Combination Rules
Each language has a system of rules that determine how sounds and words can be combined
and used to communicate meaning, called grammar.The set of rules that regulate the order
in which words can be combined into grammatically sensible sentences in a language is
calledsyntax.When we hear a sentence or phrase that lacks proper syntax, such as, “a yellow,
big balloon,” we know it doesn’t sound right. The set of rules that enables us to derive mean-
ing from morphemes, words, and sentences is semantics.Sentences have both a surface
structure (the particular words and phrases) and a deep structure (the underlying meaning).Language Acquisition Stages
From birth, we can communicate. A newborn’s cry alerts others to the infant’s discomfort.
Children’s language development proceeds through a series of stages from the simple to the
more complex. The coos and gurgles of the newborn turn into the babbling of the
4-month-old baby. Babblingis the production of phonemes, not limited to the phonemes
to which the baby is exposed. Around 10 months of age, however, the phonemes a baby
uses narrows to those of the language(s) spoken around him or her. At about their first
birthday, most babies use a holophrase—one word—to convey meaning. They may point
outdoors and say, “Go!” By their second birthday, they begin to put together two-word
sentences,telegraphic speechcharacterized by the use of a verb and noun, such as “eat
cookie.” At between 2 and 3 years of age, the child’s vocabulary expands exponentially.
Sentences also increase in length and complexity. By the age of 3, children begin to follow
the rules of grammar without any instruction. A 3-year-old says, “I goed to the store,”
indicating use of the general rule that we form the past tense by adding -ed to a word. This
is an example of overgeneralizationoroverregularizationin which children apply gram-
matical rules without making appropriate exceptions. As their language develops further,
children are able to express more abstract ideas that go beyond the physical world around
them and to talk about their feelings.Theories of Language Acquisition
Young children quickly acquire the language of others around them. Nativists argue that we
are born with a biological predisposition for language, while behaviorists insist that we
develop language by imitating the sounds we hear to create words. There is no debate about
the sequential stages of language development described in the above section. Representing
the nature side, nativist Noam Chomsky says that our brains are prewired for a universal
grammar of nouns, verbs, subjects, objects, negations, and questions. He compares our lan-
guage acquisition capacity to a “language acquisition device,” in which grammar switches
are turned on as children are exposed to their language. He cites overgeneralization as
evidence that children generate all sorts of sentences they have never heard, and thus could
not be imitating. He further believes that there is a critical periodfor language develop-
ment. If children are not exposed to language before adolescence, Chomsky believes they
will be unable to acquire language. On the nurture side of the language acquisition debate,
behaviorist B. F. Skinner believed that children learn language by association, reinforce-
ment, and imitation. He contended that babies merely imitate the phonemes around them
and get reinforcement for these. A baby’s first meaningful use of words is a result of shap-
ing that is done by parents over the course of the first year. Today, social interactionists agree
with both sides that language acquisition is a combination of nature and nurture. They
believe, like Chomsky, that children are biologically prepared for language, but, like
Skinner, they assert that the environment can either activate this potential or constrain it.
Cognitive neuroscientists emphasize that the building of dense neuronal connections
during the first few years of life is critical for the mastery of grammar.134 ❯ STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High