photographist

“As linguists, to go to the source of language, it is interesting to understand children’s own pathways into language. Children enter language through their very first interactions with adults and siblings. They progressively form more complex utterances due both to their own cognitive development and to continued exposure to language in various contexts. My PhD dissertation was about children’s self-reference: how they learn to say “I” (first person singular) in French, English and LSF (French Sign Language) and how they learn how to position themselves in dialogue, to mark their own point of view. In order to observe how children use language in natural contexts, I filmed them at home with their family. To understand language acquisition better, I’ve worked with linguists who specialize in the different sub fields of linguistics as well as various experts of child development such as psychologists, neurologists or speech therapists.

I believe that asking questions is the core activity of a scientist. We must feed our scientific curiosity, ask new questions, accept the frustration of not finding immediate answers and continue on with the next question. We must learn from others in order to construct richer knowledge together and transmit that knowledge to the next generation. There are various ways to communicate the importance of our research and to have an impact on society when you work on language acquisition. You can for example explain to professionals who work with children that it is very important for immigrant parents to speak their native language to their children since the child’s linguistic skills depend on their interactions with their parents. We should not be too preoccupied with the impact that choice could have on the quality of their spoken French since the most important element of language acquisition is a healthy, natural, stable acquisition of a language in the first place.”

Aliyah Morgenstern
Professor of linguistics, Sorbonne Nouvelle University - Paris 3

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