Acquisition of Eegimaa (Atlantic family, Niger-Congo) in a polyadic environment: A commentary on Kidd and Garcia (2022)

Abstract

Research on lesser studied languages is vital for the advancement of theories of language acquisition. We discuss two areas where data from Eegimaa have the potential to produce innovative research: (1) language typology, with an overview of the complex demonstratives found in this language, and (2) learning environment and input speech. Here, we show that Eegimaa children learn to speak in a polyadic environment, where they receive input from multiple caregivers, siblings and other members of their community.