When eye contact and shurod reference are not eslnblishod, communi-cation often breaks down or is nol even inilinlod as there is no clear common focus. Eye conlact is usually established by un adult firsl looking directly at n chil

Chomsky has defined this rule system, or universal grammar, as "the system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements or properties of all human languages" (1975, p. 29). Semantic knowledge is also considered with respect to its relation lo syntax. An example of how different languages structure the same message is shown in Figure 2.1. Chomsky proposes that this universal grammar is an innate property of the human mind. This component explains the ability of all humans to learn their culture's specific language. The ability to learn language is a quality of the human species because humans obviously are not designed to acquire one language over another. Healthy infants are able "lo learn any of the world's 3,000 languages" (Rushton, Eitelgeorge, & Zickafoose, 2003, p. 13). Chomsky's description of the high

Positive reinforce· ment may come from the excited response of parents to thoir child's verbal attempts.

Learning to distinguish between similar-sounding words, such as can and car, is facilitated by the different ways in which those two words are used in meaningful contexts.