LIN 306 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-2: Noam Chomsky
Document Summary
Using highlights of how we are different than other people. Language builds us as the way we are, and also animals don"t have it just us so we are. Languages let"s us direct huge groups of people. Enables us to think but not entirely. What does human natures have to be like to account for the fact that we can all speak. The argument for mental grammar: the expressive variety of language use linguistic theory implies that a language user"s brain contains a set of unconscious grammatical principles. The argument for the innate knowledge: the way children learn to talk implies that the human brain contains a genetically determined specialization for language. Lead use to the conclusion: the ability to speak and understand a human language is a complex combo of nature and nurture. Mental grammar: the expressive variety of language is the springboard for the first of the.
