Where does language come from?

Hythloday   Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 09:15 GMT
Are we born with the innate ability to acquire language, is language learnt from others, or do nature and nurture both play a part in first language acquisition?
Adam   Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 09:44 GMT
We are born with the ability to acquire language, but it still needs to be learnt from others.
Ryan   Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 13:58 GMT
If you took two twins and totally isolated them from society for their entire childhoods, I would guess that they would develop their own simple language to communicate with each other. I think we are born with the ability to not only acquire language, but to create it.
Tsama   Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 18:16 GMT
Imagine only our childhood. What do we do? We learn words and the way those words are pronuonced. So We learn from other people
Hythloday   Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 22:33 GMT
Ryan,

Re: "If you took two twins and totally isolated them from society for their entire childhoods, I would guess that they would develop their own simple language to communicate with each other. I think we are born with the ability to not only acquire language, but to create it."

Yes, but would that language be enough to equip you with the ability to cope in the real (wider) world? I think not. I believe there is a window of missed opportunity. Feral children who have no contact with adult speakers until they are over four are rarely able to learn any language beyond a few simple one or two-word utterances. We may be born with the innate ability to acquire language, but if we don't take advantage of it as soon as possible, that ability is lost.
Paul   Friday, February 27, 2004, 18:12 GMT
Hi Hyth-ology
I seem to recall a case of two feral children, raised by wolves together in India, who didn't develop a common language (idioglossia).
I suspect we have the potentional to acquire language (only in early childhood) and expand/expound upon it.
To bring forth a new language form scratch, to create an entire system of verbalizations from scratch in early childhood, would be truly fortuitous.
Numerous case studies attest that
Children isolated from speech until the age of 11, are unable to acquire speech later in life.
So.
1. We are born with the innate ability to acquire language.
2. Language is only learnt from interaction with others,
preferably someone already has a clear grasp of language, at least up
until the age of 11.
3. Given 1 & 2 , both the nature and nurture play an essential part in first
language acquisition.

Any other questions.
Regards, Paul V.

P.S. I suspect these facts also apply to the acquisition of literacy or a written language?
Hyth-ology   Friday, February 27, 2004, 19:21 GMT
I agree. Have you read Steven Pinker's 'The Blank Slate'? What does he say on the subject?