Noam Chomsky (Philadelphia, United States, 1928) is one of the most recognized thinkers today . His work is extensive and multifaceted: he has developed theories, studies and profound knowledge in the fields of linguistics, developmental psychology, philosophy and political analysis.

In today’s article we will summarize Chomsky’s contributions to the psychology of language. The popular American intellectual has laid the foundation for current lines of research in cognitive science.

  • For more information on this author: “Noam Chomsky: biography of an anti-system linguist”

Language development: programmed for speech?

According to Noam Chomsky’s research, children are born with an innate capacity for speech . They are able to learn and assimilate communicative and linguistic structures. Thanks to the Theory of Universal Grammar , Chomsky proposed a new paradigm in language development. According to his postulates, all languages used by human beings have some common characteristics in their own structure.

From this evidence, Professor Chomsky deduces that the acquisition of language during childhood can occur thanks to the capacity that we humans have to recognize and assimilate the basic structure of language , structure that constitutes the essential root of any language.

The Universal Grammar

Noam Chomsky’s theory of language development during childhood is based on a controversial precept: “Human language is the product of deciphering a program determined by our genes”. This position clashes diametrically with environmentalist theories of development, which emphasize the role of the influence of the environment on the individual and the capacity of the latter to adapt to the different contexts in which he lives.

In addition, Chomsky states that children possess the innate ability to understand language grammar , a skill that they develop through their experiences and learning. regardless of their family or cultural context. To designate this innate artifact for understanding grammar, Chomsky uses the term “Universal Grammar”, common to all language systems known to date.

Plasticity to acquire language

It is well known that during childhood there is a “critical” period during which it is easier for us to learn language . This period of greater brain plasticity during which we are a sponge for languages goes from birth to pre-adolescence.

Chomsky, through his review of the work of German linguist and neurologist Eric Lenneberg , emphasizes that children go through a stage of what he calls “linguistic alert”. During this key period, the understanding and ability to learn new languages is greater than in other life stages. In Chomsky’s own words, “We all go through a specific maturation period in which, thanks to the right external stimuli, our ability to speak a language will develop rapidly.

Therefore, children who are taught several languages during their childhood and pre-adolescence, will surely be able to correctly acquire the basics of these languages . This does not happen with adults, since their plasticity, their capacity for language acquisition is no longer in such good shape.

How does language acquisition occur?

According to Noam Chomsky’s theory, the process of language acquisition only occurs if the child derives the implicit rules of language, such as the notions of syntactic structure or grammar.

In order for us to be able to develop and learn language during childhood, Chomsky argued that we all possess a “language acquisition device” in our brain . The hypothesis of the existence of this device would enable us to learn the rules and recurrences that constitute language. Over the years, Noam Chomsky reviewed his theory and included the analysis of several guiding principles of language acquisition during childhood.

These principles, like the existence of grammar and various syntactic rules, are common to all languages. However, there are other elements that vary depending on the language we study.

The learning process and the evolution of language

As Chomsky explains, human language allows us to express an infinite number of ideas, information and emotions . Consequently, language is a social construction that does not stop evolving. Society is setting the guidelines for the rules and common uses of language, both in its oral and written versions.

In fact, it is very common for children to use language in a very particular way: mixing concepts, inventing words, deforming others, building sentences in their own way… Little by little, their brain assimilates the rules and recurrences of language, making fewer and fewer mistakes and using the wide range of artifacts that language provides them with properly.

Criticisms and controversies about Chomsky’s theory

The theory of Universal Grammar formulated by Noam Chomsky does not have unanimity within the scientific and academic community. In fact, it is an idea that, although it had a strong impact on the study of language acquisition, it is considered outdated, and Chomsky himself has changed his position in this respect.The critical currents argue that, with the idea of Universal Grammar, Chomsky made a mistake in his postulates: over-generalization.

The sectors that have most questioned Chomsky’s theory reject the postulate of the language acquisition device because, they argue, it has no empirical support. Other academics have criticized the theory of the American linguist for its excessive innatism , and therefore for not sufficiently taking into account the environmental factors in language acquisition.

These criticisms have led Chomsky to revise and modify some aspects of his postulates over the years, while adding new evidence and complementary aspects to this body of knowledge.