Ahearn 2017 Chapter 4- “Language Acquisition and Socialization” Summary PDF

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Ahearn 2017 Chapter 4: “Language Acquisition and Socialization” Summary Many people use “baby talk” when conversing with babies o Using “baby talk” brings the person down to the baby’s level, in order to help the baby “understand” what they are saying.  “Baby talk” isn’t used in all societies but is commonly seen in Western societies.  In Papua New Guinea, Bage was expected to cater to everyone else, which forced him to learn how to communicate.  I believe “baby talk” hinders the baby’s learning capability. It doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to understand concepts that another baby does (that didn’t hear “baby talk”), but babies already have the capability to learn many things and using “baby talk” hides a lot of concepts that are thought to be “difficult” for them to understand.  For example, I have a four-year old cousin that learned how to talk from a very young age (around the age of 2 I believe). We speak to him in both English and Spanish, and we (usually) don’t hide or make up answers to questions that he asks us. When he was 3, he already understood the concept of money and that his parents go to work to earn money. He also understands English and Spanish and can speak both languages well, although there is more emphasis on Spanish in the household. o My cousin being able to speak Spanish may be an example of a “single process.”  This still happens to me, mixing up Spanish and English grammar, which shows that language socialization never ends at childhood and can continue for a long time. I believe this applies to people that are learning more than one language, as it can be difficult to differentiate the rules of both languages (or more languages)....