Noam Chomskys Theory of Language Development
How do children acquire language? Chomsky explains it through the "Universal Grammar".
Noam Chomsky (Philadelphia, United States, 1928) is one of today's one of today's most renowned thinkers.. His work is extensive and multifaceted: he has developed theories, studies and profound knowledge in the fields of linguistics, developmental psychology, philosophy and political analysis.
In today's article we will summarize Chomsky's contributions to the psychology of language. The popular American intellectual has sown the foundations of current lines of research in cognitive science.
- To learn more about this author: "Noam Chomsky: biography of an anti-establishment linguist".
Language development: programmed for speech?
According to Noam Chomsky's research, children are born with an innate ability to speak, children are born with an innate capacity for speech.. They are able to learn and assimilate communicative and linguistic structures. Thanks to the Universal Grammar TheoryChomsky proposed a new paradigm in language development. According to his postulates, all languages used by human beings have common characteristics in their structure.
From this evidence, Professor Chomsky deduced that the acquisition of language during infancy can occur thanks to the ability of human beings to recognize and assimilate the basic structure of language, a structure that constitutes the essential root of language.The structure that constitutes the essential root of any language.
Universal Grammar
Noam Chomsky's theory of language development during childhood is based on a controversial precept: "Human language is the product of decrypting a program determined by our genes". This position clashes diametrically with environmentalist theories of development, which emphasize the role of the influence of the environment on the individual and his or her capacity to adapt to the different contexts in which he or she lives.
In addition, Chomsky states that children possess the innate ability to understand the grammar of language, an ability that they develop through the development of language.This ability is developed through their experiences and learning, independently of their family or cultural context. To designate this innate artifact for understanding grammar, Chomsky uses the term "Universal Grammar", common to all language systems known to date.
Plasticity to acquire language
It is well known that, during infancy there is a "critical" period during which it is easier for us to learn language.. This period of increased brain plasticity during which we are a sponge for languages runs from birth to pre-adolescence.
Chomsky, through his review of the work of the German linguist and neuroscientist Eric Lennebergemphasizes that children go through a stage of what he calls "linguistic alertness". During this key period, the understanding and ability to learn new languages is greater than in other stages of life. In Chomsky's own words, "We all go through a specific maturational period in which, with the right external stimuli, our ability to speak a language will develop rapidly.
Therefore, children who are taught several languages during their childhood and pre-adolescence, will surely be able to acquire the basics of these languages correctly.. This does not happen with adults, since their plasticity, their capacity for language acquisition is no longer in such good shape.
How does language acquisition occur?
According to Noam Chomsky's theory, the process of language acquisition only occurs if the child deduces the implicit rules of language, such as notions of syntactic structure or grammar.
In order for us to be able to develop and learn language during childhood, Chomsky argued, we all possess a "language acquisition device. we all possess a "language acquisition device" in our brains..... The hypothesis of the existence of this device would enable us to learn the rules and recurrences that constitute language. Over the years, Noam Chomsky revised his theory and included the analysis of several guiding principles of language in relation to language acquisition during childhood.
These principles, such as the existence of grammar and various syntactic rules, are common to all languages. On the other hand, there are other elements that vary depending on the language we study.
The learning process and the evolution of language
As Chomsky explains human language allows us to express an infinite number of ideas, information and emotions.. Consequently, language is a social construct that is constantly evolving. Society sets the standards for the norms and common uses of language, both in its oral and written versions.
In fact, it is very common for children to use language in a very particular way: mixing concepts, inventing words, distorting others, constructing sentences in their own way... Little by little, their brains assimilate the rules and recurrences of language, making fewer and fewer mistakes and using the Wide range of artifacts that language provides them with.
Criticism and controversy surrounding Chomsky's theory
The theory of Universal Grammar formulated by Noam Chomsky is not unanimous within the scientific and academic community. and academic community. In fact, it is an idea that, although it had a strong impact on the study of language acquisition, is considered outdated, and Chomsky himself has changed his position in this regard. Critical currents argue that, with the idea of Universal Grammar, Chomsky made a mistake in his postulates: overgeneralization.
The sectors that have most questioned Chomsky's theory reject the postulate of the language acquisition device because, they argue, it has no empirical support. Other academics have criticized the American linguist's theory for its excessive innatismand therefore for not sufficiently capturing environmental factors in language acquisition.
These criticisms have led Chomsky to revise and modify some aspects of his postulates over the years, while adding new evidence and complementary aspects to this body of knowledge.
(Updated at Apr 12 / 2024)