Recent work on acquisition in sociolinguistic research suggests that
some aspects of the structured variation found in adult speech are evident
in children's speech from the very start of language acquisition, and
input from the primary caregiver is crucial in this process. In this
article we contribute to this research by conducting a cross-sectional
analysis of the acquisition of variable forms in a Scottish dialect. Two
linguistic variables are targeted in the speech of eleven children
(2;10–3;6) and their primary caregivers. Quantitative analysis of
over 5000 contexts of use demonstrates that one variable is conditioned by
social and linguistic constraints in the speech of the caregiver and these
constraints are matched by the children. In contrast, the other variable
is influenced by a complex array of linguistic constraints only. We
explore the ramifications of these findings for understanding the
mechanisms involved in acquisition of variation from the very earliest
stages.We gratefully acknowledge the
support of the Economic and Social Research Council for award no.
RES-000-22-0447. We thank Jack Chambers, Paul Foulkes, and three anonymous
reviewers for very helpful feedback on earlier versions of this
manuscript. We would also like to thank Hazel Steele for her input to the
project in its early stages, and Moira Smith, our invaluable on-site
fieldworker. We dedicate this article to the caregivers and children of
Buckie who were willing to share their walks, playtimes, bathtimes, and
even “meltdowns,” all in the name of linguistic
research.