Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

poverty of the stimulus

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.73 in modern English

Syllables
pover-ty of the s-tim-u-lus
IPA
36
Scrabble Score
20
Letters
5
Syllables
14
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The idea that human language cannot be learned by young children with what information they are given, unless they already have an innate knowledge of language or universal grammar.

Uncountable

Etymology

Coined by Noam Chomsky in 1980, though he had argued for the idea some years earlier.

Usage

Phrases

Plato's problem

Frequently Paired Words

Plato's problem

Questions

What does poverty of the stimulus mean?
The idea that human language cannot be learned by young children with what information they are given, unless they already have an innate knowledge of language or universal grammar.
Where does poverty of the stimulus come from?
Coined by Noam Chomsky in 1980, though he had argued for the idea some years earlier.

How to pronounce poverty of the stimulus

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “poverty of the stimulus”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “poverty of the stimulus” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.