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they learn to speak by hearing what happens around them. On the other hand, human brains,
unlike those of any other animal, are prewired in a way that leads them, almost effortlessly, to
learn language.
Perhaps the most straightforward explanation of language development is that it occurs through
principles of learning, including association, reinforcement, and the observation of others
(Skinner, 1965). [16] There must be at least some truth to the idea that language is learned,
because children learn the language that they hear spoken around them rather than some other
language. Also supporting this idea is the gradual improvement of language skills with time. It
seems that children modify their language through imitation, reinforcement, and shaping, as
would be predicted by learning theories.
But language cannot be entirely learned. For one, children learn words too fast for them to be
learned through reinforcement. Between the ages of 18 months and 5 years, children learn up to
10 new words every day (Anglin, 1993). [17]More importantly, language is more generative than
it is imitative.Generativity refers to the fact that speakers of a language can compose sentences
to represent new ideas that they have never before been exposed to. Language is not a predefined
set of ideas and sentences that we choose when we need them, but rather a system of rules and
procedures that allows us to create an infinite number of statements, thoughts, and ideas,
including those that have never previously occurred. When a child says that she “swimmed” in
the pool, for instance, she is showing generativity. No adult speaker of English would ever say
“swimmed,” yet it is easily generated from the normal system of producing language.
Other evidence that refutes the idea that all language is learned through experience comes from
the observation that children may learn languages better than they ever hear them. Deaf children
whose parents do not speak ASL very well nevertheless are able to learn it perfectly on their
own, and may even make up their own language if they need to (Goldin-Meadow & Mylander,
1998).[18] A group of deaf children in a school in Nicaragua, whose teachers could not sign,
invented a way to communicate through made-up signs (Senghas, Senghas, & Pyers,
2005). [19] The development of this new Nicaraguan Sign Language has continued and changed
as new generations of students have come to the school and started using the language. Although