Deep Dive into Nativism Flashcards
Who is the primary theorist associated with the nativist theory of language acquisition?
Noam Chomsky
What is the name of Chomsky’s concept that humans are born with an innate ability to learn language?
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
According to Chomsky, what are ‘universal grammar’ rules?
An inherent set of grammatical principles shared by all languages.
What evidence supports the nativist theory from children’s early speech?
Children produce sentences they have never heard before, demonstrating an ability to generate novel grammar.
What is one critique of the nativist theory?
It underestimates the role of social interaction and environmental input in language acquisition.
What phenomenon suggests that children’s errors follow predictable patterns, supporting the nativist view?
Overgeneralization of grammatical rules (e.g., ‘goed’ instead of ‘went’).
What is the ‘poverty of the stimulus’ argument?
The idea that the language input children receive is insufficient to account for their detailed grammatical knowledge.
How do critical periods support the nativist perspective?
They suggest that there is a biologically determined window during which language acquisition occurs most easily.
Which case study is often cited as evidence for the critical period hypothesis?
The case of Genie, a feral child who was deprived of language exposure during her early years.
How does the concept of recursion relate to nativism?
Recursion in language (e.g., embedding clauses) is viewed as a universal feature, supporting the idea of an innate grammar.
What is the main difference between the nativist and behaviorist theories of language acquisition?
Nativists believe language is innate, while behaviorists argue it is learned through reinforcement and imitation.
What is the ‘critical period hypothesis,’ and how does it align with Chomsky’s ideas?
It suggests a limited timeframe for acquiring language naturally, supporting the notion of biological predisposition.
What neurological evidence supports the nativist theory?
The existence of specialized brain areas for language, such as Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas.
What is an argument against Chomsky’s universal grammar?
Some linguists argue that languages are too diverse to be governed by a single set of innate rules.
What does the concept of ‘innateness’ in language acquisition imply?
That humans are biologically equipped with the tools needed to learn language.
