The Role of Critical Period in Second Dialect Acquisition Essay

The Role of Critical Period in Second Dialect Acquisition - Essay Example At the time there had been enough discovery of a number of feral children to support this hypothesis. However, other variables were problematic, as these same children had been neglected, deprived and usually abused. Many were half starved and most had suffered isolation. With all these factors involved it was difficult to limit the variables in order to establish cause and effect. Later, other linguists tried to tie this theory also to second language acquisition with varying contradictory results. Finally, neurobiologists did manage to identify a portion of the brain that seems not to develop if a â€Å"second† language is not acquired by a certain pivotal age, generally coinciding with puberty. However, just what exactly is meant by a second language is not cast in stone. Does Latin qualify? What about children’s code language for play? Do other jargon sets qualify, such as mathematics terminology, psychology vocabulary or academic English? What about a second dialect sufficiently different from the mainstream language? Little or no research has been done with these languages as the â€Å"second language† acquired, so it is still unanswerable. However, it is this researcher’s suggestion that perhaps any sufficiently large complex symbolic system will fill this void. However, in the case of a dialect, if the first language is a di alect of the mainstream language, is there a critical period beyond which it becomes problematic for the learning of the mainstream language? Lenneberg first hypothesized the existence of a critical period for language learning in 1967, and it was supported by the case study of Genie, who had little or no exposure to language until age sixteen. He hypothesized that â€Å"language acquisition is impossible before two due to maturational factors, and after puberty because of the loss of ‘cerebral plasticity’ caused by the completion of the development of cerebral dominance, or lateralized specialization of

Business and Corporate Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business and Corporate Law - Assignment Example In the end, Speedway left themselves open to great liability. Speedway’s promotion entailed bonus air miles being attached to being collected through domestic bookings. The advertisement stated that any†¨customer who collected 50000 miles could redeem them for an online code for the †¨chance to win a great range of prizes, which included items on Speedways services. †¨Further it said that: †¨Ã¢â‚¬ËœReach 50,000 bonus miles and enter the online code for the chance to receive †¨a winning confirmation email to Speedway’s head office and win the grand prize of an all expenses paid round the world holiday. But only for a limited †¨time.’ †¨[100 words]†¨ This is where the company went wrong. They made an offer that they stated ‘any customer who collected 50,000 miles’ could redeem them for an online code for the chance to win a range of prizes—including the possibility of receiving a winning confirmation email to go to Speedway’s head office in order to get an all-expenses paid ‘round the world’ holiday. Speedway should have specified the limited time for which the contest was sponsored. This could have made their job much easier when people came to the Speedway headquarters wanting to claim their prizes. So, Speedway left themselves liable. Jim Smith was surfing the Net when he came across Speedway’s Internet †¨advertisement. Immediately he started booking flights for his next holidays and after †¨collecting the bonus air miles he waited for his email confirmation. While he was †¨waiting he collapses from the excitement at the prospect of winning an all expenses †¨paid round the world trip. He was taken to hospital. †¨[175 words] Speedway is not liable for the fact that Jim collapsed â€Å"in excitement† over the prospect of winning an all-expenses paid trip around the world. Basically, it could be argued that his collapse could have