ACADEMIC ESSAY

AMALIA MACHDI FIBIARTY

Where Does Language Knowledge Come From?

Most of Psycholinguistics’ books were provide the crucial issues about where the
language comes from. Linguists and psychologist were has different point of view of where the
language comes from. The children acquiring their first language are still questioning. Do they
use intelligence or innate language ideas? If they use intelligence, is it provides since they are
born? Or the children should get it? Where they find the language knowledge? This paper tries to
examine it one by one.

Some of linguists believed language has no relation with intelligence. Every normal
human being can produce and comprehend their own language, whether they are smart or not.
They gave an example by give an intelligence animal which has little or no language. More
intelligent person does not acquire a greater competence than do less intelligence person. Some
linguistics assumes that language learning is essential independent of intelligence. Grammar has
a peculiar form (his own formulation grammar), It is not a logical form, hence, it is not a direct
function of rational operating intelligence, but must be a function of innate language knowledge.
In contrast, psycholinguistics agreed if there is an indirectly process of intelligence while
produce and comprehend a language. Language is a common thing, but it will be a complex
matter while we try to examine it. When we observe deeper about language itself, it is governed
by a large number of rules and principle, particularly syntax, which determined the order of
words in sentences. It is closely related to how the normal human being produces and
comprehends language. Based on its explanation, most linguistics suggests that the ability of
human being to communicate with other people have strict correlation with their intelligences.
Down’ Syndrome (one of the research) explained that too low a level of intelligence will result in
language deficits. The IQ around 50 greatly impaired in lexical and grammatical abilities. Both
arguments are still debatable.
 ACADEMIC ESSAY
AMALIA MACHDI FIBIARTY
A83211119
Behavior theory explained that language is come from society. Skinner is a linguist who
creates this theory. For some linguist who follows Skinner’s Theory, language is come from
society. Human being can communicate because the input from their society. Their society
introduce and build their vocabulary up in order to speak (the process of baby acquire her/ his
first language). It makes every normal babies will get the different language based on their own
region. The language system in human’s brain is constructed from the socialization and
communication with the people. The behavior theory is characterized by a belief in mind, ideas,
consciousness, and the role of consciousness in behavior. There are 2 things which reject
intelligence and innateness. First, intelligence is derived from experience (This statement is
rejecting Locke’s radical view; the mind at birth is blank; experience then imprints ideas on it.
Second, intelligence or its basis is innate (how something intelligence comes from nothing (how
about the blank mind)? This theory stated language is about reinforcement. By reinforcement
from the parents or society (around the children), children learn to give the name of things, so the
known the meaning of the words that they everyday saved in their memory, and also they
observed from the environment. This theory has weaknesses, because Skinner explained his
theory by giving analyzes that first language need an awareness of learning. To understand
language, all need to predict the specific utterances (controlling variable). Specific patterns of
condition “control” the human utterances, whereas the children are unconscious while learn
some kind of pattern in their first language. This theory existed until Chomsky come to make an
anti thesis of Skinner’s ideas.

Innateness is about the capability of human language as a gift from God since they were
born. The basic ideas (God, triangle, etc) are already in the mind at birth. To activate these ideas,
one uses reason (ratio meaning reason) in conjunction with experience.1 Innate ideas are of a
general nature (Beaver 1970). Chomsky as a pioneer of rationalism believed that human being
that was born has the brain as a language acquisition device, so thr language will be acquire

1
Steinberg, Danny. 2001. Psycholinguistics. England. Pearson Education Limited.
 ACADEMIC ESSAY
AMALIA MACHDI FIBIARTY
A83211119
naturally. He also stated that the children has natural ability to evolve the language, the natural
ability work automatically when the children exposure the language.

Some psychologists disagree about the innateness ideas, they think innateness is not
appropriate things to convey how human being can acquire, produce, and comprehend the
language. Innateness hypothesis covered three basic points. First; All normal children will
acquire their mother language even if “introduce” by their environment (not isolated). Second is
the sentence which heard by children often ungrammatical, incomplete, a bit short. Third,
language is only learned by human. In fact, its theory which created by Chomsky is explaining
about the innateness is not pure come from birth. Innate knowledge refers to the set of innate
language ideas that comprises the language faculty as “Universal Grammar”. UG is universal
because every human being is born with it. It is universal because with it any particular language
of the world can be acquired. UG is not grammar but contain of essential which any particular
grammar can be acquired. Give children an input from English language, UG will construct a
grammar of English. The Universal Grammar’s construction closely related with the user of
language’s interaction. Time by time innateness not only know as a thing which purely nature
from birth. Chomsky always develops his idea about innateness. Interaction which we familiar as
a social interaction are (in skinner theory) is completing Chomsky’s idea.

Do not ever think that anything in this world was made up with one atom or one thing.
Everything will have connection each other. It was same with the idea of language knowledge.
Language knowledge is not absolutely appears by one cause. Intelligence, Innateness, and
Behavior are completing each other. They build up the language using perfectly. The linguist has
already given an enormous contribution to create where the language comes from. We only need
to understand that language can deliver, understand, and comprehend well when the intelligence
is good enough, the environment support it and the deep system in our brain work well.

Word Count: 1378 words