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Questions and Answers
Who is considered the father of linguistics?
Noam Chomsky
What does Chomsky suggest about children and language acquisition?
According to Chomsky, language development is instinctive.
True
What term does Chomsky use to describe the innate tool in the brain that helps develop language?
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The concept that there are universal principles that govern languages is known as _______.
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Match the following terms related to Chomsky's theory:
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Babies are born knowing a specific language.
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What evidence does Chomsky provide to support his theory of language acquisition?
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What preference do babies have when differentiating sounds?
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Study Notes
Noam Chomsky and Language Development
- Noam Chomsky, a leading linguist, proposed that children are born with an innate ability to learn language.
- Chomsky's theory suggests that language development is instinctive, and we are born with the fundamental capacity to learn any language.
- He believes that our hereditary plays a significant role in language learning.
Universal Grammar (UG)
- Chomsky's theory of Universal Grammar (UG) posits that all languages share a common set of underlying principles.
- UG outlines the fundamental rules of grammar that define what is possible and impossible in language.
- These principles are innate and universal, meaning they are present in all children regardless of their language background.
- While we are not born knowing specific languages, we are born with the ability to understand how language systems work.
- UG explains why children learn language so quickly and easily, even with limited exposure and instruction.
Evidence for Universal Grammar
- Studies on babbling have shown that babies across different languages produce similar sounds, particularly labial consonants (m) and stop consonants (b, p).
- This suggests that all babies have a predisposition towards certain sound types.
- Studies revealed that babies, even at 8 months old, can differentiate between sounds in any language, regardless of their native tongue.
- This indicates that babies are innately equipped to perceive and process linguistic sounds.
- Research provides support for the idea that all babies are born with a language acquisition device (LAD) that helps them learn language efficiently.
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Description
This quiz delves into Noam Chomsky's theories regarding language development and Universal Grammar. It explores the innate abilities of children to learn language and the commonalities found across different languages. Test your understanding of Chomsky's ideas and their implications for linguistics.
