NOAM C H O M S K Y ’ S

L A N G U A G E A C Q U I S I T I O N
DEVICE
IS HA L Z A HR A (7 008 1413 )
M
INTRODUCTION

• NOAM CHOMSKY WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 7, 1928, IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

• CHOMSKY IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL THINKERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY.
• HE IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE FATHER OF MODERN LINGUISTICS.
• CHOMSKY IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WORK ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, INCLUDING HIS THEORY OF
UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR.
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• CHOMSKY HAS WRITTEN ON TOPICS, INCLUDING LANGUAGE, POLITICS, AND MIND AND BRAIN.
• HE HAS BEEN A VOCAL CRITIC OF US FOREIGN POLICY.
• HE HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE CAMPAIGNER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS.
• HE HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS AWARDS FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO LINGUISTICS, PHILOSOPHY, AND
ACTIVISM.
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD)
• THE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD) IS A THEORY INTRODUCED BY NOAM CHOMSKY.
• IT SUGGESTS THAT HUMANS ARE BORN WITH AN INNATE MECHANISM FOR ACQUIRING LANGUAGE.
• CHOMSKY ARGUES THAT THE LAD PROVIDES A BLUEPRINT FOR LANGUAGE STRUCTURE.
• THE LAD IS THOUGHT TO CONSIST OF A SET OF RULES AND PRINCIPLES THAT ;
• ARE COMMON TO ALL HUMAN LANGUAGES
• FORM THE BASIS FOR LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
KEY FEATURES OF LAD
• INNATENESS
• UNIVERSALITY
• PRE-EXISTING KNOWLEDGE
• SPEED AND EFFICIENCY
• GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE
• LANGUAGE-SPECIFICITY
• ROLE IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING LAD
• SPEED AND EASE OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
• CHILDREN ARE ABLE TO ACQUIRE COMPLEX GRAMMAR RULES AND A RICH VOCABULARY IN JUST A FEW YEARS.
• IT HAPPENS EVEN WITHOUT EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION.

• UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR
• ALL HUMAN LANGUAGES SHARE CERTAIN COMMON FEATURES, SUCH AS THE USE OF SYNTAX, GRAMMAR, AND PHONOLOGY.
• IT SUGGESTS THAT THERE IS A UNIVERSAL BLUEPRINT FOR LANGUAGE THAT IS SHARED BY ALL HUMANS.

• COMMON ERRORS MADE BY CHILDREN

• CHILDREN ACQUIRING THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE OFTEN MAKE SIMILAR ERRORS IN GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX.
• REGARDLESS OF THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE THEY ARE ACQUIRING.
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• SENSITIVITY TO LANGUAGE
• CHILDREN HAVE AN INNATE SENSITIVITY TO THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE.
• THEY CAN EASILY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GRAMMATICAL AND UNGRAMMATICAL SENTENCES.
• EVIDENCE FROM NEURO-IMAGING STUDIES
• NEUROIMAGING STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT CERTAIN BRAIN REGIONS ARE SPECIFICALLY INVOLVED IN
LANGUAGE PROCESSING.
• THESE REGIONS ARE ACTIVE EVEN IN VERY YOUNG CHILDREN BEFORE THEY HAVE HAD MUCH EXPOSURE TO
LANGUAGE.
UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR THEORY

• UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR (UG) IS A THEORY IN LINGUISTICS.

• IT SUGGESTS THAT
• ALL HUMAN LANGUAGES HAVE A COMMON UNDERLYING STRUCTURE.
• THE THEORY OF UG PROPOSES THAT THE ABILITY TO LEARN LANGUAGE IS INNATE
• THIS ABILITY IS A PART OF THE HUMAN BIOLOGY.
LAD AND UG

• THE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD) IS A HYPOTHETICAL CONSTRUCT WITHIN THE THEORY OF UG.
• LAD REFERS TO THE COGNITIVE MECHANISM THAT ENABLES HUMANS TO LEARN LANGUAGE.
• THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UG AND LAD IS THAT LAD IS SEEN AS THE MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH
HUMANS ACCESS AND UTILISE UG TO LEARN AND UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE.
CRITICISM OF LAD THEORY
• LACK OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
• OVER-RELIANCE ON INNATE ABILITIES AND NEGLECT OF EXPERIENCE AND INTERACTION
• INABILITY TO ACCOUNT FOR CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
• OVER-SIMPLIFICATION OF LANGUAGE COMPLEXITY
• CONTRADICTION WITH OTHER THEORIES IN PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE.
THANK YOU