Foundations of Language
First,
“Foundations…” is a two part course. One part deals with analyzing the
structure of English: the gr=
ouping
of words into constructions and how those constructions are then combined =
into
the places available in a
sentence. The class also loo=
ks at
the relationship between construction and place to explain meaning. In addition, this part of the cla=
ss
offers opportunities for comparing English with another language, perhaps =
ASL
for CRID members, although the choice is up to each person. Samples of Spanish, French, Chine=
se,
etc. are also available. The materials are all instructor
prepared.
The second =
part of
the class deals with the nature of language. Steven Pinke=
r’s
The Language Instinct is the class text, which builds on two of Noam
Chomsky’s theories, “Principles and Parameters” and
“Universal Grammar”.
Pinker believes the abilities and underlying knowledge we need to
acquire language are innate. This innateness is termed an
“instinct” by Pinker but “Universal Grammar” by
Chomsky. This
“instinct” allows any individual to learn any of the human
languages. All that is neede=
d is
exposure to a language at the right time in the person’s development
(generally assumed to be up to the early teen years). Pinker’=
;s
book, which is extremely well written and entertaining, is not a dry schol=
arly
work, although it covers a wide range of linguistic topics from this innat=
eness
point of view.
The “=
Principles
and Parameters Theory” states that all human languages follow the sa=
me
principles but appear different because of the parameters (choices) available to them. For example, Spanish allows for
sentences without subjects while English does not. Japanese and English are mirror i=
mages
of each other. English uses =
subject, verb, object
sentence word order while Japanese uses object,
verb, subject word order. The “instinct” perspective by
Pinker provides some very mind-opening discussions relating to the innaten=
ess
of language and he provides some very interesting examples of how Sign
Languages demonstrate that. =
Pinker
is a cognitive psychologist and approaches his discussions from that point=
of
view. One of his premises is=
that
all human beings and their languages are the same. This is one of my favorite things=
about
this perspective on language.=
As for me, =
I have
been teaching ESL since 1973 and have an MA in TESL and an
MEd in Applied Linguistics from Columbia Universit=
y,
and once upon a time I did take an ASL class. But, I don’t want to mislea=
d you
about the “Foundations…” class. It is not specifically designed f=
or ASL
Interpreters. It is planned =
for
anyone involved with a second language, be it interpreting, teaching, lear=
ning,
or just interest. I believe =
that it
is the new perspective on language and the cognitive approach to understan=
ding
language processing offered by “Foundations…” that are of
greatest value to ASL Interpreters.
I hope this=
gives
you a clearer idea of the class and what it offers. Please let me know what you think=
.