The DOI matches its Crossref record; 8 of the 8 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Language acquisition in the absence of experience
Abstract
A fundamental goal of linguistic theory is to explain how natural languages are acquired. This paper describes some recent findings on how learners acquire syntactic knowledge for which there is little, if any, decisive evidence from the environment. The first section presents several general observations about language acquisition that linguistic theory has tried to explain and discusses the thesis that certain linguistic properties are innate because they appear universally and in the absence of corresponding experience. A third diagnostic for innateness, early emergence, is the focus of the second section of the paper, in which linguistic theory is tested against recent experimental evidence on children's acquisition of syntax.
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Cites
The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information.
Miller, G. A. (1956) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0043158 · Cited by 17,812
ASPECTS OF THE THEORY OF SYNTAX
Chomsky, N. (1964) · doi:10.21236/ad0616323 · Cited by 13,587
From Neuropsychology to Mental Structure
Shallice, T. (1988) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511526817 · Cited by 4,072
How Monkeys See the World: Inside the Mind of Another Species
Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (1990) · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226218526.001.0001 · Cited by 2,268
Maturational constraints on language learning
Newport, E. L. (1990) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1207/s15516709cog1401_2 · Cited by 1,738
Transitivity in Grammar and Discourse
Hopper, P. J., & Thompson, S. A. (1980) · Language · doi:10.2307/413757 · Cited by 1,204
Structure Dependence in Grammar Formation
Crain, S., & Nakayama, M. (1987) · Language · doi:10.2307/415004 · Cited by 402
Self-citationAn ecological approach to language development: An alternative functionalism
Dent, C. H. (1990) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.420230710 · Cited by 94
Cited by
The Acquisition of Heritage Languages
Montrul, S. (2015) · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139030502 · Cited by 900
de Villiers, J. G., & Pyers, J. E. (2002) · Cognitive Development · doi:10.1016/s0885-2014(02)00073-4 · Cited by 661
Fitch, W. T. (2010) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511817779 · Cited by 594
Second language acquisition: Theoretical and experimental issues in contemporary research
Epstein, S. D., Flynn, S., & Martohardjono, G. (1996) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00043521 · Cited by 520
Learning to Segment Speech Using Multiple Cues: A Connectionist Model
Christiansen, M. H., Allen, J., & Seidenberg, M. S. (1998) · Language and Cognitive Processes · doi:10.1080/016909698386528 · Cited by 356
Metadata
- Authors
- Crain, S.
- Venue
- Behavioral and Brain Sciences
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1991-12
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 597-612
- ISSN
- 0140-525X (ISSN-L)
- 1469-1825
- OpenAlex
- W2161800831
- Cited by
- 653
- References
- 8
- FWCI
- 8.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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