Co-evolution of language and of the language acquisition device

The Baldwin effect has been explicitly used by Pinker and Bloom as an explanation of the origins of language and the evolution of a language acquisition device. This article presents new simulations of an artificial life model for the evolution of compositional languages. It specifically addresses the role of cultural variation and of learning costs in the Baldwin effect for the evolution of language. Results show that when a high cost is associated with language learning, agents gradually assimilate in their genome some explicit features (e.g., lexical properties) of the specific language they are exposed to. When the structure of the language is allowed to vary through cultural transmission, Baldwinian processes cause, instead, the assimilation of a predisposition to learn, rather than any structural properties associated with a specific language. The analysis of the mechanisms underlying such a predisposition in terms of categorical perception supports Deacon's hypothesis regarding the Baldwinian inheritance of general underlying cognitive capabilities that serve language acquisition. This is in opposition to the thesis that argues for assimilation of structural properties needed for the specification of a full-blown language acquisition device.

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Co-evolution of language and of the language acquisition device

10.3115/976909.979671 ◽

1997 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ted Briscoe

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Evolution Of Language ◽

Acquisition Device

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Language Acquisition Device

Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_348 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 1688-1688

Author(s):

Moira Lewis ◽

Courtenay Norbury ◽

Rhiannon Luyster ◽

Lauren Schmitt ◽

Andrea McDuffie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Acquisition Device

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ANALISIS GANGGUAN BERBAHASA PADA ANAK DI KECAMATAN PAHAE JULU

KONFIKS JURNAL BAHASA DAN SASTRA INDONESIA ◽

10.26618/jk.v6i1.2224 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Monika Sales Sitompul

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Case Studies ◽

Language Processing ◽

Research Method ◽

Language Disorders ◽

Descriptive Research ◽

Acquisition Device ◽

The Brain

This study originated from cases of language disorders that occur in society in Pahae Julu district. Language is a need to interact, and humans have been blessed with Language Acquisition Device (LAD) or any language by god. However, if when speaking of someone impaired both LAD and language processing part of the brain, then the communication will not be smooth. The language disorders can happen to anyone. The purpose of this study is to reveal some kinds of language disorders, cases of language disorders and to find out the causes of language disorders experienced by the community in Pahae Julu. The method used in this research is descriptive research method type of case studies.

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Indigenous children’s language: Acquisition, preservation and evolution of language in minority contexts

First Language ◽

10.1177/0142723715618056 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 35 (4-5) ◽

pp. 279-285 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Barbara F. Kelly ◽

Evan Kidd ◽

Gillian Wigglesworth

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Evolution Of Language

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Language acquisition without Universal Grammar: a general nativist proposal for L2 learning

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/026765839601200403 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 374-397 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

William O'Grady

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Universal Grammar ◽

L2 Learning ◽

Acquisition Device ◽

L1 Acquisition

This article explores the prospects for a 'general nativist' theory of first and second language acquisition. A modular acquisition device that does not include Universal Grammar (UG) is outlined and its role in the emergence of an L1 is considered. The relevance of this proposal for a theory of SLA is then explored, leading to the suggestion that the properties and outcome typical of postadolescent L2 learning can be traced to the fact that adults have only partial access to the L1 acquisition device.

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Pronoun case overextensions and paradigm building

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000900008709 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 157-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Matthew Rispoli

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Child Language ◽

Morphological Structure ◽

Statistical Analyses ◽

English Child ◽

Acquisition Device ◽

Transcript Database

ABSTRACTPronoun case errors, or overextensions, like *me want it are characteristic of English child language. This paper explores a hypothesis that the morphological structure of a pronoun influences the pattern of these errors. The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) attempts to analyse English pronoun case forms into stems and affixes, but cannot because of their irregularity. Nevertheless the LAD extracts a phonetic core for each pronoun (e.g. /m-/ for the ist sg., /h-/ for the 3rd masc. sg.). The phonetic core blocks the overextension of suppletive nominative forms like I and she. This hypothesis predicts strong differences in the frequency and types of errors between pronouns with suppletive nominatives and those without. Evidence for this hypothesis was found in a transcript database of twelve children, with data collected in one hour samples every month from 1;0 to 3;0. 20,908 pronouns were examined, 1347 of which were errors. Statistical analyses of these data provide support for this hypothesis.

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