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Babies are stupid (but they still learn language)
It is well-known that infants learn their native languages with incredible ease. I just came across a passage that puts this into particularly striking context:
A first point to note here is the obvious intellectual limitations that children have while language acquisition proceeds apparently without any effort. We are all extremely impressed if a two-year-old figures out to put the square blocks in the square holes and the round blocks in the round holes. Yet somehow by this age children are managing to cope with the extraordinarily difficult task of learning language.
This is particularly impressive, the authors point out, given that according to a number of theories
we are to believe that children do both of these things using the very same domain neutral intellectual resources. THis is all the more remarkable given that a complete grammar for a single language remains an uncompleted goal for professional linguists.
Laurence, S., Margolis, E. (2001). The poverty of the stimulus argument. British Journal of the Philosophy of Science, 52, 217-276.
Submitted by coglanglab on Mon, 2008-04-28 07:52.
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Stupid is What Stupid Does, or Says
I find it manifestly stupid to compare babies with adults or children that have mastered language. Even though the comparison is useful, from a research perspective, to suggest babies are stupid, is demonstratively false. This supposition utterly denies their innate capacity to acquire language understanding and grammar. In point of fact, babies are uniquely intelligent. Certain researchers are to stupid to appreciate the plasticity of the infant mind, and the necessary, and inexplicable stages of their development. Stupidity indicates; slow to apprehend, or a lack of intelligence. The slow development of infant intelligences is a well established fact. How could any intelligent person adjudge this fact as indicating stupidity. It is this very process, in infant development, that is necessary for language acquisition. I would suggest that "stupid is what stupid does, or says." Need I say more.
Hi Brian
I have some terrible difficulty expressing my though ,and I feel as my way to communicate will just confused and I truly understand when I read my own stuff.If you Brian enjoy brain with so much limitation please work on me a bit.just give me a hint... I will try my best as a do with vocabulary,but it will just take lot of time,,,,and it ok ...your pal Phil...
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