The Nativist Theory – Flashcards

The idea that people have an innate capacity to acquire language?

Noam Chomsky

Believes that learning takes place through an innate brain mechanism, pre-programmed with the ability to acquire grammatical structures. He calls this the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). To him, it is also significant that human languages, although they might seem different, share many similarities, which he describes as 'universal grammar'. His theories were supported by the fact that children all around the world develop at a similar rate in similar stages of development.

Eric Lenneburg

He furthered the nativist theory by proposing that language has to be acquired within a critical period normally within 5 years. His ideas were supported through case studies of feral children, where human input has been limited, show that although some language processes can be acquired, full grammatical fluency is never achieved.

Language Acquisition Device

Children experience the same stages of development at the same pace. Children resist correction Children create a form of language that adults don't use e.g. overgeneralisation. Children make their own rules for language use that seem to understand that all languages have grammatical rules. Children produce 'correct language' when surrounded by impoverished' faulty adult speech e.g. false starts and incomplete utterances.

Children stop overgeneralising and learn to use language correctly. Children need input to give them more skills than grammar, e.g. pragmatic understanding. Children who have been deprived of social contact can't achieve complete communicative competence.