Innativism
Innativism
Innativism
Language Acquisition
Device (LAD)
Universal Grammar (UG)
Theory:
- Acquisition is innately
determined, that we are born with a
built-in-device of some kind that
predisposes to language
acquisition.
- Children are biologically
programmed for language
acqusition.
Noam Chomsky
O he said that every child is
born with a biological
predisposition to learn
language- any language.
O he came up with the idea of
a language organ, which is
known as the Language
Acquisition Device (LAD).
4 Innate linguistic properties of
LAD (Mcneil 1996)
Primary General
Grammatical
language Child’s
Linguistic Knowledge
Learning Speech
Data and rules
Principles
Universal Grammar
O a set of innate principles and adjustable
parameters that are common to all
human languages.
O Focuses on the structural relationships
rather than the linear order of the words.
UG principles Parameters
Language is organized Determine the ways in
that depends on the which language can vary .
structural relationship Head parameter specifies
between elements in a the position at the head in
sentence. relation to its compliments
Language usually contain for different languages.
NP and VP + (Other Each phrases has a central
phrases) elements that is called the
head (NP-noun; VP-verb)
English Language is head
-first language because head
of the phrase always appears
before its compliments.
Generative Model Parallel Distributed
Processing Model
Pivot Grammar Neurons in the brain are
- the early grammars said to form multiple
child language connections.
A child’s linguistic
performance may be the
consequence of many
Sentence Pivot word levels of simultaneous
neural interconnections
and not a serial process of
one rule being applied.
Open word
Contributions of the Nativist Framework of the
understanding of the First Language Acquisiton
Process: