internalize (v.)

A term used in GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS to refer to the process whereby speakers come to possess knowledge of the STRUCTURE of their LANGUAGE. The term is primarily used in the context of language ACQUISITION, where children are said to ‘internalize’ RULES, as when the use of such FORMS as *mans and *mices shows that a plural formation RULE has been acquired. COMPETENCE, on this account, can be seen as a SYSTEM of internalized rules.