NATURE OR NURTURE?

UNIVERSIDAD DE EL SALVADOR
FACULTAD MULTIDISCIPLINARIA ORIENTAL
DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIAS Y HUMANIDADES
SECCION DE IDIOMAS


How is Language Acquired?
The concept of speaking a language seems simple but it is uncertain
as to how we are capable of acquiring it. The earliest form of man
communicated through physical gestures such as hand movements
and physical motions. However as man developed, the ability to
communicate developed as well. Roughly 350,000 years ago was
when man was able to use language to communicate. But how did
we develop this ability?

There are conflicting theories. Some believe that language is an
innate ability that with time our brains can grasp language and then
develop it from that point on.
This theory states that our brains are "hard-wired" to develop the
ability to speak a language. On the contrary, there are beliefs that
language acquisition correlates with usage and experience. In other
words when we are constantly exposed to language we gradually
learn the patterns and sounds that escalate into speaking.

Siding with the first theory, it seems reasonable that our brains are
advanced enough to be able to acquire language naturally. After all
we have had roughly 2 million years to evolve. So essentially this
theory argues that children are able to pick up language because
their brains are programmed to allow them to do so. But this theory
does not go without its flaws. For instance a child's ability to speak
advances at a higher rate then what the child is exposed to
After all it only takes an average child between 18-24 months to be
able to form full sentences. Does the brain really have the potential
to be able to allow a child to form sentences in such a short period
of time? As of now scientists are uncertain.
he conflicting theory brings up different points. This theory puts
greater emphasis on practice and repetition of language rather then
relying on a built-in ability to learn language. This theory places
more importance on the parent or adult that teaches a child how to
speak. It is believed that when a child is exposed to constant
repetition of a language the child is able to learn words. And with
more practice the better the child becomes at speaking. This seems
like a feasible explanation that I originally believed when I started
researching this topic. However there are also flaws in this theory.
Why is it that with practice, somebody can just magically pick up
language? There has to be some underlying factor involved.
Although there is a big gray area with this issue there is one thing
that is certain: language acquisition is easier at a younger age.
Children are able to absorb information at a much higher rate then
adults. This is because when we get older, the time and experience
we go through alters and wears the brain so that it becomes
increasingly difficult to absorb and understand new information.
Genie is a prime example of this phenomenon. Genie shocked the
world when her story was revealed in 1970. Genie was isolated from
human contact for 13 years. Her parents kept her locked in a room
for her entire childhood up until she was 13 years old. More of her
story can be found here. The result of doing this was tragic. Since
she was never exposed to any human contact she never learned
how to speak. After she was taken out of her home, Genie was sent
to a rehabilitation center where scientists and researchers tried to
put her life back together. The results were astonishing. Although
she was able to learn words, she was not able to put them together.
Even throughout years of cognitive rehabilitation Genie was never
able to develop grammar.
Language Acquisition as a Result of Nurture

Behaviourists propose that a childs environment is the
most important factor in first language acquisition, and if
a child is exposed to rich language, then good habit
formation, and proper language development will occur.
It is possible that first language acquisition includes
speech imitation, but:
Children do not imitate everything they hear; they appear
to be very selective and only reproduce unassimilated
language chunks. Therefore, their replications seem to
be controlled by an internal language-monitoring
process.
Children learn the basic rules of language at
around the age of five; the behaviourist theory
cannot account for the speed that first language
is acquired.
Children say things that are not adult imitations;
in particular they use inflectional
overgeneralisations such as goed, putted,
mouses, and sheeps.
Children produce language structures that do
not exist; you often hear, Where I am? instead
of Where am I?
Children produce many more sound-combinations than
they hear, and understand many more than they can
produce.
Children are exposed to language performance and not
to language competence. Often they are exposed to
debilitated language, yet, they manage to extract the
language rules from these utterances and speak
correctly.
Children that acquire language from habit formation
seem to memorize certain structures prematurely. These
phrases become lodged in their minds as unassimilated
chunks of information that they cannot incorporate into
their own verbal expressions.