Viktoria Fromkin's Introduction To Language

1580 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How do young children acquire a second language(theory)

According to An Introduction To Language written by Viktoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman language is such a property of the mind that ”distinguishes humans from animals”. As we are human beings we have an inborn talent to talk. Language enables speakers to communicate with each other, to express ideas, hypotheses, emotions, desires at any time and in any situation. We can ”hardly find a moment of our waking lives free from words” as we live in such a creative world which is shaped by language. This also contributes us to raise a simple question: What is language actually? (Fromkin and Rodman, 1998)
Pursuant to Fromkin’s writing linguistic knowledge means that ”you have the capacity to produce sounds that signify certain meanings and to understand or interpret the sounds produced by others”. Thus, linguistic knowledge includes - on the one hand - linguistic competences such as phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and lexicon which are linked by grammar; and - on the other hand - it also includes linguistic performance which means the ability of producing meaningful, comprehend sentences. (Fromkin and Rodman, 1998)
First let me introduce what terms the linguistic competence exactly covers. Phonology concerns with the sound patterns of a language, even with the organizational system of sign language. The smallest contrastive units in the sound system of a language – namely the vowels and the consonants - are called phonemes. Phonemes are combined with each other in order to form words, i.e. morphemes, that are the minimal units carrying meaning. Morphology deals with the structure of these morphemes and other linguistic units, like affixes, suffixes, word stems, stresses etc. The endless combinations of morphemes - which satisfie...

... middle of paper ...

...their theories were created by individual minds. This is also a reason why we are not able to tell where one science ends and where the other begins.
As a conclusion I have to confess that language means much more than I thought before taking part on this course and before writing this essay. Namely, language acquisition have rather a biological and evolutional perspective, specially because language is something that human beings born with. Any normal newborn is capable to learn any language to which he or she is exposed. However other species of the fauna enable only to emulate the sounds of a word or sentence without understanding its meaning as they are not in possession of any kind of innate mental grammar. Only humans have such an inborn talent, such a subconscious operating system that makes them give rise to meaningful, grammatically correct sentences.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Malcolm X And Helen Keller's A Word For Everything

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    The prehistoric times stand evidence to the power of language as a tool for communication and growth. Language has proven to be an effective medium and factor surrounding the evolution of man. Language has played a big role in the development of individuals and societies. What is spoken and/or written, help in the initiation of imagination, expression of feelings, and conveyance of thoughts and ideas. “The pen is mightier than the sword” (Bulwer-Lytton 1839).

    Read More

  • Language Development in Individuals with Down Syndrome

    2336 Words  | 5 Pages

    Language is defined as the method of human communication either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words, in a structured or conventional way. Communication is the interaction or exchange of information or news(Webster, 2013).

    Read More

  • Sexism in Language

    2513 Words  | 6 Pages

    Language refers to the method that humans use to communicate, either through speech or written. It consists of the use of the word in a structured and conventional way. Language has been referred to as ‘our means of classifying and ordering the world; our means of manipulating reality’. In structure and in its use, we bring the world into realisation and if it is inherently inaccurate, then we are misled. Dale Spender, 1980.Language has power that allows us to make sense out of the reality we live in.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Semantics and Pragmatics in Two Texts

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    Linguistics is the science of a language. Linguists depend on the use of certain aspects in order to analyse, describe and explain a human language; these aspects include semantics and pragmatics.

    Read More

  • Analyzing Key Features of Language

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language is an essential thing needed to communicate and to develop the skills one needs to be a complete, whole, intelligent individual. Language is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Here we shall define language and lexicon, evaluate the key features of language, describe the four levels of language structure and processing, and analyze the role of language processing in cognitive psychology.

    Read More

  • Nature vs. Nurture in Language

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the discussion of nature verse nurture, one controversial issue is language. Arguing on the side of nature, children across the world seem to exhibit universal stages of linguistic development. Infants as young as seven months old are able to recognize simple linguistic rules from a string of sounds. When a child is first learning to speak, they typically combine words in ways that an adult would not. They can also speak and communicate clearly without adult correction. These observations suggest that we are born with the capacity to communicate verbally and through the use of kinesics, or gestures. However, nurture also plays a large role in the use of language. Linguistics differ amongst children from region to region based on the way the people around them speak. Thousands of languages such as: Spanish, English, Italian, and Creole are spoken around the world. Vernacular and accents also vary within each language and is acquired through a learning process, not genetics(Brown, 10/1/13). Another major environmental factor is correction from parents and adults. A child may be born with the ability to speak, but grammatical correctness and annunciation requi...

    Read More

  • Language Acquisition

    3235 Words  | 7 Pages

    How do children acquire language? What are the processes of language acquisition? How do infants respond to speech? Language acquisition is the process of learning a native or a second language. Although how children learn to speak is not perfectly understood, most explanations involve both the observations that children copy what they hear and the inference that human beings have a natural aptitude for understanding grammar. Children usually learn the sounds and vocabulary of their native language through imitation, (which helps them learn to pronounce words correctly), and grammar is seldom taught to them, but instead that they rapidly acquire the ability to speak grammatically. Though, not all children learn by imitation alone. Children will produce forms of language that adults never say. For example, “I spilled milk on hisself” or “Debbie wants a cookie”. This demonstrates that children have the desire to speak correctly and have self-motivating traits to communicate. This supports the theory of Noam Chomsky (1972)-that children are able to learn grammar of a particular language because all intelligible languages are founded on a deep structure of universal grammatical rules that corresponds to an innate capacity of the human brain. Adults learning a second language pass through some of the same stages, as do children learning their native language. In the first part of this paper I will describe the process of language acquisition. The second part will review how infants respond to speech.

    Read More

  • Piaget's Theory Of Language Development

    2212 Words  | 5 Pages

    Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change

    Read More

  • Language Acquisition in Children

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    The study of language development, one of the most fascinating human achievements, has a long and rich history, extending over thousands of years (Chomsky, 2000). As the nature-versus-nurture argument is inevitable to arise whenever human behaviors are discussed, it is not surprising that language experts have debated the relative influences of genetics and the environment on language development (Hulit & Howard, 2002). Among the various proposals concerning the mechanisms involved in acquiring a language, two opposing theoretical positions, the behaviorist and the nativist, are the most prominent and influential ones (Ayoun, 2003; Garton & Pratt, 1998; Owens, 2001). Due to the indefinite explanation of the exact process, the continuous interest of the inquiring people, and the sheer significance of the precise result, the controversy remains ongoing and popular. In view of the more obvious limitations of the behaviorist interpretation and the prevailing contributions of the nativist interpretation, the latter one is more rational to accept.

    Read More

  • TED Talk: Texting Is Killing Language

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language is a form of verbal communication via words and its pronunciation that is used and comprehended by various people of the same nation, culture, or geographical background. It has been said to be dated back as far as one thousand years ago before writing. Like culture, language is passed on through the process of enculturation. Meaning that it is something that is learned (Kottak, 101). In the video, “TED TALK:

    Read More

  • Comparing Theories of Language Acquisition and Language Development

    2926 Words  | 6 Pages

    The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.

    Read More

  • Language Acquisition

    7590 Words  | 16 Pages

    Still today, it is the commonly held belief that children acquire their mother tongue through imitation of the parents, caregivers or the people in their environment. Linguists too had the same conviction until 1957, when a then relatively unknown man, A. Noam Chomsky, propounded his theory that the capacity to acquire language is in fact innate. This revolutionized the study of language acquisition, and after a brief period of controversy upon the publication of his book, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, in 1964, his theories are now generally accepted as largely true. As a consequence, he was responsible for the emergence of a new field during the 1960s, Developmental Psycholinguistics, which deals with children’s first language acquisition. He was not the first to question our hitherto mute acceptance of a debatable concept – long before, Plato wondered how children could possibly acquire so complex a skill as language with so little experience of life. Experiments have clearly identified an ability to discern syntactical nuances in very young infants, although they are still at the pre-linguistic stage. Children of three, however, are able to manipulate very complicated syntactical sentences, although they are unable to tie their own shoelaces, for example. Indeed, language is not a skill such as many others, like learning to drive or perform mathematical operations – it cannot be taught as such in these early stages. Rather, it is the acquisition of language which fascinates linguists today, and how it is possible. Noam Chomsky turned the world’s eyes to this enigmatic question at a time when it was assumed to have a deceptively simple explanation.

    Read More

  • Noam Choomsky's Theory Of Language And Language Development

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nearly every member of the human race learns a language or more to the degree of proficiency only in the first few years of life. How children achieve this astonishing skill in such little time has sparked controversial debates among linguists, psychologists, and scientists throughout centuries. Some believe that language is an innate ability possessed by all human beings due to the remarkable function of the brain, while others maintain that language is learned from childhood experience. However, many are beginning to realize that nature and nurture go hand-in-hand when explaining how children develop their language(s). Despite the claims that language is either pre-learned or environmentally learned alone, the combination of both genes and experience better explains the aspects of first language acquisition.

    Read More

  • Semantics

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Linguistics: it is the study of language, its structure scientifically with study of phonetics, syntax and semantics all together

    Read More

  • Gender And Language

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    To start with, I do not want to narrowly define language as merely verbal communication. Language is far broader than that. In a few seconds a person walking past you on the street could tell you more about themselves with a sincere smile than they could with a few rushed words. Language encompasses all aspects of communication that enhance the level of our interaction. The tone in our voice demonstrating our feelings on a topic or our body language indicating our level of interest are just as important in interaction as verbally communicating content. There for I define language as any act that is involved in the interaction between two or more people.

    Read More

More about Viktoria Fromkin's Introduction To Language

Open Document