The Recipe for Learning Language:intro

Rebekah Medford
October 2, 2009
Dr.Hughes
The Recipe for Learning Language
Introduction:

Looking into the recipe of learning language one will find two types of ingredients: biological and cultural. Many people believe that learning language is strictly biological, while others believe language is learned culturally. Derived from English naturalist, Charles Darwin, the concept of language as instinct or a biological trait has been researched and debated over by many linguists, including Steven Pinker. Pinker’s book “The Language Instinct” argues the point that at children are born with the innate ability to create language. In direct contrast to Darwin’s views and Pinker’s writings, there are likewise linguist who strongly believe that cultural is the main ingredient in learning language. Linguist such as Theodore Dalyrmple in his book “The Gift of Language” research different aspects of a person’s cultural that would affect their language ability. Limited vocabulary, parent’s education, the ability to express thought are topics Dalyrmple uses to provide evidence or verify his argument. Linguists from both sides of the argument have brought interesting views, examples, and evidence to defend their ingredient whether it be biological or cultural. In reality, the biological and cultural elements are blended together to create a unique, personal, learned language.