Origin of Language: Innateness Hypothesis
What is the root of language?
Humans have been searching about the origin of what they have heard, found, and seen in the world because of their curiosity. They question the source of existence, their self-presence, or any devices that are widely used today. Similar to them, language is a stimulating problem that has led people to question its origin. In this article, the Innateness Hypothesis by Noam Chomsky, which is a product of human curiosity, will be mentioned.
Innateness Hypothesis by Noam Chomsky
Well, according to the Innateness theory, one should not search for a source that exists outside of him/her. The theory is a nativist theory. Noam Chomsky claims that the language exists naturally within each human being. As can be inferred, the name of the theory comes from this claim. He says that linguistic knowledge of the child's language is innate. Humans already know the complexity of a language and the system behind it. According to the Innateness Hypothesis, language acquisition is a natural process; every child goes through it and acquires it.
Chomsky asserts that what makes language acquisition possible for humans is "LAD", Language Acquisition Device. Each human has LAD in mind and acquires language. Although the theory is fascinating, one of the critics comes at this point. Opposing to Chomsky, some linguists claim that LAD is intangible.
According to the Innateness Hypothesis, there is a universal system behind all human languages. This system is called "UG", standing for Universal Grammar. UG includes the rules that are applied in the whole language. During the language acquisition process, the child makes a hypothesis, tries different grammar rules, and picks up the rule compatible with his/her language from Universal Grammar. In this way, he/she obtains the necessary rule system of his/her language.
To prove that the language is innate, Noam Chomsky says that children cannot acquire the language with the outside input. The main reason why Chomsky utters such a claim is the possible insufficiency of input in the language acquisition process. The inadequacy of comprehensible input is called "poverty of the stimulus." Chomsky says that all the input given in the language development process is not correct. The outside input may contain incorrect grammar and mispronunciation. Also, the feedback given by the outside is not useful because the child does not accept it. Despite these problems, children sooner or later acquire the language.
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