The Role of Negative Evidence in the Acquisition of Sociocultural Aspects of First Language

Abstract

Children learn their native language in a relatively rapid time and are able to communicate from very early using language. But is the acquisition of their native culture and native language dependent on each other (LeVine & Norman, 2001; Riesman, 1993)? The present study aims to investigate the extent to which parents provide their children with direct and indirect negative feedback while they are acquiring sociocultural aspects of their language. A group of parents (N=75) from three social backgrounds were interviewed. The results showed that parents used direct negative feedback more than indirect negative evidence while correcting a culturally inappropriate utterance (calling parents by their first names). Also it was found that parents from middle class socioeconomic status used more direct negative evidence than parents from a working class background who showed no significant difference regarding the use of different types of negative feedback. These results show the importance of negative feedback in the acquisition of sociocultural and pragmatic aspects of the native language.