Neurobiological Mechanisms of Language Acquisition

Abstract

In this paper we specify language acquisition processes in terns of brain mechanisms in order to explain the variable success achieved by early and late language learners. On the basis of the literature in language acquisition, neurobiology, and linguistics, we propose a brain-based model €or language acquisition. The model assumes two conditions must be met in order to acquire full knowledge of a particular language: first, that the learner is motivated to acquire the language;and second, that the learner is equipped with the ability to acquire grammatical knowledge. We explain the neural underpinnings for both motivation and grammatical ability and show how they interact to produce variable success in language acquisition. We thank Joe Bogen, Valentin Braitenberg, Joaquin Fuster, Arnold Scheibel, and Almut Schiiz for valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. We are also grateful to three anonymous referees for their constructive comments.

On the Evidence for Maturational Constraints in Second-Language Acquisition

“…Interestingly, Schneiderman (1991) riod Hypothesis as it relates to L2 acquisition. The postmaturational age-related effects we found are fairly robust and are grounds for refutation according to Pulvermüller and Schumann (1994), who maintain that "if the decrease in grammatical proficiency with greater age in postpuberty starters could be confirmed, the present [neurobiologically-based] proposal would have to be modified" (p. 723). On the matter of nativelikeness, our evidence exceeds Long's Popperian criterion for rejecting the Critical Period Hypothesis (Long, 1990, p. 255).…”

Meaning and the brain: The neurosemantics of referential, interactive, and combinatorial knowledge

“…In their neurobiological model of language acquisition, Pulvermüller and Schumann postulated that this subcortical loop provides a relay station for linking linguistic information and emotional meaning (Pulvermüller & Schumann, 1994;Schumann et al, 2004). Correlation between activity in the limbic system, the distributed brain system processing affective and emotional information, and language areas of cortex lead to the association of cortical lexical circuits and emotion circuits.…”

Individual differences in late bilinguals' L2 phonological processes: From acoustic-phonetic analysis to lexical access

“…At the same time, the capacity to perceive many non-native phoneme contrasts also declines in this period (Werker & Tees, 1984;Kuhl et al, 1992;Polka & Werker, 1994;Bosch & Sebastián-Gallés, 2003;Sebastián-Gallés & Bosch, 2009;AlbaredaCastellot, Pons, & Sebastián-Gallés, 2011; for exceptions to this pattern see Best, McRoberts, & Sithole, 1988;Best, McRoberts, LaFleur, & Silver-Isenstadt, 1995;Best & McRoberts, 2003). This age effect on the acquisition of the phonology, as well as syntax, of an L2 has been claimed to stem from a reduction in brain plasticity during development (Johnson & Newport, 1989;Pulvermüller & Schumann, 1994). However, even bilinguals who acquired the L2 early in life still experience difficulties in the perception of some L2 phonetic contrasts (Caramazza, Yeni-Komshian, Zurif, & Carbone, 1973;Pallier, Bosch, & Sebastián-Gallés, 1997;Pallier, Colomé, & Sebastián-Gallés, 2001; Sebastián-Gallés, Echeverria, & Bosch, 2005; Sebastián-Gallés, Rodríguez-Fornells, de Diego-Balaguer, & Díaz, 2006;Williams, 1980).…”