Jennifer Conley
Ms. Hughes
25 September 2009
Thesis Statement: Throughout time linguist have studied how language has evolved. Although there have been many observations theory suggests that language is learned through biological and cultural experiences.
Quote 1:
"Language is not a cultural artifact that we learn the way we learn to tell time or how the federal government works. Instead, it is a distinct piece of the biological makeup of our brains. Language is complex, specialized skill, which develops in the child spontaneously, without conscious effort or formal instruction, is deployed without awareness of its underlying logic, is qualitatively the same in every individual, and is distinct from more general abilities to process information or behave intelligently."(Pinker, 18)
In this quote Pinker is stating that language is not learned through culture but is a biological makeup in our brain. I will use this as evidence of some credibility and as a counterarguement.
Quote 2:
"It is utterly implausible to suggest that imitation of parents (or other social contacts) has nothing whatever to do with the acquisition of language. I hesitate to mention so obvious a consideration, but Chinese parents tend to have Chinese-speaking childern, and Portuguese parents Portuguese-speaking ones. I find it difficult to believe that this is entirely a coincidence and that imitation has nothing to do with it. Moreover, it is a sociological truism that childern tend to speak not merely that language but the dialect of their parents." (Dalrymple, 4)
As Dalrymple implies in this quote, childern learn to speak their language through their parents. I will use this as evidence and credibility that childern have to start learning some where, and they mostly around their parents at such a young age.
Quote 3:
"Childern learn to talk, using the language of their parents, siblings, friends, and others as sources and examples- and by using other speakers as testing devices for their own emerging ideas about language." (Daniels, 19)
This quote is be used to sum up my arguement that language is learned through both biological and cultural experiences. As stated in the quote above we learn from our parents, which is considered biological. Then on the other hand, we learn from friends and other sources around us which would make up for the cultural experienes devoted to our language.
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I would like to comment on the quote,"children learn to speak their language through their parents" by Dalrymple. In today's world, parents work and leave their children with child care providers over 9 hours a day often as early as 2 weeks old. In 1965 fewer thatn 20% of three and four year old children were in care and education programs compared to nearly 70% in 2000.
ReplyDeleteChildren from a very early stage, learn language for the purpose of functioning in a particular cultural and language community - that is, language allows us to be able to communicate in a culturally appropriate manner within a particular lingustic comunnity. Making children participate in more than one langauge and culture has to effect the child, who (s)he is.
Caretakers often don't speak the families native language or practice the same cultural fundamental building blocks. Yet, few parents ask about the langauge and cultural policies and practices of the childcare center or school. However, we as parents are responsible for our children's care and education.
It has been proven that infants and small children who speak another language at home other than that spoken at the childcare center or school, suffer traumatic consequences and pain when immersed in an care or educational environment that does not including the home langauge or devalues it. Programs that insist that young children learn a second language at the expense of their home language at a critical point during their developmental continuum interrupts their ability to make sense of the world by relying on guidance from family and community members. Such pressure introduces disontinuity and stress into children's lives just when they need to feel secure and solidly bonded with their family and community.
The children of today's world will need to understand diversity in a much different way than we did. We need to start by empowering families and their language and culture.