14+-+Question

Noam Chomsky argued that humans possess a language acquisition device (LAD). What is it?
Student Name: Tayler Nash



Noam Chomsky, prominent psychologist, philosopher, and political scientist proposed the idea that children are born with a language acquisition device or LAD. The LAD is a hypothetical model of the human brain that was first posited to account for the amazing language acquisition skills possessed by children. The main argument in support of this theory is that if children did not have some grasp of grammar, they would not be able to learn language as quickly as they do. Since most children never receive direct instruction in their first language and also, many of the same mistakes are made by children as they learn to speak.

Citation:

Bowers, J. Michael. "Language Acquisition Device." Sage Ereference. Sage Knowledge, 15 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.

"Language Acquisition Device." TeachingEnglish. BBC, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.

Comment (Micah): Nice concise answer Tayler! I like how you introduced arguments that buttress Noam Chomsky's theory. It helps solidify the legitimacy of the L.A.D.'s existence. While on the topic of arguments supporting the theory, I would have mentioned the argument, which Noam Chomsky pointed out himself, that children could not possibly learn a language through imitation alone, as the language they are exposed to by adults is irregular and often error-laden, yet despite this children learning to speak practically never make certain grammatical errors, such as getting the subject, verb and object in the wrong order. This indisputably points to some sort of inherent device residing in the minds of children which aids language development.

Citation:

"4.1 Child Language Acquisition Theory - Chomsky, Crystal, Aitchison & Piaget." //I Love English Language //. Blog at WordPress.com, 10 Dec. 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.