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CL LING_V 101 001/003 2025W1 LING 101 2025-26 W1 - FINAL EXAM- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Multiple choice

You get into an argument (in a friendly way) with some of your friends at a party. They say that language learning is just like learning any other kind of information, but you want to argue that at least some aspects of language learning are innate, in the sense that we are born with certain special abilities to hear, learn, and even (among groups of people) to create new languages. No-one really ‘knows’ the right answer here, but what kinds of evidence could you point to that potentially support the innateness argument? Select all that apply.

Options
A.The UBC sucking experiments related to infants hearing sound contrasts.
B.The emergence of pidgins from creoles.
C.The fact that glottal stop is distinctive in some systems, but not in others.
D.The emergence of new languages ‘out of the blue’ in communities of Deaf children.
E.The UBC sucking experiments related to infants producing clicks.
F.The emergence of creoles from pidgins.
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Restating the question and options to set the stage for analysis: Question: You’re discussing evidence that could support the idea that some aspects of language learning are innate. Select all applicable options. Answer options to consider: 1) The UBC sucking experiments related to infants hearing sound contrasts. 2) The emergence of pidgins from creoles. 3) The fact that glottal stop is distinctive in some systems, but not in others. 4) The emergence of new languages ‘out of the blue’ in communities of Deaf children. 5) The UBC sucking experiments related to infants producing clicks. 6) The emergence of creoles from pidgins. Option 1: The UBC sucking experiments related to infants hearing sound contrasts. - Why this could be considered correct: Classic infant language perception studies (including sucking paradigms) show that newborns can discriminate sound contrasts from languages they have not been exposed to, suggesting an innate perceptual sensitivity to phonemic distinctions that later supports language learning. This evidence is commonly cited as indicating that the human brain comes pre-equipped with certain perceptual categories that facilitate language acquisition. - Why it’s credible: It points to early, universal......Login to view full explanation

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