The main principle of innatist perspectives on language acquisition. Include 2 intext and Harvard style scholarly references.
The main principle of innatist perspectives on language acquisition is the notion that humans are born with an innate ability to acquire language. This perspective is often associated with Noam Chomsky's theory of Universal Grammar, which posits that there are underlying principles common to all languages that children are predisposed to acquire (Pinker, 1994). According to this view, children are able to rapidly and effortlessly learn the complex rules of language because they have an inborn capacity for language learning (Chomsky, 1988).
Innatist perspectives emphasize the role of genetics and biological factors in shaping language acquisition, as opposed to environmental factors such as imitation or reinforcement (Kuhl, 2004). Proponents of this view argue that the speed and universality of language acquisition cannot be solely explained by exposure to language input, but must involve some underlying cognitive mechanisms that are specific to language learning.
References:
Chomsky, N. (1988). Language and problems of knowledge: The Managua lectures. MIT Press.
Kuhl, P. K. (2004). Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(11), 831-843.
Pinker, S. (1994). The language instinct: How the mind creates language. Harper Collins.