Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022Liked by Mathias Barra
Love the mention of adults vs. children's abilities to learn a language. While I have a lot of problems with the critical period hypothesis in general, I feel especially strongly about the fact that we tend to overemphasize accent as the main marker of language proficiency (while even "native" English speakers, for example, vary drastically when it comes to accents, from speakers who grew up in Glasgow to those who grew up in Alabama). Not to mention that adults consistently outperform children in speed when it comes to acquiring a second language, particularly in the earlier stages of language learning. A fascinating subject!
Very interesting. It reminds of the hundreds of hours I spent listening to John McWorther's lectures on Audible. Will definitely have a peek at your posts, Mathias
Love the mention of adults vs. children's abilities to learn a language. While I have a lot of problems with the critical period hypothesis in general, I feel especially strongly about the fact that we tend to overemphasize accent as the main marker of language proficiency (while even "native" English speakers, for example, vary drastically when it comes to accents, from speakers who grew up in Glasgow to those who grew up in Alabama). Not to mention that adults consistently outperform children in speed when it comes to acquiring a second language, particularly in the earlier stages of language learning. A fascinating subject!
Very interesting. It reminds of the hundreds of hours I spent listening to John McWorther's lectures on Audible. Will definitely have a peek at your posts, Mathias