Language Development II

Question 1

Language development II three questions…

Answer 1

1/ Do we learn language?
2/ Or is language innate?
3/ What is the evidence?

Question 2

How do we acquire language and whit limitations are there?

Answer 2

The specific language we learn depends on our environment, eg., parents, teachers etc.
The environment has to contribute- but are their limits on what we can learn? Eg, we can learn words but how to we come to acquire abstract grammatical rules?

Question 3

What core themes in developmental psychology does the language debate highlight?

Answer 3

The Nature Vs Nurture debate and the general or specialised learning processes.

Question 4

Nature vs Nurture view point?

Answer 4

Is language the product of the environment or out genes? To what extent to they interact?

Question 5

General or specialised learning view point?

Answer 5

Do we use ‘general-purpose’ processes to learn language? Or do we need specific cognitive skills to acquire language?

Question 6

Who was learning theory devised by?

Answer 6

Influential American psychologist B.F. Skinner.

Question 7

What did Skinner argue about language?

Answer 7

In VERBAL BEHAVIOUS (1957) he argued that language is learnt from the environment.

Question 8

What can be applied to the task of learning language according to Skinner and learning theory?

Answer 8

General associative learning (e.g., operant conditioning) can be applied to the task of learning language.

Question 9

What was the implication of Skinner’s view point?

Answer 9

That language development does not require specialised learning processes.

Question 10

What is learning theory?

Answer 10

The process where parents reward and encourage correct language use. Also, children imitate adult language, such as longer sentences, and this can be reinforced by parents.
Eg,
Child: It breaked
Mother: Yes it broke
Child: Truck broke

Question 11

Problem for learning theory in relation to grammar?

Answer 11

Rule based errors: Children learn and overuse grammatical rules, such as the regular past tense… ‘Sam go-ed to the zoo’…. So do children simply memorise specific sentences?

Question 12

Problem for learning theory in relation to utterances?

Answer 12

Children also create novel utterances which they would not have learnt from parents.

Question 13

Problem for learning theory in relation to reinforcement?

Answer 13

There may be a lack of correction from parents as they tend not to explicitly correct children’s grammatical errors - they respond more to the meanings of the child’s language.

Question 14

Problem for learning theory in relation to speed of development?

Answer 14

General stages are consistent across children with language development - but not all parents reinforce the same, Language is a complex system but develops quickly and if children’s language depends on memorizing specific examples, how can it be so rapid?

Question 15

Who devised the connection between language and nativism?

Answer 15

The American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky

Question 16

What did Noam Chomsky dispute?

Answer 16

Noam Chomsky disputed Skinner’s claims that language is learnable and he believed that children develop mental rules (grammar) but they cannot learn these rules from the environment.

Question 17

What does Chomsky argue about language development?

Answer 17

Chomsky argues that grammar is unlearnable from the environment as a child’s language exposure is not sufficient for learning abstract grammatical rules eg, children don’t receive enough examples of what is NOT grammatical in their language.

Question 18

So, what does Chomsky suggest about grammar?

Answer 18

That children require innate knowledge of grammar.

Question 19

What are Chomsky’s key ideas?

Answer 19

Universal Grammar (UG) and Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Question 20

What is universal grammar (UG)?

Answer 20

A set of universal grammatical rules which apply to all languages. Chomsky also suggests that grammatical differences between languages are merely variant forms of deeper regularities and that all humans are equipped with universal grammar.

Question 21

What is the language acquisition device (LAD)

Answer 21

An innate module in the brain which provides humans with knowledge of universal grammar. The LAD is specialised for language, and is the product of biological maturation.
(environmental influence is minimal).

Question 22

Is language in the brain?

Answer 22

There is a lateralization of function as for most people language is processed in the left hemisphere of the brain.

Question 23

What happens in Broca’s area of the brain?

Answer 23

Language production.

Question 24

What happens in the Wernicke’s area of the brain?

Answer 24

Language comprehension.

Question 25

Where is language production in the brain?

Answer 25

Broca’s area

Question 26

Where is language comprehension in the brain?

Answer 26

Wernicke’s area.

Question 27

Evidence for language being innate (Brains and Genes)?

Answer 27

Specific Language Impairment makes is difficult to learn language despite otherwise normal cognitive functioning. SLI is hereditary=genetic.
 The genetic deficit selectively impairs language, not other cognitive processes. This is consistent with a module specialised for language.

Question 28

Evidence against Chomsky and grammar being innate? (critical periods).

Answer 28

Lenneberg (1967) – Language must be acquired during the period of brain lateralization.
Story of ‘Genie’ – Child deprived of human interaction and language between 20 months to 13 years- Then, grammatical knowledge was limited even after years of remedial language training.

Question 29

Evidence that grammar is innate to humans? (babies vs Chimps)

Answer 29

Famous attempts to teach language systems to chimpanzees and gorillas… Kanzi learnt to communicate by selecting symbols on a computer screen. Used short combinations of words which conformed to a crude grammar. ‘If sarah good then apple’.

However – these primates were never able to progress beyond the early grammatical skills of a toddler. Suggests that other intelligent species cannot fully master language just from being exposed to language.

But could be experimenter Bias.

Question 30

Three problems for nativism?

Answer 30

1/ Disputed evidence
2/ Univeral Grammar?
3/ Rethinking learning

Question 31

In relation to problems for nativism, explain disputed evidence.

Answer 31

People with SLI might simply have a problem with auditory processing.

Question 32

In relation to problems for nativism, explain universal grammar.

Answer 32

We have yet to identify a single set of rules which capture the grammar of all languages.

Question 33

In relation to problems for nativism, rethinking learning.

Answer 33

Statistical learning can be used to detect regularities in language.

Question 34

Conclusions of Language development II.

Answer 34

1/ Two opposing perspectives on language acquisition:
a. Language is learnt from the environment via general learning processes.
b. Grammar cannot be learnt. A language-specific module specifies basic grammatical rules.
2/ The evidence does not fully favour either perspective.
3. Currently, many researchers of language development argue that there is an interaction between genes and the environment.