Units of learning in language acquisition

Textbook descriptions of how production develops in first language acquisition often move from babbling (producing syllables), through single-word utterances, to multi-word combinations. This progression emphasizes the small-to-big aspect of language learning where each stage involves larger, more structured linguistic units. In this chapter, I discuss an equally important, but often neglected process: the move from large unanalyzed units to the identification of smaller more structured ones. I present evidence for such Gestalt processes in a range of linguistic domains (phonetics, morphology, and syntax), and suggest that they play an important role in first language learning by offering children another route into linguistic structure. I discuss implications for identifying early building blocks for language learning. Keywords: Gestalt processes; multi-word phrases; units of learning