Noam Chomsky

What is Noam Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition?

Noam Chomsky’s theory states that language learning would be impossible without the existence of what he called ‘universal language-specific knowledge’ or ‘universal grammar’ — the ability within the brain to generate unique sentences based around a kind of ‘hard-wired’ knowledge of some basic grammatical or syntactic rules.

What did Noam Chomsky originally call this ‘hard-wired’ knowledge?

Chomsky originally called this our ‘Language Acquisition Device’ or ‘LAD’.

What is ‘Universal Grammar’?

‘Universal Grammar’ is the idea that humans possess universal language-specific knowledge within the brain that allows them to generate unique sentences using basic grammatical or syntactic rules.

What problem did Chomsky attempt to explain?

Chomsky attempted to clarify the relatively quick acquisition of language on the basis of a child’s ‘minimum exposure’ to external language input.

What is the ‘logical problem’ of language acquisition according to Chomsky?

The ‘logical problem’ of language acquisition is that language learning would be impossible without the existence of ‘universal grammar’.

What does Chomsky argue about external language input?

Chomsky argues that external language input per se might not account for language acquisition.

What is meant by the claim that language knowledge is ‘hard-wired’?

It means that humans possess an inbuilt knowledge of some basic grammatical or syntactic rules within the brain.

Has the ‘hard wiring’ ever been physically located within the brain?

Such ‘hard wiring’ has never been located within the human brain.

What is the main reason behind Chomsky’s argument?

The main reason behind this argument is the limited amount of input data that quickly allows a child to construct any amount of original sentences.

What does Chomsky suggest about language input?

Chomsky suggests that language input is the evidence out of which the learner constructs knowledge of language — what goes into the brain.

What kinds of evidence can language input provide?

Such evidence can be either positive or negative.

What does Cook (1991:154) state about positive evidence?

‘The positive evidence of the position of words in a few sentences the learner hears is sufficient to show him the rules of a language.’

What does the Chomskyan view claim about input?

The Chomskyan view holds that input is bound to be poor and deficient in two ways.

Why is input considered ‘degenerate’ according to Chomsky?

Input is claimed to be ‘degenerate’ because it is damaged by naturally occurring performance features such as slurs, slips, hesitations or false starts.

What performance features damage language input?

Slurs, slips, hesitations or false starts.

What does Chomsky suggest about ‘input’ as a basis for language learning?

It is suggested that ‘input’ cannot be an adequate basis for language learning.

What does Chomsky argue about grammar corrections in input?

The input is devoid of grammar corrections.

What is meant by ‘negative evidence’?

‘Negative evidence’ is the knowledge from which the learner could exercise what is ‘not’ possible in a given language.

What does the absence of negative evidence mean?

It means that the input does not normally contain knowledge of what is ‘not’ possible in a given language.

Who introduced the idea of an abstract generative language system?

Noam Chomsky introduced the idea of an abstract generative language system (Chomsky, 1957).

What did psychologists suggest following Chomsky’s generative language theory?

Psychologists suggested rules for beginning language learners, rules that are different from those for adult users of the language.

What did Jean Berko Gleason study in 1958?

Jean Berko Gleason studied children’s productive use of morphology.

What is morphology?

Morphology is the way words are formed to create tenses, plurals, third-person verb forms, etc.

What did Jean Berko Gleason’s study show?

Berko Gleason argued that her data showed that the children were learning rules and not just responses to stimuli that were then generalized to other similar stimuli.

What did Jean Berko Gleason’s study demonstrate about children’s language?

It showed the linguistic regularity and ‘generative’ nature of children’s language.

Who was Roger Brown?

Roger Brown was Gleason’s colleague who conducted and directed other pioneering studies during this time.

What did Roger Brown trace in his studies?

He traced children’s acquisition of 14 English morphemes (Brown, 1973).

Who did Brown supervise a dissertation for?

Brown supervised a dissertation of Ursula Bellugi on children’s acquisition of negation (Bellugi, 1967).

What study did Fraser, Bellugi and Brown publish?

Fraser, Bellugi and Brown published a study on children’s imitation, comprehension and production of selected syntactic structures (Fraser, Bellugi, & Brown, 1963).

What is meant by the ‘generative’ nature of children’s language?

It refers to children’s ability to generate original language by applying rules rather than simply repeating stimuli.

What is poverty of the stimulus?

A linguistic argument, coined by Noam Chomsky, proposing that children are not exposed to rich enough language data (the "stimulus") to learn all the complex, abstract rules of language on their own.