“we can think of the human baby in its first few years as a living example of some of (these) physical changes taking place” (Yule, 2006)
-physical changes: the larynx descends, the brain develops, the assumption of an upright position, child starts walking and talking
• the development is automated and the young child’s language is very complex;
• moreover, the language capacity appears to be innate and is not tied to a specific (variety of) language; other creatures do not seem to have it
• these puzzling observations have led some researchers to assume that humans are born with a special capacity for language;
• the tenet of the theory is that the language capacity is genetically hard-wired in the newborn humans