Early explanations of language development rested heavily on the roles of modeling and reinforcement in learning language. Which one of the following children's utterances casts doubt on the idea that modeling and reinforcement are sufficient to explain how children acquire language?
A) "More!"
B) "No do dat no more!"
C) "Where are you going?"
D) "Peek-a-boo, I see you!"

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Choice B ("No do dat no more!") suggests that the child is creating novel sentence structures that they may not have directly heard from adults, indicating an internal understanding of language rules beyond simple mimicry or reinforcement. This challenges the idea that modeling and reinforcement alone are sufficient for language acquisition.

Early Explanations of Language Development Rested Heavily on the Roles