?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Functional+Innateness%3A+explaining+the+critical+period+for+language+acquisition&rft.creator=Hurford%2C+Jim&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.subject=Learnability&rft.subject=Phonology&rft.subject=Semantics&rft.subject=Syntax&rft.subject=Perceptual+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Psycholinguistics&rft.description=In+recent+years%2C+several+explanations+have+been+offered+for+the+critical+period+in+language+acquisition%2C+itself%2C+a+priori+a+somewhat+surprising+phenomenon.+Two+such+explanations+are+considered+here.+Both+studies+use+computer+simulations%2C+but+the+factors+they+model+are+very+different.+Hurford+(1991)+simulates+the+phylogenetic+evolution+over+hundreds+of+generations+of+a+species+in+which+the+timing+of+life+history+traits+is+under+genetic+control.+The+period+when+an+individual+is+most+proficient+at+language+acquisition+is+just+such+a+life+history+trait%2C+and+is+capable+of+adaptive+evolution.+Evolutionary+simulations+lead+to+a+concentration+of+language+acquisition+proficiency+in+the+period+up+to+puberty%2C+with+a+subsequent+tailing+off.+Elman+(1993)+demonstrates+%60the+advantages+of+starting+small'+in+neural+networks+learning+mini-languages+with+many+of+the+complex+interacting+grammatical+factors+found+in+real+languages.+A+neural+network+which+starts+mature%2C+with+a+full+adult+%60working+memory'+cannot+acquire+such+complex+grammatical+competence%2C+whereas+a+net+whose+attention+span+is+initially+limited+and+then+grows+with+maturation+can+acquire+the+appropriate+grammar.+This+explains%2C+in+adaptive+terms%2C+the+existence+of+a+period+in+which+an+organism's+characteristics%2C+relevant+to+the+language+learning+task%2C+change%2C+increasing+a+certain+capacity+(%60working+memory')+from+an+immature+to+an+adult+value.+These+accounts+are+complementary+and+mutually+compatible.+An+evolutionary+account+is+proposed%2C+in+which+genetically+controlled+%60working+memory'+size+in+relation+to+life+history+is+the+variable+operated+on+by+natural+selection.+This+account+promises+to+produce+a+more+detailed+explanation+of+the+critical+period%2C+which+can+be+related+to+a+wider+range+of+data%2C+including+the+coincidence+with+puberty+and+the+involvement+of+sentence+processing+in+language+acquisition+The+relationships+between+Elman's+%60working+memory'+and+the+distinct+psychological+concept+of+working+memory+are+also+explored.&rft.date=1998&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpostscript&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F194%2F2%2Fmilwaukee.paper.s.ps&rft.identifier=++Hurford%2C+Jim++(1998)+Functional+Innateness%3A+explaining+the+critical+period+for+language+acquisition.++%5BPreprint%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F194%2F