Nativism

Question 1

Noam Chomsky

Answer 1

• disagrees with behaviourist theory
• the core concept of his approach is the belief that children have an innate ability to acquire language
• believed that humans have a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which encodes the major principles of a language and its grammatical structures into the child’s brain
• children have then only to learn new vocabulary and apply the syntactic structures from the LAD to form sentences

Question 2

Universal grammar

Answer 2

• Proposed the theory of UG: an idea of innate, biological grammatical categories, such as nouns and verbs, which facilitate the entire language development in children
• UG is considered to contain all the grammatical information needed to combine word categories into phrases
• E.g. according to the UG theory, children instinctively know how to combine a noun and verb into a meaningful, correct phrase

Question 3

Evidence supporting nativism

Answer 3

• children experience the same stages of development at a similar pace
• children frequently resist correction
• children create forms of language which adults do not use
• the Wug test (Jean Berko Gleason)
• critical period (Lennenberg)

Question 4

The Wug test

Answer 4

• Gleason found that young children are able to connect suitable endings (in this case, the plural ‘s’, past tenses, possessives) to made-up words they have never heard before. This implies that they have already internalised systematic aspects of the linguistic system

Question 5

Jerome Bruner

Answer 5

• claims social environment supports the development of LAD. Came up with the concept of LASS (Language Acquisition Support System):
• SCAFFOLDING adults provide conversational patterns and vocabulary
• FRAMING controlling the agenda of the conversation or making utterances to encourage the child to participate
• RECASTING rephrasing and extending child’s utterance
• CHILD DIRECTED SPEECH (CDS) speech that is accessible to the child, simplified grammar and lexis (convergence)

Question 6

CDS in action

Answer 6

• SIMPLIFICATION substitution of difficult sounds with easier ones, use of proper nouns instead of pronouns, short sentences, diminutives, concrete, simpler vocabulary
• EMPHASIS accentuation of new information, exaggerated intonation, repetition of words and clauses
• AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION plural pronoun use, tag questions, frequent questions, vocative voice
• PROSODIC higher pitch, pauses and intervals