Rich Languages From Poor Inputs

This book addresses one of the most famous and controversial arguments in the study of language and mind, the Poverty of the Stimulus. Presented by Chomsky in 1968, the argument holds that children do not receive enough evidence to infer the existence of core aspects of language, such as the dependence of linguistic rules on hierarchical phrase structure. The argument strikes against empiricist accounts of language acquisition and supports the conclusion that knowledge of some aspects of grammar must be innate. In the first part of __Rich Grammars from Poor Inputs__, contributors consider the general issues around the POS argument, review the empirical data, and offer new and plausible explanations. This is followed by a discussion of the the processes of language acquisition, and observed 'gaps' between adult and child grammar, concentrating on the late spontaneous acquisition by children of some key syntactic principles, basically, though not exclusively, between the ages of 5 to 9. Part 3 widens the horizon beyond language acquisition in the narrow sense, examining the natural development of reading and writing and of the child's growing sensitivity for the fine arts. This Text Addresses One Of The Most Famous And Controversial Arguments In The Study Of Language And Mind, The Poverty Of The Stimulus. Internationally Recognised Scholars Consider Afresh The Issues Surrounding This Argument And Discuss Its Relation To The Process Of Language Acquisition. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1.introduction / Robert C. Berwick -- Pt. I Poverty Of The Stimulus And Modularity Revised -- 2.poverty Of The Stimulus Stands: Why Recent Challenges Fail / Massimo Piattelli-palmarini -- 3.children's Acquisition Of Syntax: Simple Models Are Too Simple / Janet Dean Fodor -- 4.poverty Of The Stimulus: Willingness To Be Puzzled / Noam Chomsky -- 5.revisiting Modularity: Using Language As A Window To The Mind / Susan Curtiss -- 6.every Child An Isolate: Nature's Experiments In Language Learning / Barbara Landau -- Pt. Ii Discrepancies Between Child Grammar And Adult Grammar -- 7.recent Findings About Language Acquisition / Jacques Mehler -- 8.ways Of Avoiding Intervention: Some Thoughts On The Development Of Object Relatives, Passive, And Control / Luigi Rizzi -- 9.merging From The Temporal Input: On Subject-object Asymmetries And An Ergative Language / Itziar Laka -- Note Continued: 10.tough-movement Developmental Delay: Another Effect Of Phasal Computation / Ken Wexler -- 11.assessing Child And Adult Grammar / Charles Yang -- 12.three Aspects Of The Relation Between Lexical And Syntactic Knowledge / Thomas G. Bever -- Pt. Iii Broadening The Picture: Spelling And Reading -- 13.children's Invented Spelling: What We Have Learned In Forty Years / Rebecca Treiman -- 14.how Insights Into Child Language Change Our Understanding Of The Development Of Written Language: The Unfolding Legacy Of Carol Chomsky / Maryanne Wolf -- 15.the Phonology Of Invented Spelling / Wayne O'neil -- 16.the Arts As Language: Invention, Opportunity, And Learning / Merryl Goldberg. Edited By Massimo Piattelli-palmarini And Robert C. Berwick. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [271]-305) And Index. Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 9 The Authors 10 1 Introduction 16 Part I. Poverty of the Stimulus and Modularity Revised 32 2 Poverty of the Stimulus Stands: Why Recent Challenges Fail 34 3 Children's Acquisition of Syntax: Simple Models are Too Simple 58 4 Poverty of the Stimulus: Willingness to be Puzzled 76 5 Revisiting Modularity: Using Language as a Window to the Mind 83 6 Every Child an Isolate: Nature's Experiments in Language Learning 106 Part II. Discrepancies between Child Grammar and Adult Grammar 120 7 Recent Findings about Language Acquisition 122 8 Ways of Avoiding Intervention: Some Thoughts on the Development of Object Relatives, Passive, and Control 130 9 Merging from the Temporal Input: On Subject-Object Asymmetries and an Ergative Language 142 10 Tough-Movement Developmental Delay: Another Effect of Phasal Computation 161 11 Assessing Child and Adult Grammar 183 12 Three Aspects of the Relation between Lexical and Syntactic Knowledge 198 Part III. Broadening the Picture: Spelling and Reading 208 13 Children's Invented Spelling: What We Have Learned in Forty Years 210 14 How Insights into Child Language Change our Understanding of the Development of Written Language: The Unfolding Legacy of Carol Chomsky 225 15 The Phonology of Invented Spelling 235 16 The Arts as Language: Invention, Opportunity, and Learning 242 Epilogue: Analytic Study of the Tadoma Method—Language Abilities of Three Deaf-Blind Subjects 256 References 286 Index 322 A 322 B 322 C 322 D 323 E 323 F 324 G 324 H 324 I 324 J 325 K 325 L 325 M 325 N 326 O 326 P 326 Q 327 R 327 S 327 T 328 U 328 V 328 W 328 X 328 Y 328 9780199590339 This book addresses one of the most famous and controversial arguments in the study of language and mind, the Poverty of the Stimulus. Presented by Chomsky in 1968, the argument holds that children do not receive enough evidence to infer the existence of core aspects of language, such as the dependence of linguistic rules on hierarchical phrase structure. The argument strikes against empiricist accounts of language acquisition and supports the conclusion that knowledge of some aspects of grammar must be innate. In the first part of Rich Languages from Poor Inputs, contributors consider the general issues around the Poverty of the Stimulus argument, review the empirical data, and offer new and plausible explanations. This is followed by a discussion of the processes of language acquisition, and observed'gaps'between adult and child grammar, concentrating on the late spontaneous acqquisition by children of some key syntactic principles, mainly, though not exclusively, between the ages of 5 and 9. The last part of the book widens the horizon beyond language acquisition in the narrow sense, examining the natural development of reading and writing and of the child's growing sensitivity for the fine arts. "This book addresses one of the most famous and controversial arguments in the study of language and mind, the Poverty of the Stimulus. Presented by Chomsky in 1968, the argument holds that children do not receive enough evidence to infer the existence of core aspects of language, such as the dependence of linguistic rules on hierarchical phrase structure. The argument strikes against empiricist accounts of language acquisition and supports the conclusion that knowledge of some aspects of grammar must be innate. In the first part of Rich Grammars from Poor Inputs, contributors consider the general issues around the POS argument, review the empirical data, and offer new and plausible explanations. This is followed by a discussion of the the processes of language acquisition, and observed 'gaps' between adult and child grammar, concentrating on the late spontaneous acquisition by children of some key syntactic principles, basically, though not exclusively, between the ages of 5 to 9. Part 3 widens the horizon beyond language acquisition in the narrow sense, examining the natural development of reading and writing and of the child's growing sensitivity for the fine arts".--Page 4 de la couverture This book addresses one of the most famous and controversial arguments in the study of language and mind, the Poverty of the Stimulus. Internationally recognised scholars consider afresh the issues surrounding this argument and discuss its relation to the process of language acquisition.