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The linguistic development of Genie

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2026

Susan Curtiss ,
Victoria Fromkin ,
Stephen Krashen ,
David Rigler  and
Marilyn Rigler
Susan Curtiss
Affiliation:
UCLA
Victoria Fromkin
Affiliation:
UCLA
Stephen Krashen
Affiliation:
Queens College
David Rigler
Affiliation:
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Marilyn Rigler
Affiliation:
Pacific Oaks College
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Abstract

This paper discusses the linguistic development of Genie, an adolescent girl who for most of her life underwent a degree of social isolation and experiential deprivation unparalleled in the reports of scientific investigation. This case touches on questions of profound interest to psychologists, philosophers, and linguists, including the relationship between cognition and language, the interdependence or autonomy of linguistic competence and performance, the mental abilities underlying language, proposed universal stages in language learning, the critical age for language acquisition, and the biological foundations of language.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , September 1974 , pp. 528 - 554
Copyright
Copyright © 1974 by Linguistic Society of America

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