Genetic basis of grammar

• Genetic basis of grammar - speed of acquisition

  • Adults don’t teach children language
  • facilitated by genetic factors = evident in speed & ease children acquire language without explicit instruction from adults
• Genetic basis for grammar - critical period

  
  

  • when language acquisition most efficient
  • After = becomes increasingly challenging to learn a language.
• genetic basis for grammar - poverty of stimulus

  • Can't learn from exposure alone - too many words & combinations
  • Degenerate Input - Segmentation problem, Errors: hesitations, slips of tongue
  • insufficient stimulus for grammar deduction, no neagtive learning
• Segmentation problem

  • spoken language - no clear pauses or breaks between words
  • how do children know where words start & end
• Genetic basis for grammar - Convergence of grammars

  Across diverse linguistic environments = convergence in grammatical structures acquired by children, suggesting innate language-learning mechanisms
• Genetic basis for grammar - specificity to species

  • Syntax, or grammatical structure = uniquely human trait
  • indicating biological basis for language acquisition & use