LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (ENGL 425)

The Nature of Human Language & The Biological Basis of Language

HOMEWORK # 1 (Total /10 points.)

Answer ALL the following questions. Be sure to complete each part of every question.

1. What is meant by the linguistic terms language, communication, displacement, arbitrariness,

productivity, cultural transmission, duality, grammar, linguistic competence?
2. Do bees learn their dancing behaviours? Explain.
3. What are three main ways in which humans can communicate linguistically?
4. A parrot can be taught to “talk.” Why is this not really language?
5. What do the barking of dogs, the meowing of cats and the singing of birds have in common with
human language? What are some of the basic differences?
6. Suppose you taught a dog to heel, sit up, roll over, play dead, stay, jump, and bark on command,
using the italicized words as cues. Would you be teaching it language? Why or why not?
7. What are the advantages of arbitrariness?
8. What kind of evidence is used to support the idea that language is culturally transmitted?
9. Chimpanzees and gorillas have been taught rich communication systems using symbols of various
kinds. Does this falsify the claim that language is species specific? Why or why not?
10. What is meant by the claim that human language is universal? provide some supportive examples.
11. Do you agree with the claim that Language learning is species specific? Why or why not?
12. What is the innateness hypothesis? State what it is, then provide some supportive evidence.
13. What is the critical period hypothesis? State what it is, then provide some supportive evidence.
14. It has been reported that hearing children growing up in homes with non-speaking deaf parents cannot
learn spoken language from radio or even television. Can you think of any reasons for this?
15. Do children learn language only through imitation? Give examples to illustrate your answer.

Important instructions/tips:
1. Spend enough time on answering the questions in order to make good grades.
2. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. You will receive a zero (0) mark for the piece of work
in which the plagiarism occurred.
3. Submit your homework on time. The submission deadline is Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at 11:59
pm. No submission will be accepted after the due date and time.
4. Send your work electronically to your instructor as an email attachment to the following email
address: nsaadi@taibahu.edu.sa
5. Handwritten assignment is accepted. Note that writing neatly is very important.
Good Luck