GENERAL CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION :GENERAL CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION


Slide 2:General Ideas of Language Acquisition First Language Acquisition Second Language Acquisition


GENERAL IDEAS OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION :GENERAL IDEAS OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Bloomfield (“Language”, 1933) : Language as a behaviour not knowledge. Displaced Speech (adult’s reaction and reinforcement) Physical need – Physical end Skinner (“Verbal Behaviour”, 1957) : Stimuli – Response – Reinforcement Physical need – Physical end. Chomsky (“Review of Verbal Behaviour”, 1959): Innateness Creativity


Chomsky’s Criticism of the Behaviorists :Chomsky’s Criticism of the Behaviorists Creativity Stimulus – Free Rare Reinforcement From Response to Stimulus


States of the Language Faculty :States of the Language Faculty S0 ? Ss ( S1, S2,S3,....) Competence vs. Performance Ss = A Core Grammar (Principles and Parametres), Peripheral Grammar, Mental Lexicon.


The Language Acquisition Device :The Language Acquisition Device Input ? (Primary Linguistic Data) ? Output (A Generative Grammar)


Poverty-of-the-Stimulus :Poverty-of-the-Stimulus How do we know...? The Principle of Structure Dependency? Eg. “Is Sam is the Cat That Brown?” “On later engines, fully floating gudgeon pins are fitted, and these are retained in the pistons by circlips at each end of the pins”


Poverty-of-the-Stimulus :Poverty-of-the-Stimulus Step A: Native Speaker Knows Syntax Step B: This Knowledge is not in the Input Step C: This Knowledge is not Taught/Learned Step D: This Aspect is Built-in to the Mind.


FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION :FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION


FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION :FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION “When installing a new video recorder, though the clock and the tuner are built into the machine, they still need setting to local circumstances – the time of the day and the appropriate wavelengths. The final state Ss is one of the possibilities inherent in S0...” (p.104) UG as a part of biology rather than psychology.


Requirements :Requirements Occurence Uniformity Take – up Requirement


For Learning Tennis: :For Learning Tennis: 1- Observing the Competition 2- Players’ Breaking the Rules and Getting Penalty 3-Playing the Game Yourself and Getting Penalty for Mistakes 4- Reading a Guidebook IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE WITH ONLY THE INPUT!!


The Language Acquisition Device :The Language Acquisition Device Input ? (Primary Linguistic Data) Input = Output? NO Input < Output Rules Do Not Go In But They Come Out: They were Already There! ? Output (A Generative Grammar)


Some Insufficient Ways of Acquiring UG from the Environment in the L1 :Some Insufficient Ways of Acquiring UG from the Environment in the L1 positive negative occurence uniformity evidence evidence requirement requirement Imitation + _ _ Explanation + _ _ Correction + _ _ Social Interaction + + _


Acquisition of Principles and Parameter Setting in First Language Acquisition :Acquisition of Principles and Parameter Setting in First Language Acquisition The parametres in the child’s mind are built-in switches, each to be turned to suit the language that is heard. 1- The switch is in a neutral position. 2- The switch is set to non-pro-drop 3- The switch is set to pro-drop - The question of markedness


SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION :SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION


SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR :SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR L1 Input ? L2 Input ? S0 ? Ss Si ? St ? L1 Grammar ? L2 Grammar


Some Insufficient Ways of Acquiring UG from the Environment in the L2 :Some Insufficient Ways of Acquiring UG from the Environment in the L2 positive negative occurence uniformity evidence evidence requirement requirement Imitation + _+ _ Explanation + _+ _ Correction + _+ _ Social Interaction + _+ _


Acquisitions of Parameter Settings in Second Language Acquisition :Acquisitions of Parameter Settings in Second Language Acquisition L1 PD ? L2 PD ? L2 NPD L1 NPD ? L2 PD ? L2 NPD