Rizal Technological University
Maybunga, Pasig City
College of Education
Universal Grammar
Submitted by:
Pakiding, Ma. Ronalyne B.
PCED-02-101A
Group 4 (I – 4)
Submitted to:
Prof. Babylyn G. Retanan
WRITTEN REPORT
Who is Noam Chomsky?
Noam Chomsky is known as the father of modern linguistics. Back in 1957,
Chomsky, with his revolutionary book “Syntactic Structures,” laid the foundation of his
non-empiricist theory of language. Two years later, with his review of B. F. Skinner’s
“Verbal Behavior,” he argued that Behaviorism, the dominant approach to language at
the time, was no longer to be the way of studying language.
Noam Chomsky is an eminent American theoretical linguist, cognitive scientist
and philosopher, who radically changed the arena of linguistics by assuming language
as a uniquely human, biologically based cognitive capacity. He suggested that innate
traits in the human brain give birth to both language and grammar. The most important
figure in “cognitive revolution” and “analytic philosophy”, Chomsky’s wide-ranging
influence also extends to computer science and mathematics.
Universal Grammar
1956
Universal Grammar is a linguistic theory developed by Noam Chomsky according
to which all human languages are constructed on the same, abstract template, and that
this explains why all normal speakers acquire their native language quickly and
accurately.
In response to the logical problem of language acquisition, which challenges
theorists to explain how all normal children are able to learn any first language in only a
few years, Chomsky posited the existence of a Language Acquisition Device (LAD).
He suggested that the LAD was an innate, language-specific module which
effectively pre-programmed children to learn language. The LAD operated by restricting
the number and type of hypotheses learners entertain about the grammar, or rule-
system of the language.
Chomsky developed the notion of Universal Grammar (UG) as a blueprint for the
LAD. UG, or generative grammar, consists in an abstract description of the components
and structure underlying all human languages.
Generative linguists seek to refine and test these abstract linguistic descriptions,
while second language generativists research whether and how UG is available to
learners of second languages.
Universal Grammar Theory Explained
The idea that explains this is known as Universal Grammar Theory and states
that all children are born with an innate ability to acquire, develop, and understand
language. If we look at grammar as the laws of language, we could say that all humans
are born with an understanding of these laws. While different languages may have
different kinds of grammar, humans have a natural predilection to learn and use them.
The realization that very young children innately understand aspects of language
has shattered the long-held belief that the mind starts as a blank slate. Behavioral
psychologists had assumed that grammar and language were learned solely by
listening to it being spoken. Now, the common belief is that language has an inherent
genetic component. The human brain is hardwired to develop grammatical language,
even without being exposed to it as a baby.
The man credited with this revolution is MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky.
Chomsky developed the theory in the 1950s and 60s before there was scientific
equipment, such as the MRI, to show brain activity. Chomsky believed grammar must
be a universal constant in humans because of something he dubbed the poverty of
stimulus. This aspect of universal grammar argues that it is not possible that children
are exposed to enough of their native language to learn it in a purely behavioral context.
Keep in mind that this doesn't mean exposure to one's native language isn't necessary,
just that it can't account for the entirety of learning a language.
References:
Website
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://unt.unice.fr/uoh/learn_teach_FL/affiche_theorie.php?
id_concept=98.
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/universal-grammar-theory-
definition-examples-quiz.html.
Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.famousscientists.org/noam-chomsky/.
Shameem, T. (2010, February 3). The Innate Theory. Retrieved from
http://tanvirdhaka.blogspot.com/2010/02/innatist-theory.html?m=1.
Who Is Noam Chomsky, and What Is His Contribution to Linguistics? (n.d.). Retrieved
from https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.mangolanguages.com/noam-chomsky-his-
contribution-to-linguistics/?hs_amp=true.
Thesis
Yang, C., Crain, S., Berwick, R. C., Chomsky, N., & Bolhuis, J. J. (2017). The growth of
language: Universal Grammar, experience, and principles of
computation. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 81, 103–119. doi:
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.023
