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Language Development

Language Development. Carolyn R. Fallahi, Ph. D. Chomsky & Language Development. When do children understand their first words? When do children say their first words? Simple sentences?. Theories of Language. Prior to 1950s: Behavioral theories B. F. Skinner

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Language Development

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  1. Language Development Carolyn R. Fallahi, Ph. D.

  2. Chomsky & Language Development • When do children understand their first words? • When do children say their first words? • Simple sentences?

  3. Theories of Language • Prior to 1950s: Behavioral theories • B. F. Skinner • Idea: language is reinforced or punished • Problem: children are always creating things they have never heard before. • Children misapply the rules of language.

  4. 1950: Chomsky • Language is prewired in a baby’s brain. • There is a universal language that gets inherited through our DNA. • The language acquisition device (LAD) • Metaphor: a seed language gets inherited through the genes. Out of this seed language would blossom all past, present, and future languages of the world.

  5. Support for Chomsky • Explanation for why humans are the only creatures with a capacity for language.

  6. Criticism of Chomsky’s theory • Children do learn by rewards and punishment. • Is this only unique to humans? What about trained chimps, gorillas, etc. • Where is the LAD?

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