Language acquisition and innate cognitive abilities: An approach from the mental models theory

Abstract

According to Hornstein, generative grammar needs to give an account of the fact thatchildren can learn any language living in contexts with many limitations and shortcomings fromthe linguistic point of view. He thinks that inductive theories are not able to explain a learning withsuch limitations and shortcomings. Likewise, in his view, semantic theories do not show whysemantics is necessary to account for that fact. However, this paper is intended to argue in favor ofthe idea that an essentially semantic cognitive theory, the mental models theory, can not only toexplain the aforementioned fact, but also make it evident that semantics is essential in most humanintellectual activities.