摘要：Children’s speech during early language development includes all basic speech characteristics in the language area where it is realized. This article looks at and describes one segment of children’s speech in the Zagreb speaking area. The authors focus on the infl uence of the words of Germanic origin in the speech of 4 to 6 year olds in the wider Zagreb area where the infl uence of the words of Germanic origin is the result of multiple ties among languages (German and Croatian). Words of Germanic origin are present in children’s speech which they acquire. Those words enter children’s speech whose development is above all conditioned by communicative requirements. With the absence of linguistic competence of these speakers, infl uences of the words of Germanic origin become an equal part of the active lexis of just a few speakers and are absent in most speakers. The research of children’s speech at an early age points to big changes in speech characteristics of the Zagreb area.
关键词：words of Germanic origin; Zagreb speech idioms; early language development; mother tongue; speaking within the community
