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<font size=4>I am afraid this discussion on the simplicity of language is
proceeding on some assumptions that are disputable, including the
following:<br>
<br>
1) the starting point for everybody learning Chinese, Japanese, English,
French, etc. as a second language is the same. How come? I think that
difficulties in acquiring a second or umpteenth language vary depending
on one's linguistic background. I doubt that a Korean-speaker learning
Japanese has the same kinds of problems as an English-speaker doing the
same, or that a Thai-speaker and an English-speaker learning Chinese have
the same kinds of difficulties. I know English is very difficult. Even
after living in the USA, in full immersion for over 20 years, my English
is far from being flawless. I have a terrible problem with articles and
pluralization (when can you omit them--although I researched the subject
matter). For the longest, I thought that French omitted articles less
often than English. Last May, I stumbled on an official pamphlet in which
bare nouns were more common than I had expected. (Well, French needs some
thawing every time I visit France.)<br>
<br>
2) Second-language acquisition and first-language acquisition proceed the
same way. Well the communicative needs that the child wants to satisfy
through language are not of the same level of complexity and pressure to
acquire the language is not exerted the same way. A child doesn't follow
the same language acquisition program as an adult.<br>
<br>
3) A language is acquired whole sale, with the learner working out rules
(as a linguist would hypothesize) after exposure to so many data. Very
doubtful. There's a lot of deconstruction and reconstruction going on in
the piecemeal process of acquisition.<br>
<br>
Etc, etc. So, I think that the question of which language is more
complex/difficult to acquire--and in what respect?--may not be answered
in the way this debate is proceeding.<br>
<br>
Sali.<br>
<br>
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<div>Salikoko S.
Mufwene
s-mufwene@uchicago.edu</div>
<div>University of
Chicago
773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924</div>
<div>Department of Linguistics</div>
<div>1010 East 59th Street</div>
<div>Chicago, IL 60637</div>
<div><a href="http://humanities.uchicago.edu/humanities/linguistics/faculty/mufwene.html" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://humanities.uchicago.edu/humanities/linguistics/faculty/mufwene.html</a></div>
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