Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
| |||
|
| |||
| Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Terrence W. Deacon on Language Acquisition - Dictionary of Arguments
I 39 Language acquisition/evolution/development of language/complexity/simplicity/Deacon: there are two paradigms: a) Evolution of greater intelligence b) Evolution of a specific speech organ Both have in common that the problem is learning a very large number of complex rules and that the complexity is simply too great for species other than humans. >Learning, >Rules, >Language rules, >Grammar, cf. >Universal grammar. DeaconVs: complexity is only one problem and not the deciding factor. I 53 Language acquisition/Deacon: depends decisively on non-linguistic communication. Much of it is already innate in animals. We also use a lot of non-linguistic elements such as tone of voice, gestures, etc. in everyday speech. >Communication, >Animals, >Animal language, >Gestures. I 125 Language Learning/Deacon: that children learn language best at a certain age seems to speak for innate structures in the brain. >Innateness. A better explanation seems to me to be the immaturity of children or young chimpanzees like Kanzi. We do not need to adopt an essentialist position if we concentrate on this aspect. I 126 In this age of immaturity, children have little memory performance for details. Young Bonobo Kanzi was able to concentrate strongly on the proper use of symbols, while older chimpanzees had to learn what to focus on. I 127 If this is true, it must be a characteristic of childhood that is independent of language. GoldVsChomsky/Deacon: Gold(1) brought a logical proof that rules of a logical system with the structural complexity of a natural grammar cannot be discovered inductively without explicit error correction, even not theoretically. It is not their complexity that is decisive, but the fact that the rules are not mapped on the surface of the sentence form. Instead, they are embodied in widely distributed word relations and are used recursively (repeatedly). This multiplies the possibilities of how a rule could actually be constructed geometrically. This makes it impossible for a child or other language learners to derive the correct rules from the nature of the language. This has led many authors to adopt innate abilities. >Induction/Deacon. I 128 Language Acquisition/Newport/Deacon: Question: Why can children learn grammar more easily than other things that are much easier?(2)(3) I 129 E.g. The younger a child is, the more difficult it is for him or her to consciously process new associations. This has to do with short-term memory and attention span. Could it be that these limitations favor language acquisition? The solution seems to be to start "small and simple," "less is more." >Neural Networks/Deacon, >Complexity. I 137 Language acquisition/Elissa Newport/Deacon: Newport was one of the first to propose that language learning for children should not be perceived as a function of a particular language learning system, but vice versa; such language structures are best passed on from generation to generation, which best correspond to the child's learning biases. I 339 Language acquisition/adaptation/brain/evolution/Deacon: in addition to the constant sensomotoric conditions of language use, there are also invariances of language evolution that affect the context of language learning. There are three types of language adaptation: a) innate, b) learned, c) those that develop in the interaction between the innate and the experienced. Universality is not a sure indicator that something of the evolution has been built into our brains. 1. Gold, E. (1967), Language identification in the limit. Information and Control 16, 447-474. 2. Newport, E. (1991), Maturational consteraints on language learning, Cognitive Science 14, 11-28. 3. Newport, E. (1991), Contrasting conceptions oft he critical period for language. In: S. Carey and R. Gelma (Eds.) Epigenesis of Mind: Essys on Biology and Cognition, NJ._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Dea I T. W. Deacon The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of language and the Brain New York 1998 Dea II Terrence W. Deacon Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter New York 2013 |
||
> Counter arguments against Deacon
> Counter arguments in relation to Language Acquisition
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-28