The Critical Period

Critical Period Hypothesis

    

    Children do not acquire language in a predictable way, yet the process of acquisition does not happen by chance. There are norms or requirements for language acquisition. As discussed in the previous reading, “Brain’ Modularity and Aphasias,” as well, a child should be exposed to a language for learning it. This is the first rule of language learning. However, it is not the last. Another fact is that the time interval when the child is exposed to the language plays a crucial role in the language acquisition process. In other saying, the child should be exposed to language in an early and specific period. This period is called “Critical Period.” To sum up the norms of language acquisition:

1. The child should be exposed to language.
2. The child should be exposed to language in a specific interval, i.e., the critical period.

You may wonder the logic behind these two judgments about the language acquisition process. Well, there are observations that are considered as proof. In this part of the text, let’s discuss the logic behind these judgments!

Evidences of the Critical Period

Linguists say all the children who have no impairment, that is to say, who are typically developing, can acquire the language. Learning a language is an ability that grows in a fixed period called the Critical Period. To prove the existence of a critical period, linguists observed “feral children.” Feral children can be described as children having isolated from human interaction. There are two types of feral children that linguists observed to prove the Critical Period Hypothesis. The first is children raised in wildlife: Victor, Amala, and Kamala.

Victor

Victor was found in a forest in 1797 in France. He had already been 12 until he was discovered. Victor was unable to talk but only to growl. The scars and wounds on his body made it apparent that he had suffered from the wildlife. Despite the efforts, he could not fully acquire the language.

Amala and Kamala

Amala and Kamala were said to be raised by the wolves. When they were found, they acted like a wolf. They walked, howled, tried to hunt like a wolf. Similar to Victor, they were unable to talk and could not fully acquire the language.

As for the other type of feral children, it is the ones that faced language isolation. Genie is the most typical representative of these children. Deprived of human interaction and language, these children could not fully acquire the language.

Genie

The parents neglected Genie by confining her to a room. There was no language interaction between them. Therefore, Genie suffered from language isolation. She could not acquire the sound system, grammar, or syntax. She was 13 when found. The efforts of scientists helped her obtain some language, but similar to the other feral children discussed, she could not fully acquire the language. Despite the instructions, Genie’s speech contained ungrammatical endings, which was also lacked function words and pronouns.

In conclusion, the feral children show that the language cannot be acquired at any time. The children should be exposed to language in a specific time called the Critical Period with human interaction. 

The images are used in a representative manner.