On Innate Mechanisms of Language Acquisition

Abstract

Language acquisition is one hot topic in linguistic study, which motivated a number of researchers’ interest.  Traditional study claims that children’s acquisition of language was born with language acquisition device. This paper is to examine innate mechanisms of language acquisition. Three hypotheses, i.e. the innateness hypothesis, the critical period hypothesis and the language bioprogram hypothesis, have been presented to support that human beings are born with innate mechanisms in language acquisition.

Keywords: innate mechanisms, language acquisition, the innateness hypothesis, the critical period hypothesis, the language bioprogram hypothesis