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What makes us learn a new language? Are we somehow pre-programmed to learn to communicate through language? Or is it a just another skill we learn from scratch like riding a bicycle or typing? How does it work? By answering these and other questions we might be better prepared to teach ourselves new languages.
Language is Amazing
The term generally used to describe the process by which a person learns their first language is language acquisition. It is a magical period, where babies learn to do something so unique it is often considered the key distinction between humans and all other organisms, the use of language.
Other animals, like apes and dolphins, use forms of communication but these are not structured in any form of grammar and are more a list of words used in a specific context with no cultural variation between groups. Apes, for instance can be taught some limited sign language, however it is essentially limited to requesting food or other basics. Dr David Premack, an expert in the field of training chimps in nonverbal communication concluded: "Human language is an embarrassment for evolutionary theory because it is vastly more powerful than one can account for". Unlike animals, by the age of three most toddlers are not only speaking but are doing something no other species does: ask questions, and lots of them!
How do we learn our first language?
Few subjects have been researched as thoroughly as language and yet we still are not even close to understanding how infants pick up a language with what seems to be very little input. A large number of theories have been suggested in order to solve this puzzle. Two well known schools of thought are those that support the idea that we are born with the ability (innate) and those that feel we learn it as any other skill.
Plato, for example, felt that the process by which we assign meaning to words is in some way innate, while Sanskrit grammarians debated for centuries if the acquisition of meaning was god given (innate) or was learned from parents and society in general.
In more recent times empiricists like Hobbes and Locke have felt that knowledge (including language) can be explained solely as an abstraction of the data we collect through our senses. Empiricist theories of language acquisition include Relational Frame Theory, functionalist linguistics and social interactionist theory, all of which provide different methods and procedures to explain how people can learn language through interaction with the environment and their senses.
On the other hand Behaviorism argues that language is learnt through a form of operant conditioning, similar to the way dogs are taught to do tricks by offering treats to reinforce the desired action. Babies, according to this theory, learn a language by being reinforced by commendation or attention when they use the correct work or lexical unit.
Generativism is a school of thought led by Noam Chomsky which attempted to explain language acquisition by focusing on the rules that determine a correct sentence or sample of communication. The problem with generativism is that there is an infinite number of grammars that can explain the data the linguists collected. It turns out that after decades and decades of trying linguists have not found a real grammar for any language. The grammars we use to learn languages just explain what is correct, but don't provide general rules, the rules they do provide are littered by exceptions. This led Noam Chomsky to argue that some form of grammar must be innate, or built in all humans; this is called the nativist position and it claims there is a universal grammar. This universal grammar is supposed to be attached to a language faculty and is governed by a set of principles. These provide children with "hidden assumptions" or biases that help them to figure out what is possible in the grammar of their native language.
Opposition to the nativist position is strong. Many claim that what is innate is not the ability to learn a language but the more general cognitive learning apparatus, which allows us to make sense of our world through learning mechanisms.
Statistical learning, for instance, explains language acquisition as a set of general learning mechanisms that allow children to successfully learn words and syntactical conventions or grammar rules.
The truth is that the answer to how children learn a language is still to be answered. However the research and schools of thought that have been created to answer the question have provided many tools and methods that have made learning new languages easier.
The only thing that nobody disputes is that the human ability of using language is amazing, and nothing short of a miracle from an evolutionary standpoint. And although linguists are still to prove or find conclusive evidence of an innate ability for language what has been proven is that the brain has specialized areas called language centers that equip humans with the remarkable skill of communication. More on that soon.
Andrew Latham.
Teach Yourself a Language The Right Way at Language Vox. Teaching yourself a language is something only you can do but we can help you do it better.
Read more articles on Language Learning at my Teach Yourself Blog.
A Motorcyclist's Mid-Winter Frustration
One Christmas in the early 70’s, I received a dazzling Huffy bicycle that continues to rank as one of my favorite presents of all time. This speed demon had a purple metallic-flake frame with shiny chrome fenders, ape hanger handle bars, and a special edition banana seat. I couldn’t wait to get outside to ride that beast!
Only one problem; that Christmas day there was so much snow and ice covering the landscape that it was impossible to ride. For seven straight days I woke up, looked out the window and wondered if this would be the day, and for seven straight days the answer was NO! I was so freakin’ frustrated!
Fast forward some 30 years…
Today I find myself dealing with that same frustration all over again. Last week I received a 2010 Star street helmet from Bell Helmets. It has a matte black finish with a white racing stripe down the center. I also got a pair of Tour Master Response SC Road Boots from RidersDiscount.com that are Steve McQueen cool, but with 18″ of snow covering the ground and more on the way, I have been unable to use any of my nifty stuff. For seven days I have awakened, looked out the window and wondered if today would be the day, and for seven straight days the answer has been NO! My frustration is accumulating like the 3 foot snow drift outside my window.
So what’s a guy to do? How should I deal with all of this pent up frustration?
Perhaps I should…
- double up my meds.
- lay in the snow while wearing my gear and make a snow angel.
- sing happy songs.
- ride the motorcycle carousel at Chuck E. Cheese
My wife suggested I gear up, go to the garage and close all the doors, then start my bike and pretend I am riding for a half hour or how ever long it takes! 
Any other ideas?
About the Author
Can somebody interpret this dream please ?
I was in the body of an Ape/Gorilla. And was chased by another Gorilla down the road. He seemed alot faster than i was. So i got on a bicycle to increase the distance between us. And i did. But once i got off the bike i was really tired. And couldn't run as fast anymore. So i tried to hide but couldn't because he had my scent. So i started to panic when i realised. So i ran into a nearby house. And he was standing outside trying to figure out which house i was in. The dream ended there.
In response to Neil. It was a Gurilla with a human mind. It chased me because there was some altercation, with a human and i was at scene.
You are subconciously getting tired of getting out of confrontational situations. It would be best if you are more "bold" in your approach on life.
Playing it safe is another option, though if you decide to take chances you are better off doing so in full, and accepting the outcome for better and for worse. The middle ground is there but it will get you nowhere.
You are capable of handling whatever situation has been nagging you recently, though the outcome is uncertain. This last part isn't written in stone since this particular "situation" might have already been resolved or you might have forgotten about it completely since it's not necessarily recent. It simply influenced part of the dream but isn't the main focus.
RAGBRAI rolls through Britt
BRITT — Cherie and Dan Clark were on a “five-year plan” to getmarried.
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