Language Acquisition. Nativism vs. Contructivism

Language Acquisition. Nativism vs. Contructivism PDF Author: Kerstin Köck
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668037167
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 77

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Book Description
Examination Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, University of Stuttgart (Institut für Linguistik – Abteilung Anglistik), language: English, abstract: Language is an endless source of amazement. Language acquisition, namely the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use language, is a crucial matter to face for any theory of language. A strong approach about the acquisition of language should be able to provide an answer as to how children break into language and how language knowledge emerges and develops. The aim of this thesis is to introduce and discuss the most impacting approaches to language acquisition up to date and evaluate them against empirical data. On the one hand, some scholars, among them the developmental psychologists Jean Piaget and Michael Tomasello have been arguing that the acquisition of language is implemented via domain-neutral cognitive mechanisms and unspecific, general learning processes: such approaches reject both the idea of a language-specific ability and the hypothesis of any innate component in language acquisition. I will first discuss Jean Piaget’s ideas and afterwards Michael Tomasello’s recent elaboration of Piaget’s constructivism.

Language Acquisition. Nativism vs. Contructivism

Language Acquisition. Nativism vs. Contructivism PDF Author: Kerstin Köck
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668037167
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 77

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Book Description
Examination Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, University of Stuttgart (Institut für Linguistik – Abteilung Anglistik), language: English, abstract: Language is an endless source of amazement. Language acquisition, namely the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use language, is a crucial matter to face for any theory of language. A strong approach about the acquisition of language should be able to provide an answer as to how children break into language and how language knowledge emerges and develops. The aim of this thesis is to introduce and discuss the most impacting approaches to language acquisition up to date and evaluate them against empirical data. On the one hand, some scholars, among them the developmental psychologists Jean Piaget and Michael Tomasello have been arguing that the acquisition of language is implemented via domain-neutral cognitive mechanisms and unspecific, general learning processes: such approaches reject both the idea of a language-specific ability and the hypothesis of any innate component in language acquisition. I will first discuss Jean Piaget’s ideas and afterwards Michael Tomasello’s recent elaboration of Piaget’s constructivism.

Sound as Meaning

Sound as Meaning PDF Author: Brandon L. Tolbert
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Constructivism (Linguistics)
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description


Linguistic Nativism and the Poverty of the Stimulus

Linguistic Nativism and the Poverty of the Stimulus PDF Author: Alexander Clark
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444390554
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
This unique contribution to the ongoing discussion of language acquisition considers the Argument from the Poverty of the Stimulus in language learning in the context of the wider debate over cognitive, computational, and linguistic issues. Critically examines the Argument from the Poverty of the Stimulus - the theory that the linguistic input which children receive is insufficient to explain the rich and rapid development of their knowledge of their first language(s) through general learning mechanisms Focuses on formal learnability properties of the class of natural languages, considered from the perspective of several learning theoretic models The only current book length study of arguments for the poverty of the stimulus which focuses on the computational learning theoretic aspects of the problem

Child Language Acquisition

Child Language Acquisition PDF Author: Ben Ambridge
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139500511
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
Is children's language acquisition based on innate linguistic structures or built from cognitive and communicative skills? This book summarises the major theoretical debates in all of the core domains of child language acquisition research (phonology, word-learning, inflectional morphology, syntax and binding) and includes a complete introduction to the two major contrasting theoretical approaches: generativist and constructivist. For each debate, the predictions of the competing accounts are closely and even-handedly evaluated against the empirical data. The result is an evidence-based review of the central issues in language acquisition research that will constitute a valuable resource for students, teachers, course-builders and researchers alike.

Language-Specific Factors in First Language Acquisition

Language-Specific Factors in First Language Acquisition PDF Author: Anne-Katharina Harr
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 1614511748
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
A growing number of studies have begun to examine the influence of language-specific factors on language acquisition. During language acquisition, German children from six years on use structures that are similar to those of adults in their language group and also encode all semantic components from an early age. In striking contrast, French children up to ten years have difficulties producing some of the complex structures that are necessary for the simultaneous expression of several semantic components. Nonetheless, in addition to these striking cross-linguistic differences, the results of this study also clearly show similar developmental progressions in other respects, suggesting the impact of general developmental determinants.

Language Acquisition, Processing and Bilingualism

Language Acquisition, Processing and Bilingualism PDF Author: Anna Cardinaletti
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527556786
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Bringing together selected papers from the conference “The Romance Turn VII” held in Venice in October 2015, this volume focuses on a broad range of topics at the heart of the current debate on language acquisition, including clitic pronouns, left-dislocations, passives, relative clauses, and wh-questions. It explores these topics within a range of different acquisition settings, such as L1 and L2 acquisition, bilingualism, typical and atypical development. In addition to syntax, the volume covers other modules of grammar, namely, semantics, pragmatics, and phonology, and adds a perspective on language processing to current discussions on the acquisition of Romance languages. This book also includes contributions on atypical language acquisition in cases of deafness and on language intervention based on formal linguistics. It will appeal not only to scholars and students interested in the nature and processes behind first, second and bilingual language acquisition, and impaired language acquisition, but also to language educators and clinicians.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology PDF Author: Harold L. Miller, Jr.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1506340091
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1173

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Book Description
Drawing together a team of international scholars, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology examines the contemporary landscape of all the key theories and theorists, presenting them in the context needed to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Key features include: · Approximately 300 signed entries fill two volumes · Entries are followed by Cross-References and Further Readings · A Reader's Guide in the front matter groups entries thematically · A detailed Index and the Cross-References provide for effective search-and-browse in the electronic version · Back matter includes a Chronology of theory within the field of psychology, a Master Bibliography, and an annotated Resource Guide to classic books in this field, journals, associations, and their websites The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology is an exceptional and scholarly source for researching the theory of psychology, making it a must-have reference for all academic libraries.

Empiricism vs. Rationalism: The Innate Character of Language

Empiricism vs. Rationalism: The Innate Character of Language PDF Author: Yvonne Bogataj
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638359956
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 1 (sehr gut), University of Marburg, course: Psycholinguistics, language: English, abstract: Introduction How do children acquire language? As Susan H. Foster-Cohen put it in her book An Introduction to Child Language Development, most parents would reply either that they taught their children how to speak or that their children learned language “from hearing it and from being spoken to” (Foster-Cohen 1999: 95). This statement brings along further questions: Are children really dependent on input from their environment? If they are, when do they need to get what amount of input? And, more specifically, what sort of input do they need? There is a huge amount of different theories regarding children’s first language acquisition and the most important ones will be depicted in my term paper. At first, we will get a general overview on the different phases or stages a child goes through during language acquisition. Then, we will see some strange or “secret” phenomena, which bring along the question whether children only learn language by imitation as stated above by several parents, or if there might be an innate knowledge about how language could look like. We will then differentiate between the empiricist and rationalist positions that were represented by Locke and Descartes in the 17th/18th century. These positions have been examined and developed since then and will lead us to take a closer look at more modern theories. Piaget’s constructivist theory as well as Chomsky’s innateness hypothesis will be depicted and discussed in my term paper. Finally, we will see an example that demonstrates the important problem of the time limit for language acquisition. We will finally discuss whether this problem is contradictory to Chomsky’s innateness hypothesis.

Linguistic Nativism and the Poverty of the Stimulus

Linguistic Nativism and the Poverty of the Stimulus PDF Author: Alexander Simon Clark
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781405187855
Category : Computational linguistics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
This unique contribution to the ongoing discussion of language acquisition considers the Argument from the Poverty of the Stimulus in language learning in the context of the wider debate over cognitive, computational, and linguistic issues. Critically examines the Argument from the Poverty of the Stimulus - the theory that the linguistic input which children receive is insufficient to explain the rich and rapid development of their knowledge of their first language(s) through general learning mechanisms Focuses on formal learnability properties of the class of natural languages, considered from the perspective of several learning theoretic models The only current book length study of arguments for the poverty of the stimulus which focuses on the computational learning theoretic aspects of the problem

Cognition and Language Growth

Cognition and Language Growth PDF Author: Sascha W. Felix
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311087167X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Language acquisition is a human endeavor par excellence. As children, all human beings learn to understand and speak at least one language: their mother tongue. It is a process that seems to take place without any obvious effort. Second language learning, particularly among adults, causes more difficulty. The purpose of this series is to compile a collection of high-quality monographs on language acquisition. The series serves the needs of everyone who wants to know more about the problem of language acquisition in general and/or about language acquisition in specific contexts.