This document discusses theories of universal grammar and language acquisition. It presents the innateness hypothesis, which argues that humans are born with an innate, genetically-programmed capacity for language. This is supported by the poverty of stimulus argument, which is that the linguistic input children receive is not sufficient to account for their language learning, and the observation of linguistic creativity in children. The document also discusses parameters and principles within universal grammar, as well as competing theories of language development from theorists such as Skinner, Piaget, and Fodor.

1. The Universal Grammar
LCD 105 – Class 19 – Professor Nathacia

2. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
INNATENESS HYPOTHESIS
BIOLOGICAL BASIS
COGNITIVE BASIS

3. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
INNATENESS HYPOTHESIS
We are born with a capacity to develop
language.
We are genetically programmed to
develop language.
Arguments:
- The Poverty of Stimulus Hypothesis
- Linguistic Creativity

4. The linguistic information that children
are exposed to during language
acquisition period, alone, are not enough
to built a highly complex system as
human language is.
The stimuli are not that informative
when it comes to Language properties.
Mommy will take a nap know.

5. The linguistic information that children
are exposed to during language
acquisition period, alone, are not enough
to built a highly complex system as
human language is.
The stimuli are not that informative
when it comes to Language properties.
[CP [TP [DP Mommy] will [VP take [DPa nap]] [AdvP now]]].

6. Concerning to Linguistic Creativity,
kids can create novel sentences
that they never heard from an
adult (or anyone).
https://youtu.be/jBVDiz-LY7w

7. THEORY CENTRAL IDEA SCIENTIST
Behaviorism
Tabula Rasa; learning from
positive and negative
reinforcement.
Skinner
Cognitive Development
Language is just an aspect of a
global cognitive development.
Piaget
Innateness
Language is an innate capacity,
independent from other
cognitions (Modularity’s
Theory)
Chomsky
Interactive or Instruction
Theory
Language is built through
interaction
Bruner

8. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
BIOLOGICAL BASIS
Physical and Genetic apparatuses

9. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.

10. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.

11. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.
(2) To his vacation trip, John won’t buy
tickets anymore.

12. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.
(2) To his vacation trip, John won’t buy
tickets anymore.

13. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.
(2) To his vacation trip, John won’t buy
tickets anymore.
(3) Won’t buy, to his vacation trip, John the
tickets.

14. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.
(2) To his vacation trip, John won’t buy
tickets anymore.
(3) Won’t buy, to his vacation trip, John the
tickets.

15. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.
(2) To his vacation trip, John won’t buy
tickets anymore.
(3) Won’t buy, to his vacation trip, John the
tickets anymore.
(4)His vacation to won’t trip buy tickets John
anymore.

16. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
MIND: the speaker knows its own
language; language intuition
COGNITIVE BASIS
(1) John won’t buy the tickets to his vacation
trip anymore.
(2) To his vacation trip, John won’t buy
tickets anymore.
(3) Won’t buy, to his vacation trip, John the
tickets anymore.
(4)His vacation to won’t trip buy tickets
John anymore.

17. UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR
COMPETENCE VS. PERFORMANCE
COGNITIVE BASIS
COMPETENCE: knowledge that a
speaker has about his/ her own
language.
PERFORMANCE: use of the inner
knowledge on a language.

18. Universal Grammar?
How to explain the various language
across the world if we are basing our
model in a innate capacity coded in
human genes?
Biologic Perspective to
Language

19. Universal Grammar?
What is universal?
What is particular?
We need a model that can deal with
both aspects (Common and Moldable).

20. UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR: Faculty of Language;
Innate language specific information that
determine how language can work.
Principals: Universal; Rigid; Invariable; Postulates
followed by all languages.
Parameters: Variable; Flexible; Open; Postulates
that varies from one language to the other; They
are originally unmarked at UG; Their fixation is
done during Language Acquisition.

21. UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR: Faculty of Language;
Innate language specific information that
determine how language can work.
Principals: Universal; Rigid; Invariable; Postulates
followed by all languages.
Parameters: Variable; Flexible; Open; Postulates
that varies from one language to the other; They
are originally unmarked at UG; Their fixation is
done during Language Acquisition.
Principals and Parameters Theory (P&P)

22. Universal
Grammar
INPUT OUTPUT
Primary Data
Exposure to Language
Experience
Grammar of a Language
Linguistic Competence
P&P – Language Acquisition
Fixation of Parameters

23. ?

24. PIAGET
A terceira direção, que é decididamente a nossa (e que nos
leva a atribuir os começos da linguagem às estruturas
construídas pela inteligência sensorial preexistente), é de
natureza construtivista, isto é, sem preformação exógena
(empirismo) ou endógena (inatismo) por contínuas
ultrapassagens das elaborações sucessivas, o que do ponto
de vista pedagógico, leva incontestavelmente a dar toda
ênfase às atividades que favoreçam a espontaneidade da
criança. (PIAGET, 1998, p. 11)

25. PIAGET
“[...] três grandes períodos no caso da inteligência operatória:
A. Um período sensório motor (do nascimento até 1½ a 2
anos) no curso do qual se organizam os esquemas sensório-
motores até atos de inteligência prática com compreensão
imediata [...] e subestruturas práticas das futuras noções [...].
B. Um período que começa com o aparecimento da função
semiótica [...] e com uma fase operatória de representação
pré-operatória [...] mas chegando, desde os 7 ou 8 anos, à
constituição das operações chamadas “concretas”, porque se
referem ainda a objetos [...]. C. Um período que começa aos
11 a 12 anos, caracterizado pelas operações proposicionais
(implicações, etc.) com sua combinatória e suas
transformações segundo um grupo de quaternalidade, que
reúne em um único sistema as duas formas elementares de
reversibilidade (inversão ou negociação e reciprocidade).”
(PIAGET, 2003, p. 28).

26. PIAGET
Aprendizado dependente (construtivismo)
Mente = Inteligência Única
Teoria Cognitiva (Brasil)
DOMÍNIO GERAL

28. FODOR
“A mente não pode ser genérica. (...) Na verdade ela é um
conjunto de inteligências especializadas, cada qual controlada
por suas próprias regras”
Teoria da Modularidade da Mente
DOMÍNIO ESPECÍFICO

29. FODOR

31. ?
Mas e a
linguagem

32. Garota sem metade do cérebro

33. Bipolaridade

34. Autismo

35. Síndrome de Asperger

36. Esquisofrenia

37. E tantos outros...
Parkinson
Alzheimer
Síndrome de Down

38. CHOMSKY
X √

39. CHOMSKY
= MENTE
= LINGUAGEM

40. CHOMSKY

41. EXTRA: Sobre a especificidade