Differentiation as One of the Basic Mechanisms of Language Acquisition

Abstract

In the process of speech ontogenesis, various mechanisms of language acquisition play different roles. Both basic and auxiliary mechanisms can be distinguished. The basic mechanisms are proposed to include generalization, differentiation and imitation. The role of differentiation in speech ontogenesis is very significant, and this mechanism plays a special role in language acquisition by boys, primarily expressive ones. The study is based on records of spontaneous speech of young children, as well as on the experimental data. The main part of the study is based on the data of the experiment with 16 children - 8 referential (4 girls and 4 boys) and 8 expressive (4 girls and 4 boys). As a result, in contrast to previous studies, it is concluded that there is no clear evidence that the role of differentiation in the speech ontogenesis of expressive children is significantly more important than its role in the speech ontogenesis of referential children. At the same time, the assumption made earlier that differentiation is more significant for boys than for girls is confirmed. The obtained results are proposed to be interpreted as follows: the referential children, and girls in the first place, are more capable of generalization as the most basic mechanism of language acquisition. At the same time, all children, both referential and expressive, tend to rely on differentiation, but the lower ability to rely on generalization in expressive children than in referential children leads to the fact that they (especially the expressive boys) are forced to rely on one of the other two basic mechanisms of language acquisition - differentiation or imitation. Since differentiation is a more basic mechanism of language acquisition than imitation, the reliance on differentiation in expressive children is especially significant. Therefore, reliance on differentiation, with an insufficient ability to rely on generalization, plays a particularly significant role in the process of speech ontogenesis of expressive children, and, first of all, boys.

Keywords

• child language
• language acquisition
• differentiation
• referential children
• expressive children
• boys’ speech
• girls’ speech