/sci/ - Science & Math

>>8587874
They are not true, they are misconceptions which are unfortunately propagated by the media. Language is decidedly instinctual in precisely the sense that it is NOT taught. The acquisition of language happens reflexively. It requires a threshold of linguistic input in the child's environment, but given that, children acquire language at an unappreciably fast rate. Not only that, but there are certain mistakes that children NEVER make in language acquisition, which you would expect them to make if they really were learning by a trial-and-error method.
This is an accessible article saying that language acquisition is reflexive.
http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/language-acquisition
This is a straightforward paper describing the rationale behind the idea that language is fundamentally innate.
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~ycharles/papers/tlr-final.pdf

The idea that language influences thought is called "linguistic relativity" or "the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis" and is largely discredited. Just because English speakers don't have a word for "light blue," that doesn't mean we can't perceive it or identify it on a continuum.
This is an accessible article saying the same.
http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/does-language-i-speak-influence-way-i-think