A report on the state of the research in bilingualism among children to determine whether or not first and second languages are acquired in the same way. Several studies are described and classified; usage, pronunciation, interference and the question of dominant language are discussed. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

The use of formulaic speech is seen as a learning strategy in children's first language (L1) acquisition to a limited extent, and to an even greater extent in their second language (L2) acquisition. While the first utterances of the child learning L1 are mostly one-word constructions, many of them are routine words or phrases that the child learns…

A number of first language (L1) research studies are examined in an attempt to discover whether the hypothesized similarity between L1 acquisition and second language (L2) learning has any empirical support. The relationship between age and language learning is considered to determine if there are changes in learning ability, rate of learning and…

A case study analyzed the babbling and speech production of an infant, aged 20 to 24 months, whose family members spoke Portuguese, English, and French interchangeably. Focus was on vowel production, choice of lexicon, and the relationship between babbling and speech in the interaction of his languages. The child's utterances were recorded in…

The proceedings of this Georgetown University Round Table on developmental psycholinguistics are divided into four sections: (1) "Children's Language Acquisition: Linguistic and Psycholinguistic Theory"; (2) "Children's Language Acquisition and Communicative Disorders"; (3) "Developmental Psycholinguistics and Second…

This book addresses child's language learning in a manner designed to be understandable to the nonspecialist. The major areas covered are: (1) learning one's first language; (2) the role of adults in the child's language learning; (3) discovering the structure of language: phonology; (4) discovering the structure of language: syntax; (5) learning…

This handbook serves as an introduction to the study of children's language development and as a supplementary aid in the training of research workers in the field of children's language learning. As a teaching aid, it is suggested this work be used with a film entitled "Psycholinquistic Research Techniques: Children's Language." Major chapters…

A common assumption underlying cross-linquistic studies in child language is that the comparison of any feature in unrelated languages may simplify semantic-grammatical complexities in a way that studies on a single language cannot. This paper begins by discussing the order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes in Spanish by four…

Infant bilingualism can be defined as a child being exposed to two or more languages from birth. Because of the dearth of first-hand research on the effect of a bilingual environment on a child's speaking patterns, parents from multilingual backgrounds raised their daughter in a bilingual environment, German and Spanish, in England. They speak to…

Discusses pre-linguistic and linguistic stages of language acquisition that are part of a continuum of receptivity and communication every child experiences in the first 3 years of life. Suggests parents assist language development by being sympathetic to each developmental turning point, providing the right emotional climate for expression, and…

This paper investigates the development of negative Wh-questions in a four year old subject acquiring English as her L1. Spontaneous and elicited speech samples were collected over a period of 6 months. During the course of the study, the subject began to invert subject and auxiliary, and by the end of the study she was inverting correctly in 38%…

This issue of The Journal of Social Issues is devoted to nine articles on the topic of bilingualism written by authorities in the fields of linguistics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and education. The authors and their topics are: (1) Dell Hymes, "Models of the Interaction between Language and Social Setting," (2) Joshua A. Fishman,…

This is the second report of a longitudinal project, initiated in 1970, in which children with and without language problems are identified in French immersion and English kindergartens and closely monitored to the end of grade 3. This study investigates the desirability of early French immersion program for English-speaking children with language…