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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page paper. Until the late 1950s, it was traditionally believed that an infant acquired language from the parent or caregiver, specifically, it was believed that infants simply mimicked the sounds that they heard from parents and other caregivers. In 1957, A. Noam Chomsky offered a different perspective. Language acquisition was innate, according to Chomsky. This essay explains Chomsky's concepts of Universal Grammar and the Language Acquisition Device and how he came to make these conclusions. The difference between acquisition and learning is explained. Finally, the need to bring in Piaget's theories to explain all of language acquisition is explored. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGlngacq.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
and Specker, 1999). The infant simply mimicked the sounds that he or she heard from parents and other caregivers (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999). In 1957, however, A. Noam Chomsky,
a relatively unknown individual, offered a different perspective (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999). Chomskys theory was that humans have an innate capacity for acquiring language (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999).
Chomskys theories regarding the innateness of language acquisition were highly controversial during the years following the 1964 publication of his first book, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (Rice, Bruehler
and Specker, 1999). Chomskys theories revolutionized the study of language acquisition and today, his theories are accepted as being valid and true (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999). In effect, Chomsky
is responsible for the emergence of a new field during the 1960s called Developmental Psycholinguistics, which deals with childrens acquisition of their first language (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999).
Chomsky was certainly not the first person to question how children acquired language, Plato wondered how children could possibly acquire such a complex skill as language when they had so
little experience in life (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999). Research experiments have shown that young infants can discern syntactical nuances even though they are at a pre-linguistic stage of life
and development (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999). Language is not a skill that is learned like other skills and it cannot really be taught; 3-year-old children can manipulate complicated syntactical
sentences even though they have not learned the skill of tying their shoes (Rice, Bruehler and Specker, 1999). Chomsky talked about a concept he called the Universal Grammar (Mason, nd).
Universal Grammar is a set of rules about language that already exists in humans at birth (Mason, nd). Human language, according to Chomskys Universal Grammar theory, is the foundation for
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