language acquisition device

noun

, Psycholinguistics.

1. a hypothesized innate mental faculty present in infants that enables them to construct and internalize the grammar of their native language on the basis of the limited and fragmentary language input to which they are exposed. : LAD

Word History and Origins

Origin of language acquisition device¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

By being in the environment, hearing the language and most important, understanding the language, somehow or other something kicks in in the brain called the LAD — the language acquisition device.

From Salon

By being in the environment, hearing the language and most important, understanding the language, somehow or other something kicks in in the brain called the LAD — the language acquisition device.

From Salon