Nature and Nurture in Language Acquisition Essay - 2339 Words

Language is considered one of the attributes that define human beings as a unique species. We are the only species able to employ complex language to communicate our feelings, intentions and also to teach others. Although language is such an exclusive and intricate skill, infants can learn it fairly quickly. Child vocabulary grows very fast once they say their first words growing from 5-20 words at 18-months to about 6000 words by the age of 5 (Bates, 2003). This remarkable ability to acquire language is the basis for a central debate: how much of our ability to acquire, produce and understand language is innate (genetically programmed) and how much is acquired by learning? This essay will focus on the debate between nature and nurture†¦show more content†¦Although this device allows children to understand and create all types of sentences (even if they have never heard them before) they need environmental input to develop this skill, though environmental stimuli alone would not be enough to explain how children learn grammatical rules since the speech they hear is frequently incomplete. An important aspect of Chomsky’s theory is the transformational grammar, the phrase-structure rules which indicate sentence order and expressions that are acceptable or unacceptable in a language. These rules are applied systematically in order to generate adequate sentences in any language. The surface structure of the sentence refers to actual words or phrases (syntax) whereas deep structure is related to meaning. According to Chomsky, when we hear a sentence, the transformational grammar allows us to transform meaning into sentences and vice-versa. He argues that children are born able to learn the rules to transform deep structure into many different surface structures. Furthermore, Chomsky’s theory of â€Å"Universal Grammar† suggests that children are born with innate knowledge of grammatical principles and parameters common to all languages. This theory proposes that children only need to learn the vocabulary and constraints of their native language by means of contact with other people (e.g. use of explicit subject is required in English – â€Å"I am tired† while in Portuguese, it can be dropped – â€Å"Estou cansado†). ObservationalShow MoreRelatedChild Language Acquisition: Nature or Nurture?1645 Words   |  7 PagesChild language acquisition: nature or nurture? (final version) Introduction The study of language development, one of the most fascinating human achievements, has a long and rich history, extending over thousands of years (Chomsky, 2000). As the nature-versus-nurture argument is inevitable to arise whenever human behaviors are discussed, it is not surprising that language experts have debated the relative influences of genetics and the environment on language development (Hulit Howard, 2002). AmongRead MoreLanguage Acquisition : Study Of How Humans Acquire A Set Of Semantic, Syntactic And Phonological Categories Essay1625 Words   |  7 PagesLanguage Acquisition Language acquisition is the study of how humans acquire a set of semantic, syntactic, morphological and phonological categories and rules that underlie their ability to speak and understand the language to which they are exposed. (Parker and Riley, 2005) Language is an understanding that truly makes us human. 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Those who advocate  constructivism  believe that a learners ability to learn relies to a large extent on what he already knows and understands, and that the acquisition of knowledge should be an individually tailored process of construction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory There are two major types of explicit memory: Episodic memory: These are your long-term memories of specific events, such as what you