Nativism overall content

Question 1

Who is frequently associated with nativism and why?

Answer 1

Noam Chomsky
—> LAD - language aquisition device, in built ability to acquire language

Question 2

What are the basics of nativism?

Answer 2

children experience the same stages of development at the same time

Question 3

Give 4 key aspects of nativism

Answer 3

• children **resist correction **
• children create forms of language that adults do not use such as overgeneralisation —> runned instead of run
• children make up their **own rules **for language
• children procure correct language when surrounded by poor adult speech

Question 4

What are 3 challenges/objections to nativism?

Answer 4

• children do stop overgeneralising and learn to use correct language as seen with irregular verbs
• children who have been deprived of social interactions and contact cant achieve complete communicative competance —>** genie **
• LAD is undescovered

Question 5

Who is Genie - nativism

Answer 5

As a child she was deprived of social contact for the first 13 years of her life so she missed her critical development period for learning language.
- she was unable to learn any language beyond a very basic level

Question 6

what does genies study show

Answer 6

• supports the critical period hypothesis that language needs to be acquired within a certain time frame

Question 7

what does Genie example challenge

Answer 7

• Chomsky’s ear;y argument that the ability to acquire language is simply innate within us as it shows that some interaction is needed for language competency