The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.world to Microblog Memes@lemmy.worldEnglish · 10 months agoNew idea for a language courselemmy.worldimagemessage-square80fedilinkarrow-up11.08Karrow-down126
arrow-up11.05Karrow-down1imageNew idea for a language courselemmy.worldThe Picard Maneuver@lemmy.world to Microblog Memes@lemmy.worldEnglish · 10 months agomessage-square80fedilink
minus-squareLowpast@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up5·10 months agoA large foundation for the belief in critical periods for language are based on Genie, a feral child who was entirely unable to learn a spoken language despite significant efforts. Today, she can use some sign language but cannot speak. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child) So the answer is largely believed to be: No. You cannot learn a spoken language if you missed the critical period. It’s also literally impossible to test/study ethically, so nobody actually knows.
A large foundation for the belief in critical periods for language are based on Genie, a feral child who was entirely unable to learn a spoken language despite significant efforts. Today, she can use some sign language but cannot speak.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child)
So the answer is largely believed to be: No. You cannot learn a spoken language if you missed the critical period.
It’s also literally impossible to test/study ethically, so nobody actually knows.