Thomas de Groot wrote:
> "Jim Henderson" <nos### [at] nospamcom> schreef in bericht 
> news:4a766292$1@news.povray.org...
>> There are good ways and bad ways to learn language.  That we have an
>> instinct for it now without being taught how to learn a language implies
>> an instinctive knowledge.
>>
> 
> I doubt this very much. The case of the "wild childs" pleads against this. 
> The "Aveyron child", in the 19th century, was unable to learn language once 
> he was found in the wild. And other cases go in the same direction. So, 
> language is taught by example, and is not instinctive. I am not sure, but I 
> think this is also the common consensus among scientists.

I think people don't have an instinct for a particular language, but an 
instinct to learn whatever language they're around. Much like birds learn 
how to fly, pretty much reliably.

Of course, if you're entire raised around non-verbal beings, the instinct to 
try to learn is going to get frustrated, just like you can starve without 
food even tho you have an instinct to get hungry and eat when you need to.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "We'd like you to back-port all the changes in 2.0
    back to version 1.0."
   "We've done that already. We call it 2.0."

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