Chapter 2 - Logical Problem Flashcards
What are the arguments in favour of Universal Grammar?
- Poverty of the Stimulus 2. Lack of Negative Evidence 3. Ordered Stages
What is the logical problem of language acquisition?
how is it that children learn grammar subconsciously, quickly, without explicit instruction/correction, based on (sometimes poor) input?
What is part of the answer to the logical problem?
Universal Grammar; children are born with certain biases about what a language looks like
What are some biases children may be born with?
knowledge of some categories (ex. Det, N, NP); that they combine in principled ways (ex. Det+N=NP); movement is sensitive to constituency
Biases that are (i) innate and (ii) purely linguistic are assumed to form part of ____
Universal Grammar
What are the beliefs of behaviourists?
learn through pos/neg reinforcement; imitation; analogy; structured input
basically: only learn from what’s given to them
What are some factors that suggest a biological basis of lang acq?
behaviour emerges before its necessary; not the result of conscious decision; teaching practices have little effect; lang. dev. milestones; occurs regardless of upbringing (few exceptions); similarities across languages; parts of the brain are devoted to language
What is the Lack of Negative Evidence?
caregivers tend not to correct grammar but instead correct semantic overextension and morphological overregularization; kids use words they’ve never heard before
What happens when caregivers attempt to correct grammatical errors?
children typically do not attend to the corrections; children cannot repeat what they cant say spontaneously
What are types of evidence that children do not use?
direct negative evidence (being explicitly told that a structure is illicit); building grammar based on positive evidence
Linear order hypothesis
moving the first aux verb to the front of the sentence
Structure dependent hypothesis
moving the aux verb in the main clause to the front of the sentence
