Nativism

Who devised the Nativist theory?

• Noam Chomsky

• B.F. Skinner

• Jean Piaget

• Jerome Bruner

If the acquirement of language is described as being 'innate', what would this mean?

• It is nurtured by others.

• The brain is biologically determined to acquire language.

• It develops through understanding.

• It relies upon the interaction with more knowledgeable others (MKO).

What have the psychologists Wernicke and Broca found?

• Language is not innate as there is not an area of the brain attributed to it.

• To acquire language, humans need to be nurtured and provided for.

• There are parts of the brain associated with the acquirement of language.

• Language is schematic.

What does the term 'aphasia' mean?

• It is another word for language.

• It is an unique ability of a person when they can acquire multiple languages at ease.

• An error made by a child due to applying regular grammatical rules to an irregular form.

• It is an impairment of language that affects a person's ability to create or understand speech and the ability to read or write.

What is meant by an 'inborn faculty'?

• Children that are born with a gift of understanding more than one language.

• The ability of the brain to make sense of language, and to sort it into a system of patterns.

• The schematic process involved in learning and acquiring language.

• A collection of language that you are born with.

What does Chomsky's theory of a 'universal grammar' mean?

• A theory that all mankind can understand each other.

• A theory that requires mankind to learn the same language so that they all apply the same grammatical structures.

• A theory that all languages share a similar grammatical structure under the surface.

• A theory that there is special grammatical constructions that a child uses when learning language.

What is meant by the 'critical period'?

• Children’s language acquisition device (LAD) must be activated before the age of 12, or language will be impaired.

• Children will learn all the language they will need by the age of 12.

• Children's language must be acquired by the age of 4 or they will never learn language.

• Children have a 'window' to learn language between the age of 0-3.

What is a virtuous error, or a unique utterance?

• When a child creates their own language and is praised for it.

• When a child communicates effectively to a parent or caregiver for the first time.

• When a child praises someone they shouldn't.

• When a child applies a grammatical rule incorrectly to a word or phrase based on prior grammatical knowledge.

What is the virtuous error: over-extension?

• A child uses a word more narrowly to describe something.

• A child uses a word more broadly to describe things.

• A child adds more to a word than is needed.

• A child deletes parts of a word.

What is the virtuous error: under-extension?

• A child uses a word more narrowly to describe something.

• A child uses a word more broadly to describe things.

• A child adds more to a word than is needed.

• A child deletes parts of a word.