Psycholinguistics : First Language Acquisition Theories _Linguistic/Innatist

[Md. Mostafa Rashel]

First Language Acquisition Theories : Linguistic/Innatist Theory


Theoretician(s)
•   Psammetichus
•   Lenneberg(critical period hypothesis)
•   Chomsky
•   Goldin-Meadow (deaf children's developing language)
•   Bickerton (pidgin--creaole)
•   Lightfoot


Hypothesis:
Many aspects of language development are preprogrammed in the individual and a child does not require explicit teaching or experience in order to acquire language. (Not "a" language)
•   Language is autonomous (Modular)
•   There is Universal Principles (UG) which any natural human language obeys.
•   LAD

Evidence for the hypothesis
•   Studies with deaf
•   Pidgin -- > creole studies
•   deficiency of input (Lightfoot)
•   Negative evidence and correction

REFERENCES
Gleason and Ratner (1998). Psycholinguistics. Second Edition. Forth Worth: Harcourt Brace Collage Publishers.
Keenan and Comrie (1977). "Noun phrase accessibility and universal grammar." Linguistic inquiry.8 (1), 63-99.

[Antara11]

Truly very informative.

[Tahsina]

It was good to get the theories in a nutshell. But for people like us (without the linguistics background) I think a few easy examples could work wonders. 

[Afroza Akhter Tina]

Informative indeed!!





Afroza Akhter Tina
Senior Lecturer
Department of English, DIU

[Subrata.eng]

I do agree with Tahsina ma'am.

[Shahriar Mohammad Kamal]

Noam Chomsky is one of the pioneers.