The Linguistic Acquisition Device - Essay Example

The Linguistic Acquisition Device 1. Describe Chomsky’s Linguistic Acquisition Device and how it fits into his Innateness Hypothesis of language acquisition According to Chomsky, infants are born with inherited ability to learn language. He asserts that there is a linguistic Acquisition device which constitutes set of rules about language in any human brain from birth. A vivid analysis of Chomsky’s theory shows that there is an innate ability within man that distinguishes him from other animals in as far as language acquisition is concerned. To put his point more clearly, Chomsky gives an insight into the innateness Hypothesis of language acquisition. The link between the two concepts is based on the fact that social exposure is the key recipe to learning language system among the children. He was able to give an evident account of the case of Victor of Aveyron who showed severe difficulty in developing language skills after years of isolation in the woods where he only interacted with animals. Subsequent observed improvement in language acquisition by Victor of Aveyron and a similar case of Genie in United States seemed to provide reliable backup towards the theories of Chomsky. In the two cases of feral children, isolation from human interaction at childhood was attributed to the slow rate of language acquisition. 2. Describe his Critical Period Hypothesis. The film Secret of the wild child is a reflection of how one United States girl commonly known as Genie was discovered in 1970 after suffering from physical abuse over a decade of isolation. The ensuing efforts to make her learn language proved difficult to achieve and this led to the advance element of Critical Period Hypothesis. In this theory, it is emphasized that there is a period mostly between infancy to adolescence when a human being has the highest potential of gaining native language competency. Outside this time limit a child will experience severe difficulty in learning language. The case of Genie who was discovered having been isolated for more than the critical age was an evidence of this research finding. This theory further asserts why adults find it difficult to learn language than children as they have exceeded the critical period. 3. How was Genie discovered, and explain how it was that she was unable to acquire a language within a critical period After 13 years of isolation and deprivation, the mother of Genie left her abusive husband .Her mother, grandmother and herself had gone into the Social Welfare office in Temple City, California, to learn about resources for the blind in November 1970. It is at this point that a social worker grew curious over the possibly abnormal posture of the young girl who also looked younger than her actual age. The social worker’s initial thought of autism of the girl compelled her to enquire and subsequently contact police upon which the parents were set for a legal suit. After having been confined in the child's toilet for seven months with negligible interaction with physical world and human beings she could not learn language. The effect was that she was held in isolation for 13 years which surpassed the critical period and subsequent attempt to help her learn was significantly difficult. Although research shows that she had the innate ability to acquire language, lack of exposure like mentioned by Chomsky denied her the chance. 4. What symptoms did she display of this failure when she was discovered? Despite her confirmed 13 years of age, she could not use non-verbal or verbal method to communicate. She exhibited limited ability to respond to any form of communication and showed no feelings towards different social environment even after discovery. She seemed anti-social due to evident inadequate interaction with human being for the rest of her life. Her inability to show any form of cognitive response or feelings towards people was a key symptom of absolute lack of any language acquisition. 5. The film speaks of a forbidden experiment. What was that experiment and how was Viktor, a speechless child discovered in 19th Century France, became a model of that experiment? The researchers attempt to invade the private residence of the child and put him/her under different conditions to derive outcome through comparison was considered unethical. It is also important to note that emphasis on undertaking experiment on the cases limits the care and this is considered exploitative hence the term forbidden experiment. Viktor was discovered after he decided to roam the human habitat after years in the woods with wolves. His evident inability to communicate attracted the physician, Jean Marc Gaspard Itard’s attention who pursued an investigative research on his language problem after rescue. The research that took over five years is considered to have built foundation on the emerging theories that include critical period hypothesis. 6. Describe Genies long-term language development over the years since her discovery. Was she able to use a language or not over the long term? Genie took years after being admitted to the hospital to develop cognitive skills that would influence her social behavior. Significant improvement in her language acquisition attempts were particularly improved during the time she lived with the foster parents Rigler who taught her alongside carrying out research on her case on how to communicate. James Kent’s mental test on Genie previously indicated she thought like a toddler but this improved over time. However, speech was still difficult thing to make and up to the end of the research she had not completely shed off such anti-social behavior. In the long run, she could make some speech but had not developed competency consistent with her age. 7. Discuss the ethical implications of research conducted in both cases. Did either child benefit from this research or not, and explain? The research seemed to explore the mental aspect of the two feral children with frequent relocation which amounted to harassment and unethical. However, by changing environment in an attempt to observe change in language acquisition and general social pattern, the children gained some taste of humanity. Although the children were eventually freed from the isolation and deprivation, language competency aim was never achieved and the results ended incomplete. This amounted to failure in the research and limited gain by the two feral children. Work cited Rowe, Bruce M, and Diane P. Levine. A Concise Introduction to Linguistics. , 2015. Print. Read More