critical review of the acquisition process, summarizing how children progress from early biological sounds to fully realized linguistic structures through natural, unconscious exposure.
Keywords
Phonology, Language Acquisition, Markedness, Speech Production, Speech Perception, Phonemic Contrast, Babbling, Phonological Processes, Stressed Syllables, Baby Talk, Universal Sound Laws, Distinctive Features, Child Language, Articulation, Mental Lexicon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
The research investigates how children acquire the phonological system of their native language, focusing on the developmental journey from birth to approximately six years of age.
What are the core thematic areas?
The core themes include phonological development stages, speech production mechanisms, the role of markedness in language acquisition, and the influence of environmental factors like "baby talk".
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to understand how children acquire linguistic codes, identify the stages of phonological development, and explain why children follow specific universal patterns when learning to speak.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The work utilizes a critical essay structure, reviewing existing linguistic theories and data, and applying phonological models to explain observed child language behavior.
What is discussed in the main body?
The main body details the transition from speech perception to production, common phonological processes used to simplify speech (like substitution and assimilation), and the theory of markedness values.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include phonology, language acquisition, markedness, speech production, perception, and phonological processes.
How do children use stressed syllables to segment speech?
Because the speech stream is continuous, children use stressed syllables as anchors to help identify where words begin and end, facilitating the construction of their mental lexicon.
Why is markedness theory important for this study?
Markedness theory provides a framework to explain why some sounds are acquired earlier than others; sounds that are less "marked" are generally acquired first because they are more optimal and frequent in the world's languages.
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- Sarah Schmidt (Autor:in), 2008, The acquisition of phonology, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/116203
