LING 1010: Language and Mind - Evidence for Nativism

Flashcards covering key concepts from the 'Language and Mind - Evidence for Nativism' lecture, including definitions of Empiricism and Nativism, their predictions, and evidence for Nativism from developmental disorders like Specific Language Impairment and Williams Syndrome.

What is the main difference between Empiricism and Nativism regarding human knowledge acquisition?

Empiricism emphasizes experience and general cognitive abilities, while Nativism emphasizes innate, domain-specific knowledge attributed to biology.

How does Empiricism explain language acquisition from primary linguistic data?

An empiricist believes a language learner uses instruction/conditioning from caregivers and general cognitive abilities to convert environmental linguistic data into language knowledge.

According to Nativism, what mechanism converts primary linguistic data into knowledge of language?

A nativist believes a child uses the Language Acquisition Device, provided by Universal Grammar, to convert primary linguistic data into knowledge of language.

What does Empiricism predict about variation in language learning abilities among humans?

Empiricism predicts wide variation in language learning, including some people having no language, longer learning times, different grammars among community members, and different learning processes for children.

What two key predictions does Empiricism make regarding experience and general intelligence in language acquisition?

Empiricism predicts that experience is necessary (no exposure = no language) and that language acquisition outcomes should correlate with general intelligence.

What is the Nativist argument of 'Universality' regarding language?

Universality argues that all human societies have always had language, and all children (aside from pathology) acquire at least one language.

Explain the Nativist argument of 'Uniformity' in language acquisition.

Uniformity refers to the ease (any child can acquire any human language in about five years, and all human languages are equally easy) and success (children acquire grammar virtually indistinguishable from their models) of language acquisition.

What do 'Rapidity' and 'Consistency of stages' refer to in Nativist arguments for language acquisition?

Rapidity means children acquire language much faster than other information of similar complexity, and Consistency of stages means they pass through highly similar acquisitional stages.

Why do Nativists cite Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and Williams Syndrome as evidence?

They are cited as evidence for a developmental double dissociation, indicating that general intelligence is independent of linguistic competence, which contradicts Empiricist predictions.

What is Specific Language Impairment (SLI)?

SLI is a developmental disorder that affects language with no additional cognitive deficits, characterized by normal non-verbal IQ but severe problems in certain parts of language.

What are key characteristics observed in children with Specific Language Impairment?

Children with SLI show normal non-verbal IQ and socialization but experience delays in producing first words, problems articulating speech sounds, simplified grammatical production, and comprehension difficulties with complex speech.

What is believed to be the cause of Specific Language Impairment, and what evidence supports this?

SLI is thought to be genetic, supported by twin studies showing higher concordance in identical twins and the identification of a mutation in the FOXP2 gene in a family with high incidence of SLI.

What does the existence of Specific Language Impairment suggest about general intelligence and language acquisition?

SLI suggests that normal general intelligence is not sufficient for language acquisition, as intellectually normal children can still fail to acquire language in a typical fashion.

What is Williams Syndrome?

Williams Syndrome is a developmental disorder that causes broad cognitive deficits (such as an average IQ of 55 and limited motor control) but leaves language abilities preserved.

What are some cognitive and behavioral characteristics of children with Williams Syndrome?

Children with Williams Syndrome typically have an average IQ of 55, cardiovascular difficulties, limited motor control, are excessively social, and show great difficulty with visual-spatial tasks, despite preserved language.

How is language production described in children with Williams Syndrome, despite their other cognitive deficits?

The language production of children with Williams Syndrome is fluent, coherent, and typically free from grammatical errors.

What is the known genetic cause of Williams Syndrome?

Williams Syndrome is caused by the deletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7.

What does the existence of Williams Syndrome suggest about general intelligence and language acquisition?

Williams Syndrome suggests that general intelligence is not required for language acquisition, as cognitively impaired children can nevertheless succeed in acquiring language in a typical fashion.

What is a 'developmental double dissociation' as established by SLI and Williams Syndrome?

A developmental double dissociation signifies that general (non-verbal) intelligence is entirely independent of linguistic competence, with SLI affecting language but not cognition, and Williams Syndrome affecting cognition but not language.