1. What is the language acquisition device, and what arguments have been put forward for and against it?
Introduction:
What is language acquisition?
Language acquisition is the process by which we learn to speak and write language in order to communicate.
There are three main theories of language acquisition.
• Stimulus- response theory produced by B.F Skinner, which states that language is acquired through repetition, correction and interactions with adults.
• The Cognitive/usage based model, theorised by J. Piagant that argues language and grammar are acquired from our experiences exposed to language.
• Language Acquisition Device introduced by Noam Chomsky
This discussion will focus on the language acquisition device and the arguments that have surfaced to support it such as the Poverty of The Stimulus and arguments against it such as The Cognitive Theory.
What is the Language Acquisition Device?
Noam Chomsky first proposed the Language Acquisition device (LAD) in 1964. It is a hypothetical model hardwired into the brain that helps children to learn and understand language quickly. Chomsky later improved this theory, which is called Universal Grammar (UG). He defines UG as “the system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements or …show more content…
Susan Curtiss (1977) studied a child named Genie who had been kept in isolation, with no human contact until she was 13 years old. Curtiss (1977) found that Genie was able to learn language vocabulary but was not able to understand grammatical rules. Therefore she was only able to pronounce 3 words at a time due to a lack of communication and interaction with adults at the early stages of development. If language is innate as suggested by Chomsky children exposed to abuse, and poor upbringing such as Genie, should be able to acquire language when they learn vocabulary as the grammatical rules are within the Language Acquisition
Introduction:
What is language acquisition?
Language acquisition is the process by which we learn to speak and write language in order to communicate.
There are three main theories of language acquisition.
• Stimulus- response theory produced by B.F Skinner, which states that language is acquired through repetition, correction and interactions with adults.
• The Cognitive/usage based model, theorised by J. Piagant that argues language and grammar are acquired from our experiences exposed to language.
• Language Acquisition Device introduced by Noam Chomsky
This discussion will focus on the language acquisition device and the arguments that have surfaced to support it such as the Poverty of The Stimulus and arguments against it such as The Cognitive Theory.
What is the Language Acquisition Device?
Noam Chomsky first proposed the Language Acquisition device (LAD) in 1964. It is a hypothetical model hardwired into the brain that helps children to learn and understand language quickly. Chomsky later improved this theory, which is called Universal Grammar (UG). He defines UG as “the system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements or …show more content…
Susan Curtiss (1977) studied a child named Genie who had been kept in isolation, with no human contact until she was 13 years old. Curtiss (1977) found that Genie was able to learn language vocabulary but was not able to understand grammatical rules. Therefore she was only able to pronounce 3 words at a time due to a lack of communication and interaction with adults at the early stages of development. If language is innate as suggested by Chomsky children exposed to abuse, and poor upbringing such as Genie, should be able to acquire language when they learn vocabulary as the grammatical rules are within the Language Acquisition