Features of Language
Language Universals: Language appears to be more motivated than previously assumed. It varies in terms of syntax.
Language shared elements: their principles. E.g.: The subject in a sentence.
Language differences elements: their parameters. E.g.: Parameter specifies whether in a given language the subject can be omitted or not.
Language is Innate
We are born with an inborn capacity for language
acquisition and are genetically equipped to learn a language.
Children learn their first language during a crucial
period of language acquisition (birth to age of four), despite the fact that
the linguistic data that they hear is incomplete, they receive no negative
evidence, and that they are seldom explicitly “taught” or corrected. Language is in part learned as well as
innate. Language is equipped with both
principles and parameters, but the parameters become “set” as language learning
progresses.
Language is Creative or Infinite
Aspects
Ø Human beings can produce and understand novel sentences
and sometimes even new words.
Ø We can create sentences (theoretically) infinite
length, although there are obviously practical limits on length.
Human Language vs. Animal Language
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