‘You’re supposed to tell me your name now!’ Speaking and listen- ing in the early years

By the age of 5, provided they do not have language difficulties, allchildren have acquired the adult grammar for the main constructions of their native language (Peccei, 2006). This is true across all cultures and in all languages. The term ‘acquired’ in this context is important because linguists make a distinction between emergent language constructions and ones which are fully acquired.