01:830:101 Study Guide - Final Guide: Lexical Item, Subset, Problem Of Induction

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: 01:830:101
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Language learning is not really something that the child does. It is something that happens to the child placed in an appropriate environment. Much as the child"s body grows and matures in a predetermined way when provided with appropriate nutrition and environmental stimulation. (chomsky) A common set of principles that all languages share. Hypothesized to be part of the child"s innate knowledge. Mind at birth is like a blank slate. Something is innate but it isn"t language specific and environment matters a lot. Emergentism: language emerges from person due to interaction with environment. Differs from constructivism in its claim that what emerges from the process of innate structure operating on environmental input can be more than was provided in either the innate structure of the input. Adult input --> lad --> child output. Cannot examine the lad directly; must infer from input and output. Must be powerful enough to learn all and only human languages.