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Qingfei Zhang (Tiffany) Class 2 The Study of Language Mid-Paper May. 12 The Analysis of First Language Acquisition Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use HYPERLINK /wiki/Word \o Word words to communicate. The capacity to acquire and use language is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other beings. For example, many animals are able to communicate with each other by signaling to the things around them, but this kind of communication lacks the arbitrariness of human vocabularies. Other forms of animal communication may utilize arbitrary sounds, but are unable to combine those sounds in different ways to create completely novel messages which can then be automatically understood by another. HYPERLINK /wiki/Charles_F._Hockett \o Charles F. Hockett Hockett called this design feature of human language productivity. It is crucial to the understanding of human language acquisition that we are not limited to a finite set of words, but, rather, must be able to understand and utilize a complex system that allows for an infinite number of possible messages. Therefore, I want to discuss the first language acquisition here. Firstly, we should consider about the Basic Requirements of first language acquisition. What we need to know is that the language a child learns is not genetically inherited, but is required in a particular language-using environment. Then the child must also be physically capable of sending and receiving sound signalsa and the child must be able to hear that language being used. The crucial requirement appears to be the opportunity to interact with others via language. Next I’d like to talk about the stages of the acquisition. 1. Pre-speech:? Much of importance goes on even before the child utters his first word:? infants learn to pay attention to speech,? pays attention to intonation and the rhythm of speech long before they begin to speak. ?????