Language :Noam Chomsky theory of language, stages, principle, rules, structure and factors
Our ability to use language is one of the most remarkable features of our species (A. R. McIntosh & Lobaugh, 2003).
Language is a special form of communication that involves learning complex rules to make and combine symbols (words or gestures) into an endless number of meaningful sentences.
The reason language is such a successful form of communication arises from two amazingly simple principles—words and grammar.
A WORD is an arbitrary pairing between a sound or symbol and a meaning.
GRAMMAR refers to a set of rules for combining words into phrases and sentences to express an infinite number of thoughts that can be understood by others.
FOUR RULES OF LANGUAGE
1.The first language rule governs phonology.
Phonology (FOE-nawl-uh-gee) specifies how we make the meaningful sounds that are used by a particular language. Any English word can be broken down into phonemes.
Phonemes (FOE-neems) are the basic sounds of consonants and vowels. For example, the various sounds of c and p represent different phonemes.
At about 6 months old, babies begin to babble and make basic sounds, or phonemes. We combine phonemes to form words by learning the second rule.
2. The second language rule governs morphology.
Morphology (mor-FAWL-uh-gee) is the system that we use to group phonemes into meaningful combinations of sounds and words.
A morpheme (MORfeem) is the smallest meaningful combination of sounds in a language.
For example, a morpheme may be a word, such as cat,
a letter, such as the s in cats,
a prefix, such as the un- in unbreakable,or
a suffix, such as the -ed in walked.
3. The third language rule governs syntax, or grammar.
Syntax, or grammar, is a set of rules that specifies how we combine words to form meaningful phrases and sentences.
One way you know whether the word bear is a noun or a verb is by using the fourth rule.
4. The fourth language rule governs semantics.
Semantics (si-MAN-ticks) specifies the meanings of words or phrases when they appear in various sentences or contexts.
UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE
Noam Chomsky (1957) discuss two revolutionary principles—mental grammar and innate brain program—that allow us to use and understand spoken language with relative ease (McGilvray, 2004).
MENTAL GRAMMAR : Chomsky pointed out that the brain does not have the capacity to contain a list of all the sentences we will ever use. Instead, Chomsky argued that the brain contains a program or mental grammar that allows us to combine nouns, verbs, and objects in an endless variety of meaningful sentences. Chomsky’s principle of mental grammar answers the question of how we can so easily create so many different sentences.
INNATE BRAIN PROGRAM: How is it possible that 4-year-old children, with no formal schooling, can speak and understand an endless variety of sentences ?
Chomsky’s answer is that young children can learn these complex and difficult rules of grammar because our brains come with a built-in, or innate, program that makes learning the rules of grammar relatively easy (p. 229). The brain’s innate program for learning rules of grammar explains how children learn most of the complex rules by age 4 or 5 and how children who are exposed to two languages from birth learn the two distinct vocabularies and grammar rules as quickly as their monolingual peers learn the rules of one language (Kovács & Mehler, 2009).
DIFFERENT STRUCTURE, SAME MEANING
-Surface structure refers to the actual wording of a sentence, as it is spoken.
-Deep structure refers to an underlying meaning that is not spoken but is present in the mind of the listener.
E.g._ You picked up a pen.
A pen was picked up by you.
Notice that these two sentences have different surface structures, which means they are worded differently. However, according to Chomsky, you are able to look underneath the different surface structures of the two sentences and recognize that they have the same deep structure, which is why you know they have the same meaning.
Chomsky argues that we learn to shift back and forth between surface and deep structure by applying transformational rules.
Transformational rules are procedures by which we convert our ideas from surface structures into deep structures and from deep structures back into surface ones.
For example, when you hear the two sentences about picking up the pen, you transform the words into their deep structure, which you store in memory.
Later, when someone asks what the person did, you use transformational rules to convert the deep structure in your memory back into a surface structure, which can be expressed in differently worded sentences. The distinction between surface and deep structures is part of Chomsky’s theory of language.
Chomsky’s theory of language says that all languages share a common universal grammar and that children inherit a mental program to learn this universal grammar.
Chomsky’s theory, which is widely accepted today, was considered a major breakthrough in explaining how we acquire and understand language (M. C. Baker, 2002).
ACQUIRING LANGUAGE
Language stages refer to all infants going through four different periods or stages—babbling, single words, two-word combinations, and sentences. All children go through these four stages in the same order, and in each stage, children show new and more complex language skills.
1) Babbling, which begins at about 6 months, is the first stage in acquiring language. Babbling refers to making one-syllable sounds, such as “dee-dee-dee” or “ba-ba-ba,” which are most common across all languages.
2) Single words mark the second stage in acquiring language, which occurs at about 1 year of age. Infants say single words that usually refer to what they can see, hear, or feel.infant’s single words refer to objects (juice, cookie, doll, dada), and the other half refer to actions, routines, or motions (up, eat, hot, more) (Pinker, 1994). The infant’s single words, such as “Milk” or “Go,” oen stand for longer thoughts such as “I want milk” or “I want to go out.”
Parentese (motherese) is a way of speaking to young children in which the adult speaks in a slower and higher than normal voice, emphasizes and stretches out each word, uses very simple sentences, and repeats words and phrases.
3) Two-word combinations, which represent the third stage in acquiring language, occur at about 2 years of age. Two-word combinations are strings of two words that express various actions (“Me play,” “See boy”) or relationships (“Hit ball,” “Milk gone”).
4) Sentences, which represent the fourth stage of acquiring language, occur at about 4 years of age. Sentences range from three to eight words in length and indicate a growing knowledge of the rules of grammar.
Telegraphic speech is a distinctive pattern of speaking in which the child omits articles (the), prepositions (in, out), and parts of verbs.
For example, an adult may say, “I’m going to the store.” A 3- to 4-year-old child may use telegraphic speech (omit article) and say, “I go to store.”
Basic rules of grammar are the rules for combining nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech to form meaningful sentences.
Overgeneralization means applying a grammatical rule to cases where it should not be used.
For example, after a child learns the rule of forming the past tense of many verbs by adding a (d) sound to the end, he or she may overgeneralize this rule and add a (d) to the past tense of irregular verbs (and say, for instance, “I goed to store”). By the time children enter school, they usually have a good grasp of the general rules of their language.
INNATE FACTORS
Innate language factors are genetically programmed physiological and neurological features that facilitate our making speech sounds and acquiring language skills.
Innate physiological features. We have a specially adapted vocal apparatus (larynx and pharynx) that allows us to make sounds and form words.
Innate neurological features. When people speak or use sign language, certain brain areas are activated. These findings indicate that the left hemisphere of the brain is prewired to acquire and use language, whether spoken or signed.
Innate developmental factors. Researchers have discovered there is a critical period when acquiring language is the easiest (Shafer & Garrido-Nag, 2007).
-The critical language period is the time from infancy to adolescence when language is easiest to learn. Language is usually more difficult to learn anytime after adolescence.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Environmental language factors refer to interactions children have with parents, peers, teachers, and others who provide feedback that rewards and encourages language development, as well as provides opportunities for children to observe, imitate, and practice language skills.
Social cognitive learning refers to the acquisition of language skills through social interactions, which give children a chance to observe, imitate, and practice the sounds, words, and sentences they hear from their parents or caregivers.
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