Group A

CHILD LANGUAGE
Barbara
What is acquired?
Lust
What is language ?

In this explantation we will

see examples and studies
wich try to answer these
pivotal questions ¿ What
is lenguage? And ¿ What
is acquired?
 Attempting to define lenguage

The language is mostly symbolic; the words,

sounds and sentences we use represent
different meanings and intentions. These
combined can form or represent multiple
thoughts and desires, that can also be real or
abstract. The language can also represent the
present, past, future and hipothetical scenarios.
 The human at a certain age start to produce some sounds that
represent something of the real world. For example, when young kids
say ‘’Mom’’ or ‘’Dad’’ shows that they are beginning to acquire some
terms used to refer people whom he knows that are his parents.
Later kids make use of more complete thoughts such as ‘’I want it’’ or
‘’ I don’t want it’’ Also ‘’That’s ugly’’ or even with some grammar
mistakes like ‘’ people is weird ’’ so we can say at some age start to
produce language which with time and practice will get better.
 ‘’Language is purely human and noninstinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of
system of voluntarily produced ssymbols. These symbols
are, at first instance, auditory and they are produced by so-
called organs of speech’’
—Sapir
—Sapir 1921.
1921. 88

But Saussure separate the hole speech to the system that is used to communicate
feelings, desires, etc. He also made an analysis of the way this system goes through
so the act of communication can be done. As De Saussure reasoned, “psycho
logical” concepts represented in the mind are linked to “linguistic” sounds which
are reflected in a physiological process: “the brain transmits an impulse corre
sponding to the (sound) image to the organs used in producing sounds”; this is
followed by conversion to the physical sound waves which in turn must be received
by a hearer and, in reverse, converted to psychological concepts repre sented in the
mind
 The speech ,Saussure says, is an individual
act but the language is an associative and
coordinating faculty that plays an important
role in the ororganisation of the language as
a system. The language is a system of signs
that express ideas.
 LANGUAGE AND THOUGHTS

The words we use are different to the ideas

or concepts related them. For example at
the:

The word ‘’ Human ‘’ does not have a

similitude with what it represents and what
it involves.

So the language is connected to thoughts

but not because they are similar, but what
the language or its signs means.
 LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

The animal communication is similar in some cases to the natural language . For
example, the dance of the bees to communicate the location of nectar the quality
of it, Also the whale’s chant that communicate location a sexual status; thier act
of communication shows productiveness and displacement. What makes the
human language and communication different to the animal’s communication is
that our language is complex system of sings (words) that be reordered in
various ways to create different, for example.
-Tack -act -cat
This called Duality of Pattering, It is practically a sign divided in small
meaningless parts that ordered differently form new signs with different
meanings
 The discovery of the place of a
human language in the mind
Chomsky thought that the human mind has a generative
system that makes infinite uses of finite means. The
language is a generative procedure that assigns to every
possible expression a representation of its form and its
meaning.
 2.2.1 A Cognitive System:grammar

For the “generative grammar” the term “grammar” refers to a

mental system that everyone have in their mind, this we
formalize it to be able to study it precisely and scientifically.
However this is a different kind of notion of grammar in the
mind from what we learned in school (Learning), because we
must focus how children acquire knowledge of this generative
system, it means that children when they are learning to talk do
not have a teacher and also do not follow a study method to
learn their mother tongue.
A FORMAL DISTINCTION:
-A FORMAL I- I 2.2.2
DISTINCTION: 2.2.2
::LANGUAGUE
LANGUAGUE VERSUS
VERSUS E-LANGUAGE
E-LANGUAGE
To see the differences between I- Languague and E-
.Language, Chomsky made a distinction about it
I-Language (internalized language):
Is the internal system which
creates the language in our mind
E-Language (externalized grammar):
Is the external reflecction of I-Language, in
others words
E-Language does not exist independently of I-
Language
 2.3 The Computational System
”language is, at its core, a system that is both digital and infinite “
)Chomsky 1991b, 50(

From the finite to the infinite: 2.3.1 A digital system: We can 2.3.2
The discovery of “duality patterning” ,combine sounds to form words
has became able to anticipate cores .words to form sentences
:A combinatorial system 2.3.3
properties of the linguistic faculty of our
Language uses a “combinatorial TO
specie. This essence consists of “the principle” to create a “large and
representation of a finite set of discrete open vocabulary out of small
units at several levels (involving sound, ”number of elements
syntax and meaning), so it means :The power of sequencing 2.3.4 OT
without it we would not able to In the case of having units for
example “T” and “O” and we can
understand our thoughts, our next
only form two units of strings to
.conversation or even our poetry create words, this would gave us TT
only the possibility to form four
.words

OO
 So, it does not matter if the
But if strings of three units were allowed, this language has only eight contrasting
would give us more options and also more consonants as Hawaian, 24 in
words. English or only five as Spanish, all
languages show the same
TOT
infinite power.
TOO
OTT All natural language show a basic
OTO “Word order”, however, these can
TTT be different from each others.
TTO
“SVO” He gave a mango(English)
OOT
“SOV” aaye kukku kor-y-e (Tulu)
OOO He mango give-past-3rdsgmsc
As we can see if we had a longer sequence (He gave a mango)
allowed, we would have a larger possible “VSO” rhoddodd ef fango i (Welsh)
vocabulary. give-past the mango
(he gave a mango)
 2.3.5 The recursive propety
This combinaotrial system is recursive, applying to its own output
over and over again. A Dr. Seuss demostrates in (11), units can be
created of amaller units and these can be recombined by th
embedding of one unit in another, e,g., a [tweetle beettle [battle]],
subordinating one with another, e.g., [[When tweetle beetle…,] it’s
…], or coordinating ( e.g., by “AND”) or coordinating and
embedding as in the complete example. There is in principle no
limit to the output of this recursive combinatorial system that we are
all capable of when we know language, and that children must
acquire.
 EXAMPLE
11. “ When tweetle beetles beetle bottle puddle paddle
fight, battle muddle .
It’s called a tweetle beetle AND…
battle. When beetles fight these
And when they battle in a battles in a bottle with
puddle, their paddles and the
It’s a tweetle beetle puddle bottle’s on a poodle and the
battle. poodle’s eating noodles …
AND when tweetle beetles … theycall this a muddle
battle with paddles in a puddle tweedle poodle
puddle, beetle noodle bottle paddle
They call it a tweetle beetle battle
puddle paddle battle. AND…”
AND…
When beetles battle beetles
in a puddle paddle battle
and the beetle battle
puddle is a puddle in a
bottle…
(Seuss, 1965)
… they call this a tweetle
 2.3.6 Constituent structure
The combinatorial system involved in language knowledge does not simply
operate on a lineal string like a sequence of arbitrary numbers. In natural
language, every unit reflects a combination of smaller units. Every lineal sequence
can and must be described in terms of itd “constituent structure,” which linguists
identify through the use of brackets. It is because of this internal structure,
grouping of units within units, that language can attain its infinite creativity. It is
because of this structure that we can understand 11, analyzing it as in (12)

12. They call this

[a[tweetle beetle
[bottle [puddle
Paddle battle [muddle]]]]]…
 2.3.7 Hierarchical structure: the “secret
skeleton”
Combining structure recursively leads to a “secret skeleton”
that underlies every sentence we hear or speak. Constituents
must be organized hierarchically within each sentence. Children
and adults must both generate and discover this skeleton for
every sentence they hear or produce, as in (13)
13. a. [[the beetle [in[the bottle]]] [ came back with [ [a
poodle [in [a battle]]]]]]
 came back
with
the beetle
a poodle

in the bottle in a battle

 2.3.8
2.3.8 Discovery
Discovery ofof 2.3.8
2.3.8 Discovery
Discovery ofof
syntax:
syntax: special
special features
features syntax:
syntax: special
special features
features
of
of the
the system
system of
of the
the system
system
Through study of syntax, In natural language, sequence
liguists have now discorvered of units ( more precisely, of
specific properties of the constituent structures) can be
human language faculty, i.e., permuted or “displaced.” Order
of the computational system variation is productively
for human language. posible, e.g., (14) or (16) in
English, and (15) in Turkish
14. a. The Busy Beetle chased the poodle
b. The poodle, the Beetke chased
15. (from Kornfilt 1994, 117, =8a-8c)
a. Kopek butun gun kedi-yi-kovala-dt dog Examples
whole day cat-Acc chase-past “The dog
chased the cat all day long”
b. kedi-yi kopek butun gun kovala-dt cat-
Acc dog whole day chase-past
c. Kopek kedi-yi butun gun kovala-dt dog
cat-Acc whole day chase-past
16. a. Your tongue is numb
b. Is your tongue numb?
If young children spoke only in static orders in repeated strings we would not say they had
“acquired language.” In a sense, they must not only acquire the basic word order of the
language, but acquire a “moving” system. The child in (2) above already knows this basic
property of language (e.g., compare (2a) and (2b)).

2.3.8.2 Missing elements

Natural language productively hides its units. It involves numerous devices for
reducing redundancy . Many sentence constituents are null (represented) as
“O”). They are part of our knowledge, even though they are not realized
physically in the sequence of sounds which we hear.
17. “ We see a bee”
Now we see three O “
… “O Eat a snack” (Seuss, 1963)

In some languages, e.g., Chinese (18) or Spanish (19), nill elements are more productive.
(See Chomski 1988a, 33; Huang 1984.)

18. Question: Zhangsan Kanjian Lisi le ma?

(Did Zhangsan see Lisi?)
Answer: O kanjian O le O saw O
(He saw him)
19. O Llega
O arrives
(He/she/it arrives)
Children must acquire a system whose elements are in some sense free to “disappear.”
 2.3.8.3 Pronouns
Pronouns provide another way for natural language
to reduce redundancy.

20. 21. “Mr Fox, sir”

“He went into the tent” I won’t do it.
“They yelp for help” I can’t say it .
“That one is my other brother” I won’t chew it”
(Seuss, 1963)
(Seuss, 1965)
 Promouns do not specify their reference and allow shifting reference.
The duck and the mouse are confronted with this in Alice in
Wonderland:

22. “said the mouse,”… “… the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury, found it advisable…”
“Found what?” said the Duck
“Found it,” the Mouse replied rather crossly: “of course you know what “it” means”, “ I know what “it”
means well enough, when I find a thing” said the Duck:
“it’s generally a frog, or a worm. The question is, what did the archbishop find?”
(Carroll, 1998, 25)

The child in (2)has already acquired shifting reference with pronouns. (In fact (2)(a) through (2)(f) all
involve pronouns.)
While “pronoun resolution” (determining the reference of a pronoun) remains on the most
challenging problems for formal machine-based computational approaches to “natural language
processing” (NLP), it is one most naturally solved by anyone who knows a natural language. The
language faculty of the human species appears to incluide particular facility for the special complex
computation required by pronouns and null elements.
 2.3.9. KNOWING THE IMPOSSIBLE
Without ever having heard either the possible or the or the impossible sentences
in (23)-(27), we know which are and which are not possible

Althought infinite in capacity, combination and/or displacement in language is

not always gramatical and thus not always posible. Pronouns are not always
posible with the same meanings, as in (24a) and (24b):

23. a. The poodle chased the beetle 24.

b. The beetle chased the poodle a. The cat knew the boy liked him
c. *Chased poodle the beetle the (=the cat)
d. *Chased the poodle the beetle b. The cat liked him (not=the cat)
 2.3.9. KNOWING THE IMPOSSIBLE
We know that while the combinations of morphemes in (26) appear to create
possible words in English, those in (27) do not.

26. 27.
a. Overdose a. *Underdose
b. Awesome b. *Bigsome
c. Downsize c. *Upsize
 2.3.10. FINDING THE MEANING

The formal computational system of language knowledge (syntax) must be integrated with
other parts of human competences so that we, and children, can say what we mean and
mean what we say

Lewis Carroll confronted the complexities of this mapping between the form of
Language and its meaning in Alice in Wonderland
28. “Then you should say what you mean” the March Hare went on.
“I do” Alice hastily replied; “at least – at least I mean what I say – that’s the
same thing, you know”.
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “Why, you might just as well say that
“I see what I eat” is the same thing as “I eat what I see”! “
1998, 64
 2.3.11. Closing in on the mystery: the hidden
computational system

Children who acquire a In a sense,

language must acquire
computation which allows
productive sequencing and
structuring of units and unit
combinations according to a
principled and constrained
system.
childrenmust capture
through computation
an “underlying
representation” for any
sentence they hear,
speak or think.
 2.3.12. Summarizing the basic
properties of the hidden system
a. Symbolic e. Recursive

Combinatorial and infinitely

b. generative f. Constrained

Specific formal linguistic properties, i.e.,

Based on units which are combined specific design features of human language,
c. and sequenced, possibly in variable g. both allowing and constraining precise
orders computation over missing and moved
elements.

Instantiated in a human contextof

d. Structured hierarchically h. thought and interpersonal exchange.
 “Hidden” To a large degree, the system can be clothed in
the sounds (or signs) of many different languages, but it
always exist if a natural language exist. It is hidden behind
moving and reduced expressions. Its principles and
constraits are never directly revealed through any particular
linguistic expression or set of expressions.
 2.4 DESIGNING THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE LANGUAGE FACULTY

We can now begin to uncover the

design of the Language Faculty which
must exist when children come to know
a language, and to appreciate its power
 2.4.1 The basic design
Sentence
This overall architecture is
Phrase Structure Rules
necessary to generate sentences
(syntax) and perceive and Terminal Morpheme Strings
articulated the sounds of language
(phonology) in a way which has Obligatory Transformations

meaning (semantics), and use the

Kernel sentence Strings Optional Transformations
knowledge to proclaim, exclaim
arge or beg, to interact in the Derived sentence Strings
world socially or otherwise
(pragmatics) Morphophonemic Rules

Phoneme Strings
 THE
INTERFACES
This lenguage Faculty coordinates – or “interfaces” – with other
forms of cognition. Sound and meaning of lenguage are both
points of cognitive interfaces, acting as “modes of interpretation by
performances systems”. Although they are given their
“instructions” by grammar , these interfaces are “external to the
computational system of language”
 GRAPHIC
GRAMMAR

AUDITORY INTERFACE CONCEPTUAL INTERFACE

(phonology / phonetics) (logic, meaning, semantics)

PRAGMATICS
(use of language)
 LEVELS
OF
REPRESENTATION
 Units at each basic level of representation in language
knowledge

Children must deal with several

levels of representation at once SINTAX
Words / morphology phrases,
so that these are interrelated clauses, sentences

and susceptible to computation.

Units must be dicovered at
leach level
PHONOLOG SEMANTICS
Y (meanings)
(sound)
 Relation of child language acquisition to
linguistic theory

We look to what needs to be acquired when we acquire a language. At

the same time, every normal child in normal circumstances will solve
the problem which all linguists are pursuing, acquiring the "true" formal
computational system for any and all possible languages (even for
multiple languages at a time). We can only assume that children must
know the right way to capture a language. We look to the child for
empirical evidence regarding the Language Faculty.
 Does the Language
Faculty develop?
The formal computational system CHL is
distinct from the conceptual and auditory
components, although these interact. Is this
"internal modularity" in place from the
beginning? Do the basic components or
"modules" of this faculty, i.e., knowledge of
grammar (syntax), knowledge of the sound
system (phonology) and knowledge of
meaning (semantics) develop in parallel.
 Conclusions
We now see more clearly the complexity of the "intellectual featť" which is
involved in the acquisition of a natural language. Computation in every sentence
must operate at once on each of the units at each of the levels of representation in
language knowledge.

The architecture of the Language Faculty must allow children to accomplish this
complex computation naturally and without conscious effort. It provides the
"coordinating faculty" that allows this computation.

Because we apply a combinatorial system with its special design features, we are
able to acquire language. Because we integrate this linguistic knowledge with our
cognitive knowledge and understanding, we are able to use our knowledge of
language.
THANKS FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION!