Critical Component for Language Acquisition

The notion that there is empirical evidence to prove that humans have a critical period to acquire a language is, indeed, an ample fulfillment. This remarkable phenomena in which language acquisition takes part in is known as the critical period hypothesis. From the earliest incoherent babble to the utterance of a child’s first word, scientists have been able to unravel the mystery of understanding language acquisition. The critical period hypothesis originally came from linguist and neurologist, Eric Heinz Lenneberg. Linguists believe that language, in itself, has a critical component for learning. There is substantial proof for a critical period in language which stems from studies on bilinguals, deaf children who use sign language, and extreme cases of feral children like Victor and Genie that has shed light upon language acquisition.
The process of acquiring a second language relies heavily on empirical evidence that suggests that the earlier a child can grasp a second language, the better. Bilingual children are able to easily detect the nuances of different meanings in both their languages whether it being English or Spanish. The differences between monolingual and bilingual children is that bilingual children have the advantage to discriminate the certain utterances between their two languages and above all they seem to be prepared for the mechanism of language. This holds truth that children who acquire a second language are strongly influenced by their adapted environment and if there is passing of this particular time frame then it would be much more difficult for a child to speak more than a language.
In addition, investigations in the critical period for early childhood development such as the ones conducted by Marian...

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...hildren learn it so easily with minimal effort. One may question as to how the brain does it. Whereas, in amidst of all the questions, our cognitive processes discerns critical thinking or a rationalization. Strong empirical evidence reinforces the critical period hypothesis. Case studies of individuals who are able to acquire a second language, deaf individuals that communicate via the medium of sign language or a variety of signals, extreme cases of childhood neglect all stems back to the understanding of language acquisition. If a child is not exposed to language at an earlier time frame, then little exposure to environment and society prevents acquisition of a language. By contrast, studies on deaf children indicates the arduousness in learning a language after early childhood which may have been brought by the individual’s struggle in developing mental skills.