Language Acquisition

Question 1

Innateness Hypothesis

Answer 1

The Innateness Hypothesis argues that people are genetically coded with the ability to aquire language.

Question 2

Universal Grammar

Answer 2

The “set of structural characteristics shared by all languages”

Question 3

Theories of Acquisition

Answer 3

1. Imitation
2. Reinforcement
3. Active Construction of a Grammar
4. Connectionist Theories

Question 4

Active Construction of Grammar

Answer 4

Children can invent grammar rules & this ability is innate.

Question 5

Acquisition Process

Answer 5

1. Listen
2. Try to find patterns
3. Hypothesize a rule for the pattern
4. Test hypothesis
5. Modify rule as necessary

Question 6

Connectionist Theories

Answer 6

Claims that exposure to language develops and strengthens neural connections.

Question 7

Critical Period

Answer 7

There is a critical period in development during which a language can be acquired like a native speaker.

Question 8

Stages of Development

Answer 8

1. babbling
2. one-word (begins around age 1)
3. Two-word stage (~1.5-2 years of age)
4. beyond 2-word stage (~age 5)

Question 9

Motherese (input)

Answer 9

Based on the maternal approach to language acquistion.

Question 10

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Answer 10

Theorized by Noam Chomsky - LAD is naturally hard-wired and humans are born with it = a set of of innate principles and adjustable parameters that are common to all human languages.

Question 11

Two distinct views about LAD function

Answer 11

1. LAD provides children with a knowledge of linguistic universals such as the existence of word order & word classes
2. LAD provides children only general procedures for discovering language to be learned

Question 12

The Universal Grammar Approach

Answer 12

Noam Chomsky’s Universal Grammar focuses on answering these three basic questions:
1. What constitutes knowledge of language?
2. How knowledge of language is acquired?
3. How is knowledge of language put to use?

Question 13

Knowledge of Language

Answer 13

The subconscious mental representation of language which underlies all language use.

Question 14

Linguistic competence

Answer 14

Concerned with the child’s grammar, the linguistic input and construction of the grammatical structures

Question 15

Performance

Answer 15

The nature of child’s rule system - psychological processes the child uses in the learning the language, and how the child establishes meaning in the language input.

Question 16

Principles

Answer 16

According to UG, the learner’s initial state should consist of a set of universal principles which are common to all human languages.

Question 17

Structure Dependency

Answer 17

UG focuses on the structural relationships rather the linear order of words - the principle states that language is organized in such a way that it crucially depends on the structural relationships between elements in a sentence.

Example) All languages are made up of sentences which consist of at least a Noun-phrase and a Verb-phrase

Question 18

Parameters

Answer 18

Determine the ways in which languages can vary.

Question 19

Head parameter

Answer 19

Specifies the position of the head in relation to its complements witin phrases

Ex) English = Head-first language because the head phraase always appears before its complements.
Opposite = Japenese = a Head-last langage because the complemenets precede the head inside phrases.

Question 20

Deep structure and surface structure

Answer 20

Surface - represents the physical properties of the langauge
Deep structure - represented the core semantic relations of a sentence