But I have to add a mild demurrer on your final analogy. When you get a chance
read Steven Pinker's _The Language Instinct_. It's a good read, fascinating to
anyone interested in language and language learning, and demonstrates (Pinker's
reports on children's acquisition of language, his specialty, are conclusive)
that 2-year-olds don't really make grammatical mistakes and that repetition
and mimesis play only minor roles. Exposure, however, despite Andre Agassis,
is everything. . . .
Cheers,
John Thiesmeyer
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Geneva, NY 14456
thiesmeyer@hws.edu