Children’s Acquisition of Syntactic Knowledge

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Syntactic Knowledge ◽  
Abstract Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Of Language ◽  
Structure Knowledge

Children’s acquisition of language is an amazing feat. Children master the syntax, the sentence structure of their language, through exposure and interaction with caregivers and others but, notably, with no formal tuition. How children come to be in command of the syntax of their language has been a topic of vigorous debate since Chomsky argued against Skinner’s claim that language is ‘verbal behavior.’ Chomsky argued that knowledge of language cannot be learned through experience alone but is guided by a genetic component. This language component, known as ‘Universal Grammar,’ is composed of abstract linguistic knowledge and a computational system that is special to language. The computational mechanisms of Universal Grammar give even young children the capacity to form hierarchical syntactic representations for the sentences they hear and produce. The abstract knowledge of language guides children’s hypotheses as they interact with the language input in their environment, ensuring they progress toward the adult grammar. An alternative school of thought denies the existence of a dedicated language component, arguing that knowledge of syntax is learned entirely through interactions with speakers of the language. Such ‘usage-based’ linguistic theories assume that language learning employs the same learning mechanisms that are used by other cognitive systems. Usage-based accounts of language development view children’s earliest productions as rote-learned phrases that lack internal structure. Knowledge of linguistic structure emerges gradually and in a piecemeal fashion, with frequency playing a large role in the order of emergence for different syntactic structures.

Putting ‘input’ in its proper place

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne E. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Standard Analysis ◽  
Phonological Learning ◽  
Novel Theory ◽  
Alternative Position ◽  
Linguistic Cognition

Every theory of second language acquisition (SLA) hypothesizes that learners come to know the properties of a language by being exposed to instances of it in meaningful conversation. Within SLA, the standard analysis of the ‘input question’ appears to be that input equals objective properties of the stimulus array less the effects of selective attention (the intake). In this paper, I offer a critique of the standard analysis. I claim that it is not interpretable in the absence of a theory of mental representation, theories of speech perception and language parsing, and a theory of language learning. I show that it cannot account for aspects of signal detection, phonetic or phonological learning. The standard treatment is essentially pretheoretical. I define an alternative position which distinguishes input to speech processing and input to language-learning mechanisms, drawing on the Autonomous Induction Theory – a novel theory of learning which is compatible with a modular view of processing and a view of linguistic cognition based on Universal Grammar (UG).

scholarly journals A multiple process solution to the logical problem of language acquisition

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 883-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRIAN MACWHINNEY
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Logical Problem ◽  
Multiple Process

Many researchers believe that there is a logical problem at the centre of language acquisition theory. According to this analysis, the input to the learner is too inconsistent and incomplete to determine the acquisition of grammar. Moreover, when corrective feedback is provided, children tend to ignore it. As a result, language learning must rely on additional constraints from universal grammar. To solve this logical problem, theorists have proposed a series of constraints and parameterizations on the form of universal grammar. Plausible alternatives to these constraints include: conservatism, item-based learning, indirect negative evidence, competition, cue construction, and monitoring. Careful analysis of child language corpora has cast doubt on claims regarding the absence of positive exemplars. Using demonstrably available positive data, simple learning procedures can be formulated for each of the syntactic structures that have traditionally motivated invocation of the logical problem. Within the perspective of emergentist theory (MacWhinney, 2001), the operation of a set of mutually supportive processes is viewed as providing multiple buffering for developmental outcomes. However, the fact that some syntactic structures are more difficult to learn than others can be used to highlight areas of intense grammatical competition and processing load.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Vsevolod Kapatsinski
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Visual Input ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Innate Knowledge ◽  
Acquisition Device ◽  
Biological World ◽  
Language Universals ◽  
Knowledge Of Language ◽  
First Words

By the time you were just a year old, you had learned which sound distinctions matter and which do not. From the constant streams of acoustic and visual input, you had extracted a few acoustic forms and linked them to meanings—your first words. The muscles of your tongue, jaw, and larynx (and a few others) had been shaped into producing intricate, precisely coordinated patterns that would reproduce some of these complex patterns of sound closely enough to evoke the adept at producing words and sentences you had never heard before, planning and executing a novel sequence of muscle movements to convey a novel meaning. These feats appear miraculous, impossible for mere animals to accomplish. And indeed, they have led many researchers of language acquisition to posit that we are born knowing much about what human languages are like (Universal Grammar) and equipped with specialized learning mechanisms, tailored to the acquisition of language, mechanisms not subject to the laws that govern learning in the rest of the biological world (the Language Acquisition Device). The aim of this book is to convince you that this conclusion is—if not wrong—then at least premature. Language acquisition is simply learning. This book is one illustration of how accepting this proposition gets us much closer to explaining why languages are the way they are—the ultimate goal of linguistic theory—than does accepting innate knowledge of language universals and the Language Acquisition Device. Learning changes minds, and changing minds change the tools they use to accomplish their communicative goals to fit....

scholarly journals Unlocking adults’ implicit statistical learning by cognitive depletion

2022 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. e2026011119
Author(s):  
Eleonore H. M. Smalle ◽  
Tatsuya Daikoku ◽  
Arnaud Szmalec ◽  
Wouter Duyck ◽  
Riikka Möttönen
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Entrainment ◽  
Cognitive Depletion

Human learning is supported by multiple neural mechanisms that maturate at different rates and interact in mostly cooperative but also sometimes competitive ways. We tested the hypothesis that mature cognitive mechanisms constrain implicit statistical learning mechanisms that contribute to early language acquisition. Specifically, we tested the prediction that depleting cognitive control mechanisms in adults enhances their implicit, auditory word-segmentation abilities. Young adults were exposed to continuous streams of syllables that repeated into hidden novel words while watching a silent film. Afterward, learning was measured in a forced-choice test that contrasted hidden words with nonwords. The participants also had to indicate whether they explicitly recalled the word or not in order to dissociate explicit versus implicit knowledge. We additionally measured electroencephalography during exposure to measure neural entrainment to the repeating words. Engagement of the cognitive mechanisms was manipulated by using two methods. In experiment 1 (n = 36), inhibitory theta-burst stimulation (TBS) was applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or to a control region. In experiment 2 (n = 60), participants performed a dual working-memory task that induced high or low levels of cognitive fatigue. In both experiments, cognitive depletion enhanced word recognition, especially when participants reported low confidence in remembering the words (i.e., when their knowledge was implicit). TBS additionally modulated neural entrainment to the words and syllables. These findings suggest that cognitive depletion improves the acquisition of linguistic knowledge in adults by unlocking implicit statistical learning mechanisms and support the hypothesis that adult language learning is antagonized by higher cognitive mechanisms.

SYNTACTIC TYPOLOGY OF MULTICOMPONENT VERBAL PHRASEO-COMBINATIONS OF THE GERMAN LANGUAGE

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Е.О. Ковыршина
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
German Language ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Continuous Sampling ◽  
Bilingual Dictionaries ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Concrete Language

Постановка задачи. В статье на материале собранного корпуса фразеологических единиц (в количестве 1828 ФЕ), полученного методом сплошной выборки из немецкоязычных и двуязычных словарей, выделяются и анализируются с синтаксической позиции многокомпонентные фразеоединицы со структурой словосочетания с главным словом - глаголом. Способом буквального перевода определяются синтаксические типы, которые активно используются для создания многокомпонентных глагольных фразеосочетаний (МКГФС), выявляется специфика синтаксических типов немецких ФС и создается синтаксическая типология МКГФС немецкого языка. Результаты. На основе изученного материала было выделено восемь синтаксических типов МКГФС. В ходе исследования с помощью метода квантитативного анализа были установлены наиболее частотные типы структурно-синтаксических схем, активно образующие многокомпонентные глагольные фразеосочетания. Выделение синтаксических типов немецких МКГФС и их анализ позволили установить специфику синтаксической организации МКГФС немецкого языка. Выводы. На основе проведенного исследования была создана синтаксическая типология МКГФС немецкого языка, одного из наиболее многочисленных классов многокомпонентных фразеоединиц с разнообразной синтаксической организацией. Установлено, что в немецком языке существуют специальные синтаксические структуры из трех и более словоформ, которые используются для создания многокомпонентных фразеосочетаний. Анализ МКГФС позволил выявить специфику немецких типов с двумя глагольными компонентами и выделить самый продуктивный, частотный (566 ФС) тип МКГФС со структурой сложного словосочетания. Проведенное исследование и дальнейшее изучение синтаксических типов других многокомпонентых ФЕ - неглагольных типов, ФЕ со структурой предложения позволят расширить и углубить знания о многокомпонентных фразеоединицах, занимающих весомое место в фразеологической системе немецкого языка. Изучение типов структурно-синтаксических схем МКГФС и других многокомпонентных ФЕ, являющихся конкретным языковым воплощением структурной модели ФС, открывает новые перспективы в области синтаксического моделирования немецкого языка. Statement of the problem. In the article on the material of the assembled corpus of phraseological units (in the amount of 1828 PU), obtained by the method of continuous sampling from German-language and bilingual dictionaries, multicomponent phraseological units with a phrase structure with the main word - a verb consisting of three or more components are selected and analyzed from the syntactic position. The method of literal translation determines the syntactic types that are actively used to create multicomponent verbal phraseological combinations (MCVPC), the specificity of syntactic is revealed. types of German PC and syntactic typology of the MCVPC of the German language is created. Results. Based on the material studied, eight syntactic types of MCVPC were distinguished. In the course of the study, using the method of quantitative analysis, the most frequency types of structural-syntactic schemes were established that actively form multicomponent verbal phrase combinations. Syntax type extraction of German MCVPC and their analysis made it possible to establish the specifics of the syntactic organization of the MCVPC of the German language. Conclusion. A syntactic typology of the MCVPC of the German language, one of the most numerous classes of multicomponent phraseological units with a diverse syntactic organization was created on the basis of the study. It is established that in the German language there are special syntactic structures of three or more word forms that are used to create multicomponent phrase combinations. The analysis of MCVPC revealed the specificity of German types with two verb components and highlighted the most productive, frequency (566PC) type of MCVPC with the structure of a complex phrase. The study of the syntactic types of other multicomponent phraseological units - non-verb types, phraseological units with a sentence structure will allow us to expand and deepen our knowledge of multicomponent phraseological units, which occupy a significant place in the phraseological system of the German language. Study of the structural-syntactic schemes types of the MCVPC and other multicomponent phraseological units, which are the concrete language embodiment of the structural model of the FS, opens up new prospects in the field of syntactic modeling of the German language.

SECOND LANGUAGE SYNTAX: A GENERATIVE INTRODUCTION. Roger Hawkins. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. Pp. xviii + 386. $41.95 paper.

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-494
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Specific System ◽  
Modulated Structure ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Introductory Textbook ◽  
Syntactic Knowledge ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
L2 Development

This book is intended as an introduction both to the principles and parameters framework (Chomsky, 1981) and to the second language (L2) acquisition of syntactic representations. Hawkins's basic aim is to present evidence for the view that L2 learners progressively build subconscious mental grammars (i.e., a syntactic system) guided by Universal Grammar—an innate, language-specific system. However, this volume is not just an introductory textbook presenting and summarizing the work of other researchers in this particular field. Indeed, the book has another major aim: Within the context of the most current debates on the L2 acquisition of syntactic knowledge, Hawkins introduces his own theory of L2 development, which he terms Modulated Structure Building.

Learning Through Processing: Toward an Integrated Approach to Early Word Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan C. Meylan ◽  
Elika Bergelson
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Novel Word Learning

Children's linguistic knowledge and the learning mechanisms by which they acquire it grow substantially in infancy and toddlerhood, yet theories of word learning largely fail to incorporate these shifts. Moreover, researchers’ often-siloed focus on either familiar word recognition or novel word learning limits the critical consideration of how these two relate. As a step toward a mechanistic theory of language acquisition, we present a framework of “learning through processing” and relate it to the prevailing methods used to assess children's early knowledge of words. Incorporating recent empirical work, we posit a specific, testable timeline of qualitative changes in the learning process in this interval. We conclude with several challenges and avenues for building a comprehensive theory of early word learning: better characterization of the input, reconciling results across approaches, and treating lexical knowledge in the nascent grammar with sufficient sophistication to ensure generalizability across languages and development. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Linguistics, Volume 8 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals STRUKTUR KALIMAT TUNGGAL BAHASA SINDANG DI KOTA LUBUKLINGGAU DAN PENGARUHNYA DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INDONESIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noermanzah Noermanzah
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Structure Function ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Simple Sentence ◽  
Function Structure ◽  
Single Sentence ◽  
The People ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

The objective of this research is to give the understanding about the simple sentence structure Sindang Language ini Lubuklinggau and describe the effect in Indonesian language learning process. This research used descriptive qualitative method. The result of this research shows that the simple sentence structure of Bahasa Sindang in Lubuklinggau in the form of verbal-verbed simple sentence which consists of intransitive sentence and single-transitive sentence; adjectival-verbed simple sentence, nominal-verbed simple sentence, numeral-verbed simple sentence, preposisional-verbed simple sentence, and adverbial-verbed simple sentence. Majority of the data finding is the verbal-verbed simple sentence on Sindang language and it is more used by the people who use Sindang language. Intransitive sentence has 62 sentences or 79.5%. Sentence of Sindang Language seen from the aspect of function for the type of intransitive sentence has the function structure: 1) S,P; 2) K,S,P; 3) S,P,Vokatif; 4) S,P,K; 5) P,K; 6) P,S; 7) P; 8) S,P,S, and 9) S,P,Pel. The type of single-transitive sentence has the structure function: 1) K,S,P,O,K; 2) S,P,O,Vokatif; 3) P,O,K; 4) P,O; 5) P,O,K,S; 6) S,P,O; dan 7) P,O,S.  Adjectival-verbed sentence has the structure function of structure K,S,P and P,S. Nominal-verbed simple sentence has the function structure S,P. Numeral-verbed simple sentence has the function structure P,S and S,P. Prepositional Frase-verbed simple sentence has the function structure S,P,Vocative. Then, adverbial-verbed simple sentence has the function structure S,P. The single sentence structure of the Sindang language positively influences the learning of the native speakers of the language. Keywords: simple sentence structure, Sindang language, Lubuklinggau   Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan memberikan pemahaman tentang struktur kalimat tunggal bahasa Sindang di Kota Lubuklinggau dan mendeskripsikan pengaruhnya dalam pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia di kota tersebut. Metode penelitian menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa struktur kalimat tunggal bahasa Sindang di Kota Lubuklinggau berbentuk kalimat tunggal berpredikat verbal  yang terdiri atas kalimat intransitif dan kalimat tungggal ekatransitif; kalimat tunggal berpredikat adjektival, kalimat tunggal berpredikat nominal, kalimat tunggal berpredikat numeral, kalimat tunggal berpredikat preposisional, dan kalimat tunggal berpredikat adverbial. Sebagian besar kalimat tunggal berpredikat verbal pada bahasa Sindang lebih banyak digunakan oleh masyarakat penuturnya yaitu kalimat intransitif dengan 62 kalimat atau 79,5%. Kalimat bahasa Sindang ditinjau dari segi fungsi untuk jenis kalimat intransitif memiliki struktur fungsi: 1) S,P; 2) K,S,P; 3) S,P,Vokatif; 4) S,P,K; 5) P,K; 6) P,S; 7) P; 8) S,P,S, dan 9) S,P,Pel. Jenis kalimat ekatransitif memiliki struktur fungsi: 1) K,S,P,O,K; 2) S,P,O,Vokatif; 3) P,O,K; 4) P,O; 5) P,O,K,S; 6) S,P,O; dan 7) P,O,S. Kalimat tunggal berpredikat adjektival memiliki struktur fungsi yaitu berstruktur K,S,P dan P,S. Kalimat tunggal berpredikat nominal memiliki struktur fungsi S,P. Kalimat tunggal berpredikat numeral memiliki struktur fungsi P,S dan S,P. Kalimat tunggal berpredikat frase preposisional memiliki struktur fungsi S,P,Vokatif. Kemudian, kalimat tunggal berpredikat adverbia memiliki struktur fungsi S,P. Struktur kalimat tunggal bahasa Sindang memberikan pengaruh positif terhadap pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia penutur asli bahasa tersebut. Kata kunci: struktur kalimat tunggal, bahasa Sindang, Lubuklinggau  

On Language Design

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Yang
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Language Design ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Innate Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Of Language

Summary. How the current study impacts traditional problems in linguistics, and how it leads to a simplification of the theory of UG and language learning, with a reduced role for domain-specific innate knowledge of language, leading to an arguably more plausible solution to the problem of language evolution.

L2 Grammar and L2 Processing in the Acquisition of Spanish Prepositional Relative Clauses

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
SILVIA PERPIÑÁN
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
The One

This paper investigates the acquisition of prepositional relative clauses in L2 Spanish by English and Arabic speakers to understand the role of previous linguistic knowledge and Universal Grammar on the one hand, and the relationship between grammatical knowledge and its use in real-time, on the other. An oral production task and an on-line self-paced grammaticality judgment task were analyzed. Results indicated that the acquisition of oblique relative clauses is a problematic area for L2 learners. Divergent results compared to native speakers in production and grammatical intuitions were found; however, L2 reading time data showed the same real-time effects that native speakers had, suggesting that the problems with this construction are not necessarily linked to processing deficits. These results are interpreted as evidence for the ability to apply universal processing principles in a second language, and the relative independence of the processing domain and the production system.

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