INTRO TO LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 2020

LearningEduc TV

20 Sept 202009:46

Summary

TLDRThis video explores the intricate process of language acquisition, delving into the age-old debate between rationalists and empiricists. It highlights the pivotal role of both nature and nurture in language development, emphasizing Chomsky's rationalist stance and the empiricist perspective of behaviorists. The script outlines the stages of language development from infancy to early childhood, showcasing the progression from vegetative sounds to complex sentence structures. It also touches on the rapid vocabulary growth and the emergence of telegraphic speech, culminating in the continuous acquisition of language throughout life.

Takeaways

🗣️ Language acquisition is a critical aspect of human development, with debates between rationalists and empiricists on whether language abilities are innate or learned.
🧠 Rationalists like Plato suggest that certain fundamental ideas are innate, meaning they are present from birth.
🔍 Empiricists such as Locke argue against innate ideas, proposing that all knowledge comes from experience, and the mind is a 'tabula rasa' at birth.
👶 Children are not born silent; they make vegetative sounds and progress through stages of language development, from cooing to producing their first words.
🌟 Chomsky's theories align with rationalism, suggesting that language acquisition involves innate processes.
👶🏻 Infants engage in vocal play between 16 weeks and 6 months, making speech-like sounds with vowels emerging before consonants.
🗣️ At around 6 to 9 months, infants start 'bubbling,' using syllables and noticing patterns in sounds related to situations.
💬 The first words typically emerge around 10 or 11 months, and by 18 months, there's a rapid increase in vocabulary and the emergence of two-word sentences.
📚 Children's language development continues with the production of more complex sentences and an ongoing acquisition of new words throughout childhood.
🧩 The script highlights the importance of understanding both nature and nurture in language development, with connections to work in connectionism and cognitive structures.

Q & A

What are the two main philosophical views on how humans obtain knowledge?
-The two main philosophical views are rationalism and empiricism. Rationalists, like Plato and Descartes, believe that certain fundamental ideas are innate and present from birth. Empiricists, such as Locke and Hume, reject the idea of innate knowledge, arguing that all knowledge comes from experience.
What does the term 'tabula rasa' mean in the context of Locke's philosophy?
-In Locke's philosophy, 'tabula rasa' refers to the idea that the human mind at birth is a blank slate, upon which experiences write and shape future behavior.
How does Chomsky's work relate to the rationalist view on language acquisition?
-Chomsky's work aligns with the rationalist view by suggesting that humans have an innate ability to acquire language, which is supported by the existence of a universal grammar that is inherent to all humans.
What is the nature-nurture debate in the context of language development?
-The nature-nurture debate in language development refers to the discussion about the extent to which language abilities are determined by genetic factors (nature) versus environmental factors and experiences (nurture).
What is the role of behaviorism in the study of language acquisition?
-Behaviorists, who are aligned with empiricism, argue that language is entirely learned through conditioning and reinforcement, and they reject the idea of innate cognitive structures or abilities for language acquisition.
What is the significance of the 'vocabulary explosion' in language development?
-The 'vocabulary explosion' refers to the rapid increase in a child's vocabulary around 18 months of age, which is often accompanied by the emergence of two-word sentences, indicating a significant milestone in language development.
What is 'telegraphic speech' and when does it typically occur in a child's language development?
-Telegraphic speech is a stage in child language development where children use simplified sentences that omit function words and inflectional morphemes, focusing on content words. It typically occurs before the age of two and a half years.
How do infants progress from making vegetative sounds to producing their first words?
-Infants progress from making vegetative sounds to producing their first words through a series of stages: cooing, laughing, vocal play, bubbling, and eventually producing single-word utterances around 10 to 11 months of age.
What is the average rate at which a young teenager learns new words?
-It is estimated that an average young teenager learns over 10 new words a day, indicating continuous language development throughout childhood.
What are the key milestones in infant speech perception and production?
-Key milestones in infant speech perception and production include cooing at around 6 weeks, laughing at 16 weeks, vocal play between 16 weeks and 6 months, and the production of first words around 10 to 11 months.
How does the concept of 'connectionism' relate to the study of language development?
-Connectionism focuses on the nature of nurture and how learning systems change with experience. It suggests that cognitive structures can arise from innate dispositions and that language development is influenced by the interaction of innate factors and environmental experiences.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Language Acquisition

This paragraph introduces the topic of language acquisition, emphasizing the philosophical debate between rationalists and empiricists on how humans obtain knowledge. Rationalists like Plato and Descartes believed in innate ideas, while empiricists such as Locke argued that all knowledge comes from experience. Locke's concept of the mind as a 'tabula rasa' is highlighted, suggesting that the mind is a blank slate at birth, shaped by sensory experiences. The paragraph also mentions Chomsky's rationalist perspective on language acquisition and the ongoing nature-nurture debate. It concludes by acknowledging the importance of understanding innate processes and environmental influences on language development.

05:02

👶 Stages of Language Development

The second paragraph delves into the stages of language development in children. It starts by noting that children are not born silent and progress from making vegetative sounds to cooing and laughing. The paragraph describes vocal play between 16 weeks and 6 months, where infants make speech-like sounds with vowels preceding consonants. At six to nine months, infants begin 'babbling,' producing syllables. They start associating sounds with situations, like 'mommy' with their mother's presence. By 10 or 11 months, children start using their first words. The vocabulary explosion and the emergence of two-word sentences around 18 months are highlighted, noting that children may learn up to 40 new words per week. The paragraph also mentions the development of telegraphic speech, where children omit grammatical elements, and how grammatical structures gradually appear in a fixed order. It concludes by stating that grammatical development and vocabulary acquisition continue throughout childhood, with an average young teenager learning over 10 new words daily.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Language Acquisition

Language acquisition refers to the process by which humans develop the ability to understand and use language. In the video, this concept is central as it discusses how people obtain language abilities, touching on both philosophical perspectives and empirical evidence. The script mentions that this is one of the most important issues in the study of language development, highlighting its significance in understanding human cognition and communication.

💡Rationalists

Rationalists are philosophers who believe that certain fundamental ideas are innate, meaning they are present from birth. In the context of the video, rationalists like Plato and Descartes are contrasted with empiricists, emphasizing the debate over whether language abilities are innate or learned. The script uses rationalists to introduce the concept of innate ideas, which is a key point in the nature-nurture debate regarding language development.

💡Empiricists

Empiricists, such as Locke, posit that all knowledge is derived from experience and reject the idea of innate ideas. In the video, this view is presented as an alternative to rationalism, suggesting that language is learned through interaction with the environment. The empiricist perspective is important for understanding the role of experience in language acquisition, as opposed to the idea that language abilities are hardwired from birth.

💡Tabula Rasa

The term 'tabula rasa', meaning 'blank slate', is used by empiricists to describe the mind at birth, which is thought to be devoid of any pre-existing knowledge or ideas. In the video, Locke's concept of the mind as a tabula rasa is mentioned to illustrate the empiricist view that all knowledge, including language, is acquired through experience. This concept is crucial for understanding the empiricist stance in the nature-nurture debate.

💡Nature vs. Nurture

The nature-nurture debate is a longstanding discussion in various fields, including psychology and linguistics, about the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and personal experiences (nurture) to the development of an individual. In the video, this debate is central to understanding different theories of language acquisition, with rationalists leaning towards nature and empiricists towards nurture.

💡Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is a linguist and philosopher who has significantly influenced the field of language acquisition. The video mentions Chomsky's work as being in the rationalist camp, suggesting that he believes in the innateness of certain language structures. Chomsky's theories, such as the idea of a universal grammar, are central to understanding the rationalist perspective on language acquisition.

💡Behaviorists

Behaviorists are a group of psychologists and linguists who argue that language is entirely learned through conditioning and reinforcement. In the video, behaviorists are mentioned as empiricists who believe that language is a learned behavior, not an innate ability. This perspective is important for understanding the extreme end of the empiricist view on language development.

💡Stages of Language Development

The video outlines the stages of language development, which include cooing, laughing, vocal play, and the emergence of words and sentences. These stages are important for understanding the progression of language skills from infancy to childhood. The script describes a clear progression, from vegetative sounds to complex sentences, illustrating the developmental milestones in language acquisition.

💡Telegraphic Speech

Telegraphic speech is a phase in child language development where children use simplified versions of sentences, omitting articles, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs. The video mentions telegraphic speech as a precursor to more grammatically complex language, showing how children gradually learn to incorporate grammatical elements into their speech.

💡Vocabulary Explosion

The term 'vocabulary explosion' refers to the rapid increase in a child's vocabulary size, typically occurring around 18 months of age. In the video, this concept is used to describe the period when children start to learn new words at an accelerated rate, which is closely linked to the emergence of two-word sentences and the development of more complex language skills.

💡Syntax

Syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language. The video discusses the development of syntax in children, noting that grammatical elements appear in a relatively fixed order across different languages. Understanding syntax is crucial for grasping how children learn to construct grammatically correct sentences.

Highlights

Introduction to language acquisition involves understanding how people obtain language abilities.

Rationalists like Plato believed in innate ideas present from birth.

Empiricists like Locke argued that all knowledge comes from experience.

Locke's concept of 'tabula rasa' suggests the mind is a blank slate at birth.

The nature-nurture debate continues the rationalist-empiricist controversy.

Chomsky's views on language acquisition align with rationalism.

PSJA argues that cognitive structures are not innate but can arise from innate dispositions.

Behaviorists are empiricists, believing language is entirely learned.

Language development shows a progression, but the existence of discrete stages is debated.

Children make vegetative sounds from birth, such as crying and burping.

Around 6 weeks, infants start cooing, and at 16 weeks, they begin to laugh.

Vocal play between 16 weeks and 6 months involves making speech-like sounds.

Infants start 'bubbling' with true syllables from six to nine months of age.

Children begin to associate sounds with situations, like 'mommy' with their mother's presence.

First words are produced around 10 or 11 months of age.

A rapid increase in vocabulary and two-word sentences occur around 18 months.

Children may learn up to 40 new words a week during the vocabulary explosion.

Before grammatically correct speech, children produce 'telegraphic speech' lacking grammatical elements.

Grammatical elements appear in a fixed order for any particular language.

From two and a half years, children's sentences become increasingly complex.

Language learning continues throughout childhood, with an average teenager learning over 10 new words daily.

Detailed developmental milestones include motor and language development, speech perception and production, syntax perception and production, and semantics.