The innateness hypothesis, also called the nativist hypothesis, holds that humans are born already possessing at least some knowledge of linguistic structure. On this view, acquiring a language is a matter of filling in the details of an innate blueprint rather than an entirely inductive process built up from scratch through exposure alone. The hypothesis is one of the foundational assumptions of generative grammar and of related approaches within linguistics that treat core aspects of language as biologically given rather than fully learned.
Facts
Core ClaimHumans are born already possessing at least some knowledge of linguistic structure, so acquiring a language means filling in the details of an innate blueprint rather than learning it purely through experience. 1 FAQs
What arguments support the innateness hypothesis and why is it disputed?
Supporters cite the poverty of the stimulus and the universality of language acquisition; other traditions such as usage-based linguistics widely reject it.
Arguments in favour include the poverty of the stimulus, the universality of language acquisition, as well as experimental studies on learning and learnability. However, these arguments have been criticized, and the hypothesis is widely rejected in other traditions such as usage-based linguistics.
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Source Innateness Hypothesis (Wikipedia)
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1. Innateness Hypothesis (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph
In linguistics, the innateness hypothesis, also known as the nativist hypothesis, holds that humans are born with at least some knowledge of linguistic structure. On this hypothesis, language acquisition involves filling in the details of an innate blueprint rather than being an entirely inductive process.
Developed By: Noam Chomsky, Body
Chomsky's innateness hypothesis contradicts the belief by John Locke that our knowledge, including language, cannot be innate and is instead derived from experience.
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