年龄和语言习得的关系一直是语言学家们关注的问题之一。二十世纪六十年代 ,Pen field&Robert及Lenneberg提出了引人注目的“临界期假说” ,即认为人类一旦过了青春发动期 ,再开始学语言的话 ,在任何条件下 ,所学语言都将永远是不完全、不规则的。本文围绕“临界期假说”的起源、发展及由此产生的争论 ,着重介绍了部分西方学者在此问题上的不同观点 ,并简要说明了笔者对这一问题的看法 The relationship between age and language acquisition has always been one of the concerns of linguists. In the 1960s, Penfield & Robert and Lenneberg put forward a compelling “criticality hypothesis” that, once humankind had passed its youthful period and then started to learn the language, under any condition, the language of learning will be forever Is not complete, irregular. Focusing on the origin, development and the controversies arising from the “critical period hypothesis”, this article focuses on the different views of some Western scholars on this issue and briefly explains the author’s view on this issue