1280: Critical Period Jun 12, 2018

Children have an astounding ability to learn languages. Not only are they better at discerning between sounds in a way those over the age of around 5 can, their neuroplasticity allows them to learn—theoretically—as many languages as they are exposed to. This period of around 4 to 6 years is known as the Critical Period, and though it affects most areas of learning, it has been found that as one ages, languages are not stored in the brain in the same way, and that one's first languages will often be linked to emotions, whereas the languages one learns later, especially well into adulthood, tend to rely on following systems and logic. Of course, this is somewhat of a generalization, but you can certainly expect that should one curse in pain, that will likely be in her first language.

Make sure also to check out Word Facts' analysis of Arrival: /stonewordfacts/2018/06/the-linguistics-in-arrival.html