there is no single cause of
the ontogenetic process, and there is no sequence of influences at different
stages of development. Instead, there are multiple and continuous interactions
that form a multidimensional causal network. All dimensions of the network
can change over time, but each dimension may have its own time scale. The
emerging picture is a view of language as a dynamic and multidimensional
state space that is essentially unique for each and every individual. Reducing
research into this complex dynamic system to a search for a universal order
of acquisition as the result of an innate grand scheme affected by multiple
variables and at a single moment in time does not do justice to the complex
interconnectedness of the process of language development. Human behavior,
including language development, cannot be expected to obey the theorem of
stationary data. To understand the process of language acquisition, the starting
point should therefore be the individual process line as it unfolds in changes
over time.
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