NATIVISM

PURPOSIVE COMM

JOHN LOCKE

He proposed the theory of TABULA RASA

TABULA RASA

A theory of John Locke stating that the mind at birth is a blank slate, devoid of innate ideas.

NOAM CHOMSKY

He is an American linguist who has had a profound impact on philosophy. His linguistic work has been motivated by the observation that nearly all adult human beings have the ability to effortlessly produce and understand a potentially infinite number of sentences.

CHOMSKY’S NATIVIST THEORY

• It means: babies don’t start from zero; they already have the mental tools to understand and create language.

• This is why children can quickly learn any language they’re exposed to, even if it’s complex.

• We’re wired for language from birth

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD)

Humans are born with a built-in ability to learn language - like a “language blueprint” in the brain. What is the built-in system called?

THE POVERTY OF THE STIMULUS

• Children hear only a limited number of sentences, often with mistakes, yet they still figure out the complex grammar of their language.

• Ex: Parents might say, "Doggy run," but the child eventually knows to say, "The dog is running," without being taught every rule directly.

UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR PATTERNS

• Kids around the world learn languages in similar stages: babbling-single words-short phrases-full sentences.

• This happens regardless of culture or language, suggesting the brain follows an inborn blueprint.

NOVEL SENTENCE CREATION

• Children can make sentences they’ve never heard before.

• Example: A child might say, " goed to the park," even though no adult taught them that form. They applied a grammar rule (past tense) on their own - even if it was wrong

SPEED OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

• By age 3-5, most children can understand and produce thousands of words, far too quickly for it to be only from memorizing what they’ve heard.