Linguistics and Language Essay

In this set about, I go out explain as well as comp atomic number 18 twain theories of graduation exercise lyric poem accomplishment, mienism and innatism. I testament research the differences between them in much(prenominal) categories as the single-valued function of the bookman, the role of the milieu and as well as their strengths and weaknesses. I give then state and explain which single I find much(prenominal)(prenominal) than reason adequate to(p) with vitrines of relevant literature. Role of the Learner Behaviorism, attri simplye to B. F. Sk cozy in the 1950s, states that the bookman knows vigor to start with, he is an empty destine o1 to be taught.The scholarly person is inactive and reads by lordly-negative reinforcement, exclusively repeating what he hears. Innatism, attri scarcelye to Noam Chomsky in 1965, states that the recorder is wired from stemma for phrase. The ticker is equipped with a LAD, a spoken verbiage acquisition device . This device all t previous(a)ows the learner to disc all over the rules of his talking to, any row. Role of the environs Behaviorism states that the role of the surround is stake on and racy to the training surgical operation. The environment is the fighting(a) agent epoch the learner is the passive agent. The environment produces the necessary phraseology gossip for the learner.It is up to the environment to give positive and negative reinforcement for the learner. Innatism states that the role of the environment is minimal beca single-valued function it l iodine(prenominal) acts as the set forth for erudition. It is likewise thought the environment is blemish and cant be relied upon to unendingly give perfect information. in that locationfore, it is up to the learner to find the rules of the deliveryo2 . Strengths There be a few strengths to support the behaviorism surmise. It is promiscuous to monitor the learners performance. This is how p arnts (as teachers) designly teach their s adoptrren, d matchless with(predicate) with(predicate) nurturing which puts emphasis on the role of the environment.This guess can similarly explain wherefore learners occupy the ability to memorize. On the different hand, in that respect argon several strengths of the innatism system. A learner can non memorize all the feasible different spoken actors line and grammar combinations that he learns by dint of the environment. The LAD abets the learner to customaryize rules and go his own creative use of the phraseology. A infant will resist use an irregular form because of over-generalizing, and he will ca-ca his own form of a article harmonise to the rules that he has home(a)ized. And these rules tiret necessarily conform to cock-a-hoop grammar rules which include umpteen a(prenominal) exceptions.By applying these internalized and generalised rules, a small fry is able to cause a run-in at a fast pace. o3 Weaknesses The Behaviorism conjecture entirely level statements for the performance of the learner, and non on his competence. The learner is passive, so this theory does not tension on the learners see and knowledge. It in like manner does not explain wherefore pip-squeakren acquire a row communication so quickly even if they ar open to different environments. In addition, this theory also doesnt forwarder an explanation of why infantren over-generalize rules such as the simple foreg unmatchable sieve of irregular verbs even though they hear irregular forms in the environment.There be also several weaknesses to the Innatism theory. oneness of the first weaknesses is that it demands the mankind beings of the wording erudition Device (LAD), its existence is difficult to set up and is immeasurable. This theory also doesnt regaining into account different kinds of learners, just r arfied learners with ideal grammar. The environment plays a youngster role in this theory , so it doesnt take into account the favorable verbal apprehensionualization of the learner. My Opinion Looking at the twain of these theories, I find the Innatism theory the most tenable. In my own hear with my clawren and students, the learners do not al commissions model my behavior.This usually occurs with irregular chassiss, particularly prehistoric tense verbs. This is similar to the wug test where a child will form a past tense of a verb that he has neer heard before by applying the general grammar rules that he has lettered. This behavior cannot be memorized and mustiness be driven by an internal bodily structure. An separate reason to support this theory is that learners with impaired intelligence start out been able to learn the structure of wording. It has also been turn out that American Sign spoken communication which is taught to the deaf(p) also has its own spoken communication structure. In addition, the creation of Creole spoken communications su pports the theory.As a Creole maturates, grammar and structure are create in. The LAD would account for the formation of these lyrics as well as for creative uses of phraseology by a learner. Conclusion In this essay I throw explained dickens theories of language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. In doing so, I set out explained the different roles of the learner as well as the environment. I expect also explored strengths and weaknesses of each theory and why I support the innatism theory over the behaviorism theoryo4 . o1Good one, I forgot this in my essay o2Do you think you should mention indigence of remark here? o3ording? cosmopolitan grammar is built off of deuce propositions, that all languages are governed by a set of universal principles, and that the sound judgement is equipped with parameters which are set intuitively by the child tally to the language input they receive. UG researchers go for found a number of universal principles. One of the to a grea ter extent prominent principles is structure colony. Structure dependency states that all sentences regardless of the language are built off of propositions that carry two a noun and a verb phrase in other spoken language, every sentence in every language must stick out at least a paper and a verb (Chomsky, 1959).One parameter place setting that is contained in the LAD is the read/write head setting. few languages such as English are head first, other languages such as Japanese are head last. various(a) creases bewilder been used to support the existence of universal grammar. Chomsky (1959) has proposed the poverty of the stimulus occupation, positing that the input children receive cannot account for what they produce, and in that locationfore, children must have an innate facility. He argues that the input is impair in two ways first it contains a hodgepodge of performance slips, and upholdly, it does not contain any negative evidence.How do children acquire language when they dont know what they cant say, or how do they learn to speak decent when the input they here is at multiplication in correct? They do so, according to Chomsky, through this innate capacity. Jackendoff (1994) offers other debate in support of universal grammar, the argument from expressive variety. Jackendoff argues that given that languages are recursive, there is simply no way of storing all of the possible sentences one can create in ones mind. In other words, sentences dont issue forth from ha musical compositions, but rather from creative expression.Universal grammar has had a lot of capital in language acquisition theory, although it has been critiqued on few fronts. Connectionists, particularly, N. Ellis (2006) has argued that language acquisition is not repayable to an innate faculty and the creative expression of humans, but equates it to a usage-based approach where children eruditeness piecemeal frequently reoccurring chunks of language. Another argument ag ainst the innate language faculty is that UG researchers have claimed that exclusively humans have find to syntax, however this has been found not to be true.Certain animals, such as the hunchback whale and songbirds have been found to get a recursive syntax, suggesting that syntax and language may have evolved from lower ordering primates. Whereas universal grammar begins with language from the inside, Sociocultural theory, another prominent first language acquisition, posits language acquisition begins from the outside. Vygotsky, the founder of sociocultural theory, argues that language is a psychological in additionl, which children acquire and learn to manipulate as they interact with their environment and with more capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978).Children first learn language as they interact with their parents. Parents use caretaker words, which makes it easier for the child to understand and grasp a hold on the c at oncepts of the language. As the child begins to unde rstand and produce simple utterances, they are able to use the language to negotiate their psychological functioning (Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky argues that children begin acquire language by first acquire single words, which are pure meaning. As they develop their language skills, and engage in social vernacular, single word sentences are augmented through incorporation of non-meaningful elements, such as function words, and the childs thoughts and words begin to develop more sense meanings. For instance, where the word cat for the 1 or two year old child could have served as an standard for all cats, by the time the child is nine, and having undergone a variety of experiences related to cat, they have imbibed the word with their own unique senses. consequently syntax and word senses expand, the more a child learns. Now, whereas social speech began from one and developed into many, inner speech, the speech that goes on inside of our heads becomes more and more truncated.V ygotsky argues, unregenerate to Piaget, that self-absorbed speech does not melt rather it becomes internalized as inner speech. And this inner speech is aroundthing that could not be mute by anybody but the person who is view it. Vygotsky suggests that just as people who have known each other for many years, and who have had a large summate of experiences together exhibit language tendencies of telescoped syntax because of their historical dispensed experience, a persons inner speech also exhibits this characteristic, but even more so the stuff of thought is vigor but psychological predicates (Vygotsky, 1978).One of the primal ways humans learn anything, according to Vygotsky, is through the zone of proximal development. This concept explains that what a person can do today with assistance, they can do tomorrow by themselves (Vygotsky, 1978). Applied to first language acquisition, the child may receive help from an expert, such as their parents, who acid at objects and say their name, for example, cat. After seeing this, the child may repeat cat straight off after. The next day, as the child sees the cat, it says the word cat without needing to be told by their parents.Chomsky maintains that languages lie down of an infinite number of sentences and cannot be learned through habit formation. Language is too building complex to be learned in such a short bar of time (Chomsky, 1959). He believes that every human is born with an innate language learn capacity, which is embedded in the language acquisition device (LAD). Chomsky believes that all language appoint grammatical structures. This is called universal grammar (UG). Proof of UG includes poverty of stimulus, which explains how children acquire the language despite their throttle exposure and incorrect input they may receive.Another evidence for UG that languages are recursive, (Jackendoff, 1994). It is unsufferable to know all the possible combinations however, they are learned by children. According to UG, there must be some fall apart of innate capacity that provides the additional information. The point that children are tolerant to correction once again proves that language is developed through an innate capacity. According to Chomsky (1959), all languages share principles, which are invariable across languages. For example, noun phrases and verb phrases. This is called structure dependency.All languages have verbs and nouns. What distinguishes languages from each other according to Chomsky, are parameters, which are language specific. For example, some languages are head first, and some are head last. In analogy to UG, Eric Lenneberg (1967) introduced the Critical compass point Hypothesis (CPH), which is a window of language learning prospect before puberty. Proponents of CPH believe after this period, language learning becomes a much more difficult task and grownups tend to depone on other mechanisms such as problem closure skills, reasoning, and deducti ve focussing to learn a language.Evidence of the CP is for example abused children, who despite being removed from the environment where they were deprived of social contact, were not able to learn the language. There have been many criticisms to Chomskys UG, for example, the LAD cannot be located and is immeasurable. Also, Chomskys theories overlook the personal effects of social contact and the environment on language learning. Social interactionist Vygotsky (1978) was a warm proponent of the social interaction hypothesis. He believed that learning takes place through social interaction, and give and take of information with caregivers, parents, or peers. According toVygotsky, children begin with external speech, which could make up of one word only, but have the meaning of a whole sentence. Gradually, as the child grows older, he develops more complex and longer sentences and associates more meaning with his words. A child also engages in sequestered speech (similar to adult s), which is usually meant for problem solving or thinking out forte, but is not meant for sharing although articulated. Vygotsky believes that as the child develops more linguistic skills, this private speech becomes internalized and turns into inner speech, which is pure meaning, and does not dwell of subjects it is predicated.In direct opposition to the environment being the active participant in language learning, Chomsky flips behaviorism on its head and presents the learner as having a particular role while environment becomes secondary. deep down the Universal Grammar theory (UG), Noam Chomsky (1959) presents a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that is responsible for the language learning process. Purely biological, language is filtered through the innate LAD that is structured with principles that are unchanging and parameters that vary according to the language being learned.Proofs to support this theory are many. Syntax and the head-first/head-last parameter are two such proofs. As a child learns language, they hold to one of only two possibilities in any given language head-first and head-last and language is formed through recursion and syntactic movement that follow a pattern within a particular language. This shows that language is rule-governed and that the LAD is programmed with language foundations from which a child can develop. That children are resistant to correction follows this same thought as they develop language through the LAD. Language is not linked to intelligence as we see in forefront dishonored adults who are alone coherent in language skills and others who are cognitively normal but cannot speak correctly. Stroke victims also show that, depending on the area of the brain that is affected, intelligence and speech are not linked. Brocas and Wernickes Aphasias show that sealed areas of the brain affect speech while intelligence be unaffected. As evidence by the Gopnik family, genetic impairments have also proven th at a glitch in the UG can be passed down from one generation to another, thus proving that the LAD is so biological (Jackendoff, 113).Eric Lennebergs Critical Period Hypothesis (1967) and the cases of wild children are yet further evidence. Lenneberg holds that the LAD becomes dormant or ineffective after a certain age around the age of 12 and this is why children acquire language so much more quickly than adults who are attempting the same. finished these studies of particular children who did not learn language and who were void of contact with language as a whole, it shows that the younger the child, the more fully they were able to learn language. in one case a child was passed the age of 12 or so, they were unable to acquire suitable language skills.The younger children were not only able to learn more adequately but then went on to keep up in the language learning process as a normal adult would. As many proofs as there are for Chomskys UG and the LAD, criticisms are fu ll as well. First and foremost, where is the evidence that a device like LAD exists? It sure has not been located in the brain, and so, it remains immeasurable and some have earnest doubt as to its legitimacy. This theory also limits the role of the environment and gives no account for the social context of the language learning process.It idealizes the speaker and the grammar itself to a certain stop and packages the entire process a bit too neatly. Cognitive Development Theory Jean Piagets (1955) work in cognitive development is foundational on many levels. Watching his own children, nature, and certain orbit groups of young children, Piaget introduces a theory that is completely developmental. As a child is make believe and developed (both biologically and cognitively), they are able to assimilate, accommodate and adapt modernistic experiences. primal in this theory is reasoning and logic.The role of the environment is minimal and the learner is vital but only as they are cognitively developed and ready for juvenile experiences. A child will not learn what they are not cognitively developed to receive at that point no matter what the instruction. Piaget holds to the notion of children underdeveloped schema. As a new experience is received and they are biologically and cognitively ready to receive it, they will develop new schema to fit into the simulation of schema that they already have developed. This theory also relies heavily on swellhead and socialized speech with each one serving a different function. selfish speech is what is used (mainly by children) when words and thoughts are spoken out loud but the one speaking is only dealing with their own thoughts and ideas. Socialized speech is a shift away from egocentric speech where one simply derives delight from speaking to being a way of exchanging their ideas or opinions. Although Piagets work and theory is critical, it neither accounts for the childs behavior as a whole nor for the cognit ive development after the stage of chunk operation is reached. It offers vast insight into the developmental process of a child but little instruction on attaining language skills.It was also based solely on a Western model and is therefore quite limiting. SECOND LANGUAGE skill Input & proceeds Hypotheses As a result of older models of language teaching where attention was given to language grammar, Krashen (1981) places his focus on communication input. He contends that if the learner is given a chance to absorb the language, they will be meliorate equipped to acquire it. Rather than forcing issue immediately, Krashen holds to a silent period where learners have the privilege of just listening to language before attempting itmuch like a young child would in learning their mother tongue.Comprehensible input (i + 1) is the practice that Krashen holds to for optimal language learning for second language learners (SLLs). This states that if a SLL is offered input that is only slightly beyond what they already know, acquisition will take place. He also makes a differentiation between language learning and language acquisition, claiming that acquisition is what is essential for the language learning process. Criticisms of Krashens hypothesis are that input alone cannot account for acquisition and that some grammatical forms cannot be learned without being taught.Swain (1985) introduces her Output Hypothesis in contrast to Krashen and claims that no matter the input, if the output is unintelligible, acquisition has not truly occurred. It is the output that forces learners to grapple with the grammatical processing and figure out what works. Through output, a learner can enlighten their problem areas, can experiment with new areas they are unsure of, and gives them the chance to crumble problems they are having in their language learning process.