Analyzing the equilibrium of second Language Acquisition Essay

Analyzing the equilibrium of second Language Acquisition - Essay Example (Brown, 2000) Noam Chomsky believes that "Language has been the totality of utterances that can be made in a speech community." (Chomsky, 1986) In this context, he believes that grammar occupies a very important part of this learning. He stated famously in his book Knowledge of Language: its nature, origins, and use, "It is the most elementary part of logic. It is the beginning of the analysis of the thinking process. The principles and rules of grammar are the means by which the forms of language are made to correspond to the universal forms of thought." (Chomsky, 1986) Thus, it is obvious that to learn a language it is important to learn grammar and this grammar is a learning process under a proper system at school. In another incident, he notes in his book Aspects of the Theory of Syntax that LAD or Language Acquisition Device is an important brain mechanism, though hypothetical, element of learning language. He shows that a human being easily masters language's syntactic structure, as the basic guidelines of syntax are fundamentally same among all languages. (Brown, 2000) He stated that a child could easily master the rules and structure of a language once the input is systematic under proper supervision. This mechanism of LAD refers to multiple levels of dimensions on the aspect of basic variance of language and exposure to the language to employ as second language or foreign language. With the help of this LAD mechanism Chomsky shows that the basic aspects of most languages are universal or there are many common features despite variable cultures and languages. This assumption is Universal Grammar. (Ortiz, 2003) It should be noted that to establish this assumption Chomsky uses number of mechanisms and devices such as pronoun usage, noun phrase use, parasitic gap, poverty of stimulus, projection principle, lexical category, null subject languages, binding theory, c-command and the intervention of INFL in the mode of language acquisition. He incorporates in his study the elements of r-expression, Plato's problem, X-bar theory, phrase structure rules, anaphor, I-language, D-structure and event takes on the reference of Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday experience. (Young, 2005) In general, Language is an important effective communication, which is very important in everyday life. To be comfortable with the communication skills, one need to familiar with the English language, as it is the international means of communication. In whatever area we work, English language or the second language learning is important for developing efficiency in speech. However, Brown stated, "Learning a second language is a long and complex undertaking. Your whole person is affected as you struggle to reach beyond the confines of your first language." (Brown, 2000) The common perception about learning language is that it is better suited for children and it is better for the learner to be younger than being old. In accordance to the Critical Period Hypothesis, an adult is unable to acquire a new language but extensive researches by Lamb or Kar disagree with this result. However, they agree to the fact stated by the Critical Period Hypothesis that language acquired during the first few years of the human mind is most effective. Steven Pinker who mentions in his text The Language Instinct that "acquisition of a normal language is guaranteed for children up to the age of six, is