Nature vS Nurture Flashcards
Innate modular view (nature)
-lang is an instinct - Pinker
- genetically coded specific lang elements + rules to make learning lang easy
-chomsky
- innate knowledge of universal lang principles
Modularity of mind -nature of lang
- innate lang organ guiding acquisition : separate brain system, indep of other cog abilities
-Brain has specialised modules - Broca’s + Wernicke’s area for lang processing
-communicate only after internal proussing has occurred
Poverty of stimulus argument- innate Modular view
- experience of baby is insufficient for baby to learn lang
- children can’t learn recursive rue from input (stimulus-response conditioning)
- universal structural principles are innate
Experience-based interactive view (nurture)
-lang is a system shared with other cog abilities
-linguistic info is distributed in the brain, intertwined with multiple networks
- Experience is used to learn lang
- lang rules interact with other brain regions + functions
Acquisition of lang through env
-linguistic + non-linguistic inputs are rich + structured
-child must map one to the other
-social interaction gives you feedback
-Child picks up regularity of lang through multiple exposures
-child tunes speech to interact with others
- usually takes 2 years to extract rules + patterns of lang
Main distinctions
-Nature of stimuli : Nativists – poor, experience-based= rich
-Nature of learning: N= stimulus response, EB = extract regularities
-Nature of mind- N: modular, E B = interactive
-what is innate: N = universal lang principles EB = general ability to learn
Lang + cog impairments- Nativists
- If lang is Modular, we should find dissociations between lang + other cog abilities
-William’s syndrome results from genetic abnormality ( faciaI features) -> Nativists claim its evidence of intact lang but impaired cog - specific lang impairments: distinguishing sounds, sentence understanding -> say its typical cog but impaired lang
criticisms of nativist claims
-Williams syndrome: lang rules are impaired not intact, delayed lang dev
- specific lang impairments aren’t lang specific: WM sound processing deficits may be the problem
Nativist view on inventing a lang
- If there are innate lang principles, children should invent a lang with little input
Children deprived of linguistic input
- Feral children -> abandoned
- No feral children can learn the full English lang
- can learn basic lang but not sentences
- against nativist view
- cases are too varied + unusual to make conclusions - other factors May contribute
sign lang-naturally occuring experiment of limited lang input
- Home signers = death people remain in family have who learn to communicate le family with signs that represent communication, no combination rules
- Group based = more complex sign lang -interact with other death people = rules to create effective communication
- If you are born death into speaking family, nave no input but can produce lang- nativist support
Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL)
- Window for lang open till aged 7
- Miming lang
- 2 generations of signers observed:
-> 1st = older students arrive with home signs - less consistently used, use more signs to communicate the same info
-> 2nd = younger signers learnt rudimentary system but conventionalised + regularised rules + use less signs to communicate - Home signes remain home-signersno matter their age
sensitive period for lang learning
-lang learning after puberty (7+) is difficult + rarely perfect
- Native sound categories are already established it adult learners -> accents
- people who learn a 2nd lang never sound like a native Speaker
-Johnson + Newport- grammar scores vary with age of arrival
sensitive period for lang learning - sign lang
- Singleton + Newport
-Young signers are much better than there parents
-regularise/ generalise even when learning lang from inconsistent parental input
Sensitive period: Nature or nurture
-Nativists (nature):
-> young signers create a regular system with little input due to innate
-Non-Nativist (nurture):
-> due to initial brain plasticity
-> not lang specific
-> Brain extracts generalisation from patchy input
-> Need right kind of input + community
