Summary EML1501 Unit 2 study notes.

EML 1501 Unit 2 THE MEANING OF LANGUAGE In Unit 1, you were given a general definition of language as an introduction to the early stages of language development. The stages included the prelinguistic stage, the holophrase stage and the two-word stage, among others. In this unit, ‘language’ is explained as a preamble to the different theories that explain how language is acquired. The concept “language” is explained or defined in different ways based on the perspective of a specific theory. It may be explained as a natural process that is uniquely human or its acquisition may be associated with the environment in which the infant is growing. It is also regarded as a mix of the two theoretical views. Name the different ways that Language acquisition can be explained.  Language acquisition is: o The process by which infants acquire the ability to learn and to understand how to communicate with other people, usually parents and siblings in their environment. o The mechanism that enables children to break apart a unit of spoken language or sounds they hear from adults around them and to produce language that is grammatically understandable. o A progressing system by which children learn how to make meaning of what they hear, that is, speech perception and later learn how to respond, that is, speech production. o A uniquely human feature that promotes communication. To sum up the different definitions, it can be said that language acquisition is a process by which humans are able to produce and understand words and sentences and to combine them to communicate. What is Language acquisition usually associated with? Infants’ acquisition of their home language. In addition to the explanations above, language is seen as a system of rules. Explain what this system refers to.  Phonemes – which refers to speech sounds such as “m” or “n”.  Phonology – which determines how phonemes are arranged: “pat”; “bat”.  Morpheme – that is the smallest unit of language that has meaning: “fall” as against “tall”. The former has meaning of its own while the latter depends on a full sentence.  Morphology – also referred to as form, directs the sequencing of morphemes.  Syntax–ways that words are combined to form meaningful sentences or the grammar of a sentence.  Semantics – vocabulary, meanings of words and sentences.  Pragmatics – which provides context in the understanding of language; “She went to school”. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :30:17 GMT -06:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH There seems to be general agreement among researchers concerning the language system and also with the order of acquisition. What remains a controversy is how human beings learn to acquire and to use language. The question whether language is the result of nature or whether it is a process that is taught (nurture) remains. It is a good idea to make your own analysis of the different definitions or explanation of language and to come up with your own substantiated opinion. Read the following theoretical standpoints. THE NATURE VERSUS NURTURE THEORETICAL VIEWPOINTS Before we commence discussion on the different viewpoints on the acquisition of language, it is important for you to grasp the full meaning of ‘theory’ so you can follow the different arguments about the acquisition of language. What is a theory? • a set of properly argued ideas intended to explain facts and events. • ideas, beliefs or claims about something which may or may not be found true in practice. • an idea or a set of ideas that is intended to explain something about life or the world that has not been proved to be true. • an idea that someone thinks is true but has no proof for it. The question of whether language is a natural phenomenon or learned behaviour is a historical debate that continues to rage among theorists. Explain what the different school of thoughts say about language. The first school of thought says that language is innate or natural and that it emerges naturally because we are human. The second school of thought maintains that language is acquired and that the environment promotes or retards its development, in other words language is a product of nurturing. The third school of thought maintains that language acquisition is a mix of both natural endowment and the influence of the environment. The discussion on the nature versus nurture theoretical perspectives that follows will assist you in answering the questions on the two case studies discussed at the beginning of this unit. Please read them with concentration to get insight into the different perspectives. Language as the product of nurture The second position with regard to the nature and nurture debate in language acquisition is based on the assumption that language is a result of our large brains that enables us to think as humans and the fact that we are social beings. What is this view referred to as? ‘Empiricism’ and is also called ‘behaviourism’ What is Behaviourism? It is the theory that explains that all human behaviour is learnt to fit in with external conditions and is not influenced by people’s thoughts or feelings. Who are some of those in favour of this viewpoint include? Pavlov and Skinne