IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eur/ejlsjr/113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Acquisition of Language: Evidence in Syntax

Author

Listed:
  • Jakov Proroković
  • Frane Malenica

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the two main approaches to language acquisition and present the main ideas behind the nativist and the usage-based account. The concomitant argument between the two sides has been present in linguistics ever since the proposal of innateness was provided by the paradigm of mainstream generative grammar (Chomsky 1965). In order to contribute to the ongoing discussion, we will attempt to outline the main challenges that the both theoretical strands are faced with and provide an overview of syntactic evidence provided by linguists whose work was devoted to understanding the mechanisms of language acquisition. Our goal is to analyze the insights provided by the phenomena such as syntactic bootstrapping, poverty of the stimulus, multiple argument realizations and non-canonical syntactic constructions and argue that integrating these findings into a usage-based framework (Tomasello 2000, 2003 - 2009) or various instances of Construction Grammar (Goldberg 1995 - 1996, Fillmore Kay - Fillmore 1999, van Trijp 2016, Steels 2011, inter alia) provides a more plausible and comprehensive explanation of the processes responsible for language acquisition.

Suggested Citation

  • Jakov Proroković & Frane Malenica, 2017. "The Acquisition of Language: Evidence in Syntax," European Journal of Language and Literature Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 3, ejls_v3_i.
    • Handle: RePEc:eur:ejlsjr:113
    DOI: 10.26417/ejls.v8i1.p85-99
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://brucol.be/index.php/ejls/article/view/8496
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://brucol.be/files/articles/ejls_v3_i2_17/Jakov.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.26417/ejls.v8i1.p85-99?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:cai:popine:popu_p1959_14n4_0764 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Norman Walzer, 2010. "CDS at 40: the past leading to the future," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 401-404, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edvin Xhango, 2016. "Description of Fiscal Legislation and Changes in Years in Albania," European Journal of Economics and Business Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 2, ejes_v2_i.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eur:ejlsjr:113. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Revistia Research and Publishing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://revistia.org/index.php/ejls .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.