Re: Do Children Learn Languages at Different Rates?

Helmut Richter wrote:
>
> Peter T. Daniels:
>
> > Helmut Richter wrote:
>
> >> The more I follow such discussions, I get the impression that "all
> >> languages are equal complex/difficult/..." is more an axiom than a result
> >> of linguistic research. At least up to now, I have not seen good arguments
> >> corroborating it -- nor good arguments defeating it.
>
> > There is no reason to suppose that there is any difference in
> > complexity/difficulty between languages, since there is nothing that
> > can't be translated and understood in any language.
>
> This is right but has little to do with the question at hand.
>
> Expressiveness (what can be said) seems to be equal, with the possible
> exception that some languages may never have developed to cover all
> purposes (how many philosophy books have been written in Tok Pisin?), but

That's vocabulary, not language.

> I do not doubt that every language can at least evolve to equal
> expressiveness.
>
> Complexity (how is a description of the whole grammar and vocabulary in a
> different language) can hardly be defined in a meaningful way, and there
> is some plausibility that by and large, languages are comparably complex.
> The reason is that complexity may add to expressiveness and may cost
> learning and speaking effort, and there will evolve a reasonable balance
> between the two.
>
> Difficulty to learn for L2 learners (amount of memory required for a basic
> knowledge) does in fact vary a lot between languages. To some extent, this
> may be dependent on the language background of the learner, but not
> entirely.

Yes, entirely.

> Now the question is whether the difficulty for L2 learners may have an
> influence on the acquisition speed for L1 learners. I see no reason why
> this should not be the case.

I see no reason why it should. L2 is not acquired in the same way as L1.

> > Any distinction that affects individuals before reproduction age has, in
> > the long run, an evolutionary effect. Any distinction manifested later
> > -- such as sickle cell disease coupled with resistance to malaria, or
> > Alzheimers -- doesn't.
>
> I am not sure the mechanisms for languages to survive are exactly the same
> as for populations of living beings.

We're not talking about language death.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

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