The Psychology Book

296

growth, insofar as an individual’s
language organ develops according
to early experiences. For instance,
because Chomsky grew up in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he
absorbed knowledge of that
particular English dialect and his
language organ’s structure was
tailored accordingly. The same
process occurs for everyone,
whether they have grown up in
Paris, Tokyo, or London.

Universal grammar
But where is the proof that language
acquisition is inborn rather than
learned? According to Chomsky,
the most convincing evidence for
this claim is that there are aspects
of grammar that are so intuitive
and self-evident that they need
never be discussed or learned in
order to be understood (they are
therefore part of our biological
inheritance). For instance, there
are certain constructions in the
English language that permit the
dropping of pronouns, and others
that do not. The difference between
the two is subtle, yet even by the
age of six, native English-speaking
children will use the constructions
flawlessly. This implies that certain

aspects of grammar are understood

without requiring any instruction,

and that the knowledge is therefore

innate. This is the only way to

explain how people have such a

rich grammatical understanding

and how children can use language

so creatively by the age of six.

Chomsky claims that “universal

grammar” is found worldwide, with

modifications according to people’s

native languages. It is a predefined

mechanism that acts as the basis

for the acquisition of any language.

He argues that this is demonstrated

by the way that all children are

equally able to learn any language

to which they are exposed. He says

that a common set of linguistic

features is built into the language

organ through heredity, and it

includes elements of grammar,

meaning, and speech. It is what

makes it possible for us to speak

and learn human languages, and

may make it impossible for us to

learn any language that violates

these principles.

Language device

Chomsky proposes a name for

our innate language organ: the

Language Acquisition Device

NOAM CHOMSKY

(LAD). He bases his claim for its

existence on three things: the

fact that children are born with

the capacity to formulate and

understand all kinds of sentences

despite never having heard or

learned them; that every human

language appears to have certain

universal elements; and that some

grammatical principles are

acquired by individuals regardless

of their culture or intelligence.

There is other supporting evidence

as well, including the fact that the

human vocal organs, breathing

Noam Chomsky Linguist, philosopher, cognitive

scientist, and social activist

Noam Chomsky was born in

Pennsylvania to Jewish parents.

He studied philosophy and

linguistics at the University

of Pennsylvania, where he earned

his bachelor’s, master’s, and

doctoral degrees. Chomsky joined

the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology in 1955, becoming an

Institute Professor in 1976.

Chomsky is widely known as

one of the fathers of modern

linguistics, but he is also a

political dissident and anarchist.

His criticisms of US foreign policy

have made him a highly

controversial figure. He has

won several honorary degrees

as well as being a recipient of

the Distinguished Scientific

Contribution Award, the

Dorothy Eldridge Peacemaker

Award, and the Orwell Award.

He was married to linguist

Carol Schatz for 59 years

until her death in 2008.

Key works

1957 Syntactic Structures

1965 Cartesian Linguistics

1968 Language and Mind

We are designed

to learn languages based

upon a common set of

principles, which we may

call universal grammar.

Noam Chomsky