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Nativist Theories of Second Language Acquisition: Noam Chomsky
Term Paper ID:27368
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Essay Subject:
Discusses Chomsky's theory of language acquisition, in which there exists some sort of "language organ" that makes language possible for humans & impossible for animals. Also discusses Chomsky's concept of the Universal Grammar (UG).... More...
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3 Pages / 675 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses Chomsky's theory of language acquisition, in which there exists some sort of "language organ" that makes language possible for humans & impossible for animals. Also discusses Chomsky's concept of the Universal Grammar (UG).
Paper Introduction:
Nativist Theories of Second Language Acquisition: Noam Chomsky
Introduction
According to Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991), nativist theories posit the existence of a specific, innate biological capacity or organ that makes learning possible. Some of those nativist theories are specific to language acquisition, with Noam Chomsky perhaps the earliest and foremost exponent of the theory that language acquisition follows a universal pattern based on an innate language organ, or system of hard-wiring within the brain.
Noam Chomsky and Universal Grammar
Chomsky became most visible in his struggles with the researchers who were working with chimpanzees and gorillas to
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In his earliest theorizing about language and language acquisition,Chomsky (1965, 1968) asserted that there was a language function in thebrain that made it possible for children to learn language. He concluded that otheranimals did not have this function within their brains, and therefore couldnot acquire language, although they could learn to communicate. Second-language acquisition in childhood Vol.I: Preschool children. (1984). (1993). New York: PantheonBooks. An introduction to secondlanguage acquisition research. It was, accordingto Chomsky, an innate and distinctive language function that made itpossible for human beings to learn language. In the same way that a baby bird seems to simply "know"migration patterns without being taught clearly and directly, baby humansseem to "know" the rules of appropriate syntax. (1972). Chomsky, N. McLaughlin, B. Larsen-Freeman, D., & Long, M. Essentially, itwas an internal language acquire and processor, what Chomsky termed his"Language Acquisition Device (LAD)". NY: Harcourt BraceJovanovich. In other words, in looking at the evidence,Chomsky and other nativist theorists concluded that the languageacquisition that took place was greater and more efficient than seemedwarranted by the language training, direct and indirect, that the childreceived. Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991) noted that laterresearch has shown that most caretaker utterances are well-formed. London:Edward Arnold. Languagewas essentially defined as an exclusively human characteristic; anythingany other species did was automatically not language. New York: Harcourt BraceJovanovich. Some of those nativist theories are specific tolanguage acquisition, with Noam Chomsky perhaps the earliest and foremostexponent of the theory that language acquisition follows a universalpattern based on an innate language organ, or system of hard-wiring withinthe brain.Noam Chomsky and Universal Grammar Chomsky became most visible in his struggles with the researchers whowere working with chimpanzees and gorillas to help them develop language.According to Chomsky, this was impossible, and would always be impossible,because only human beings had the capacity for language. Essentially,then, the child was not learning strictly from outside input, but wasresponding to the outside input from an internal system similar to the"instincts" of other animals. Hadley, A. This languageorgan was structured, or hard-wired, in such a way as to provide a templatefor language learning that included a universal grammar. (Although Chomsky also contended that thereare only certain ways in which a language can develop, this is limited bythe hard-wiring of the built-in language capacity.) For Chomsky, the LAD is basically the hard-wiring of the languagecapacity while the Universal Grammar is the software or programming. (1972). TheLAD makes it possible for human beings to acquire language at all, whilethe Universal Grammar means that language is created and organized only incertain ways. Theories of second-language learning. In addition, Chomsky discussed what he termed the Universal Grammar(UG), which was a built-in set of programs that allowed the child to knowthe rules of syntax before he or she was taught them. However,in a positive sense, McLaughlin (1984) noted that Chomsky seemed to beright in asserting (in his critique of Skinner's work) that reinforcementof children's accurate speech formulations seems to be secondary inimportance in language acquisition, with littler relevance to the process.In addition, Chomsky's work directly addressed some important issues, suchas the speed with which children acquire language and the fact thatchildren almost universally acquire their native language, regardless ofenvironmental factors. Again, this is auniversal, according to Chomsky, not dependent on any particular languageor its grammatical set (1975). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesPublishers. Nativist Theories of Second Language Acquisition: Noam ChomskyIntroduction According to Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991), nativist theories positthe existence of a specific, innate biological capacity or organ that makeslearning possible. Language and mind. Aspects of the theory of syntax. 96) One of the main critiques of Chomsky, and other nativist theorists, isthat they over-estimated the inadequacy of the data that the child wasworking with, particularly in assuming that most of the input was deficientby being poorly formed. New York: Longman. According to McLaughlin (1987): The Universal Grammar constraints the hypothesis that children make and the child's language environment determines which principles of the Universal Grammar will be accessed. According to Chomsky(1965), Universal Grammar involves a set of built-in principles thatpredisposes children to organize language in a certain way. Chomsky, N. Language and the mind. Acquisition involves setting the parameters of a particular language in a specific way. (1987, p. References Chomsky, N. (1965). Teaching language in context. Theyalso indicate that Chomsky can be critiqued because of his emphasis on theearliness and completion of language acquisition and his contention thatcertain principles are unlearnable and therefore must be innate. NY: Harcourt BraceJovanovich. Finally, an important element of Chomsky's understanding of UniversalGrammar is that UG establishes the foundation for language, whileexperience provides children with an understanding of the parameters orlimits of language. Chomsky, N. Another important element of Chomsky's theory particularlypertinent to language acquisition is Chomsky's contention that there is acore grammar, which is universal and therefore easier to acquire, and aperipheral grammar, which is language specific and consequently moredifficult to acquire (Hadley, 1993). McLaughlin, B. H. Boston, MA:Heinle & Heinle Publisher. (1987). (1975). Reflections on language. Language and the mind. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press. Chomsky, N. (1991). (1968). O.
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