Does Linguistic Similarity Affect Early Simultaneous Bilingual Language Acquisition?

Abstract It is well established that L2 acquisition faster when the more closely related to learner’s L1. In current study we investigated whether language similarity has a comparable facilitative effect in early simultaneous bilingual children. The between each child’s two languages was determined using phonological and typological scales. We compared vocabulary size of toddlers learning different pairs languages. Results show children indeed influenced by similarity: similar languages, larger children’s vocabulary.