Language Acquisition and Socialization: Three Developmental Stories and Their Implications. Sociolinguistic Working Paper Number 105.

Two claims are made concerning the interrelationship of language acquisition and socialization processes: (1) the process of acquiring language is deeply affected by the process of becoming a competent member of a society; and (2) the process of becoming a competent member of society is realized to a large extent through language and through acquiring knowledge of its functions, social distribution, and interpretations in and across socially defined situations. These claims are supported with evidence derived from a comparison of the social development of children in three societies: Anglo-American white middle class, Kaluli (Papua New Guinea), and Samoan. Specific theoretical arguments and methodological procedures for an ethnological approach to language development are presented, focusing on developmental research with interests and roots in language development rather than anthropological studies of socialization. Five specific aspects of the ethnological model of language acquisition are addressed: (1) the cultural organization of intentionality in language use; (2) the integration of sociocultural knowledge and code knowledge; (3) the unevenness of language development and the priority contexts for language acquisition; (4) the relationship between child language and caregiver language, specifically the lack of match between them; and (5) the role of biology in language acquisition. (MSE)