theories of language development

Question 1

structure of human language

Answer 1

-phonology
-morphology
-syntax
-semantics
-pragmatics

Question 2

what are the two main theories of language learning

Answer 2

-linguistic nativists (chomsky)
-usage-based theories (tomasello)

Question 3

linguistic nativist theory of language learning

Answer 3

chomsky
nature
certain mechanisms only used for language learning
innate biases
word learning and syntax learning = separate
innate syntactic representations, thus minimal input needed

Question 4

usage-based theory of language learning

Answer 4

tomasello
nurture
language learnt via mechanisms used in other domains:
1) socio-cognitive (e.g. joint attention, theory of mind)
2) pattern (statistical) learning
sufficient input needed (also for syntax)
syntax learning (initially) based around frequent words

Question 5

semantics

Answer 5

meaning expressed in words and sentences

Question 6

the induction problem (quine)

Answer 6

if someone points to a dog and says dog to someone who doesn’t know the language, they will not know if the term dog is referring to:
- the whole dog
- a part of the dog, e.g. ears, tail, fur
- a property of the dog
- a verb of what the dog is doing