Second language acquisition: lexical substitution

Abstract

Language is a complex phenomenon and a normal child masters this exceedingly complex phenomenon with an astonishing speed and in circumstances usually less than ideal. A remarkable fact about the acquisition of language is the speed with which a child is able to acquire a language. The speed of language acquisition is not conditioned by the socio-economic environments in which a child starts acquiring language nor is it conditioned by the history, culture or even the complexity of the language which is being acquired by the child. Within a linguistic group normal children arrive at the same grammar of a language within a broadly identical brief span of time with almost the same speed.