device (n.)

A term derived from mathematics and used especially in GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS to refer to an abstract design specifically constructed to enable an analysis to be made. A GRAMMAR, in this sense, can be seen as a device for generating SENTENCES. The notion is sometimes encountered in child language studies, where, in the CHOMSKYAN view, children are credited with a language acquisition device which enables them to work out the correct grammatical analysis of sentences on the basis of the speech DATA presented to them.