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November 19, 2005
Chapter 11
Pronunciation: Average I think it doesn’t take too long necessarily to change the pronunciations of words. It seems like a few people will start it and then it will spread to more and more people and each generation will begin to use it and then it will become generally accepted.
Syntax (order): Longest I think the syntax takes longer to change because it is a more significant change than pronunciation. I feel that this would be much harder to change as many of these rules are pretty much set in stone and when you first try to change something, people would question it and might not understand it as much.
Lexicon (Vocabulary): Shortest I think lexicon is the simplest to change because new words are always being created to accommodate the ever-changing world. However, words changing their meaning I think takes a little longer, relatively speaking.
First language acquisition relates to this chart because it the magnitudes I decided upon also show the order in which you acquire your first language. A lexicon of your language is first developed as you learn the words for the simple things, like “mama” and “dada.” However, it takes some practice in order to be able to pronounce the words correctly, instead of the babbling. Lastly, a child learns the rules of syntax and begins to put simple sentences or phrases together. Finally everything begins to come together and grammar begins to show up and the sentences soon become grammatically correct.
-Jessica F.
Posted by lcisfaria at November 19, 2005 05:41 PM
Comments
Jessica, your post made me reconsider my post about the acquisition of language in babies. I thought that the first thing babies would learn in pronunciation, or sounds, then they would learn words, and finally they would learn syntax. But what you're saying actually makes more sense. Babies learn words first. They relate the sound "mommy" to their mother and in their heads they know that one stands for the other. It is saying this word that is the challenge for them. Babies may know many words, before they actually learn to pronounce them out loud.
Posted by: Brenna S. at November 20, 2005 11:56 PM