Blog 8: It Can Be Innate

                            

Language Acquisition Link

I chose this link because there are two articles from this link that I enjoyed and they both relate to language acquisition. The main article is in the center and has three components: Emphasis on Nature, Emphasis on Experience and Usage, and Why Further Study is Needed. What I find most interesting in the main article is located in the Emphasis on Nature section. It said that children learn better in natural settings when acquiring a second language whereas adults MAY have an advantage learning in a classroom setting. I find it interesting that adults have to make a conscious effort to acquire another language compared to children. So, it means that learning a second language will be easier to learn as a child since children absorb information like a sponge.

This leads into the second article in the right, purple column. Researcher Saffran believes that learning a language is innate and we have an easier time learner a whole language when we are younger. She did an experiment where she gave nonsense words to babies in a particular pattern. The babies were able to pick up on the patterns of where the “words” ended and began. This proves that babies are wired to naturally acquire language. Like the first article, there was a focus on testing nature versus nurture. What I find interesting in this article is babies regularly pay attention to unacquainted sounds for longer periods than familiar sounds. I had no idea babies did that!

I definitely agree with both articles about how the rate of language acquisition is easier for babies and children compared to adults. I definitely want to learn more about this topic because I love children and I find the human brain to be fascinating. This topic affects the world because every human adult was once a baby and a child! To think, learning at least one whole language fluently is learned before the age of 8!

To end this with a quote:

“You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.”- Geoffrey Willans 

Blog 7: Silent Treatment

Ayapaneco link

I chose this article because I find it ridiculous that the last two speakers of a dying language won’t communicate with each other. The two men are about 6 years apart in age and are the only two people who can speak Ayapaneco. This language was spoken in what is now Mexico. What I find most interesting is that the two men do not enjoy each other’s company. One would think that since they share a common language, it would be easier to make and maintain a friendship. It goes to show that just because two people know the same language doesn’t mean they are automatically comrades. I definitely want to learn more about the Ayapaneco language because I want to see if the two men will eventually communicate with one another. Fortunately, the article said a linguistic anthropologist from Indiana University will create a dictionary with Ayapaneco words in hopes of preserving the language since these two men are excellent silent treatment givers. This affects the world because there are many languages around the world that have less than 5 speakers. The article provides some examples with its pictures. I think it’s important to preserve dying languages because I feel like if a language dies, a culture dies as well.

To end this with a quote:

Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides- Rita Mae Brown