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Language Acquisition

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An explanation of how nature and nurture interact in the process of language acquisition. Give an specific examples and make sure to describe how nature and nurture play a role in building a mental lexicon.

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This solution examines language acquistion in relation to the nature versus nurture controversy.

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Language Acquisition

(1) An explanation of how nature and nurture interact in the process of language acquisition.

The nature vs. nurture controversy centers on opposing beliefs that individuals are shaped by nature, while the other position holds that individuals are shaped by environmental factors. Thus, relative to language acquisition, the controversy in psychology concerns whether language is acquired primarily by nature or influenced by nurture [i.e, from environmental factors](Ronald, Happé, Hughes, & Plomin, 2005). One view holds that there are no language universals, and that each language has a specific time and place related to culture. Another view is expressed that language is a development of the mind [e.g. processes in the brain](van der Hulst, 2008). Other research suggest that language is a learned behavior (e.g., McCabe, l989), like many other complex human activities and that it is based on interactions. ...

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