48 First-Language Acquisition
Chapter 10: First-Language Acquisition
Chapter Overview and Objectives
This chapter introduces students to some of the major concepts related to the acquisition of
phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, and to issues in language acquisition. After
completing this chapter, students should be able to
٪ Identify patterns in the acquisition of vowels, consonants, and syllable structure.
٪ Identify patterns in the acquisition of morphology, especially inflectional morphemes.
Key Terms and Concepts
cooing
babbling
gliding
stopping
telegraphic speech
intonation
overgeneralization
basic-level term
biologically determined
behavior
culturally determined
behavior
Commentary on Chapter 10
Like language variation, language acquisition is a topic to which students can bring many of
their own personal observations—based upon forms they have heard from their siblings, their
nieces and nephews, or their own children. We strongly recommend that you show the video
mentioned in the Preface (The Human Language: Acquiring the Human Language), as it
First-Language Acquisition 49
Suggested Answers to Exercises
Exercise A, p. 207
1. Infant, from Latin meaning ‘unable to speak,’ accurately describes a 1-month-old. It is
inaccurate in that –fant is cognate with Greek phone; which, with the negative prefix,
Exercise B, pp. 208–209
1. The mother might be inadvertently cuing the child (known as the “Clever Hans” effect,
after a 19th-century performing horse who supposedly could spell and do math).
Exercise C, p. 213
1. a. /a/ b. /p/ c. † d. CV
2. [thǹk]. The child is likely to simplify the initial /st/ cluster by deleting the fricative /s/. This
h. consonant cluster simplification
and voicing ([k] is unaspirated and
perceived as voiced)
50 First-Language Acquisition
Exercise D, pp. 217–218
1. Stage III
Exercise E, pp. 218–219
1. Reduplications count as one morpheme; only overt inflectional affixes count as separate
Exercise F, p. 220
1. a. majority are nouns
Exercise G, pp. 224–225
1. a. {PLU}
2. I-Movement
Exercise H, p. 228
1. a. B
Exercise I, pp. 236–237
1. Genetically encoded universal properties of language (sometimes called universal
First-Language Acquisition 51
c. behaviorist
Supplementary Exercises, pp. 238–242
1. a. F
d. T
g. T
52 First-Language Acquisition
Exploratory Exercises, p. 242
1. Answers will vary, but should include both production and perception, as well as
allophonic variation.
2. Assuming the child can distinguish between the two segments aurally (e.g., push vs. puss),
then the concept of distinctive features is relevant. Thus, one might argue that the child