Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-11T21:18:53.369Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Constructivism, nativism, and explanatory adequacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1997

Derek Bickerton
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 derek@hawaii.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Constructivism is the most recent in a long line of failed attempts to discredit nativism. It seeks support from true (but irrelevant) facts, wastes its energy on straw men, and jumps logical gaps; but its greatest weakness lies in its failure to match nativism's explanation of a wide range of disparate phenomena, particularly in language acquisition.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© 1997 Cambridge University Press