Learning a Word - Part I

How do humans acquire the competence to use language in its intended, "correct" manner? Unlike the mechanistic, explicit training necessary for LLMs, the true source of our linguistic mastery remains largely uninstructed.How do we do it, then? Surely not the way we master a second language. Learning to speak provides for being in the world, not better communication with others.Some point to practice, but unlike other natural capacities like learning to walk or even play, language implies a critical difference: meaning. This supra-mechanistic component defies explanation by simple repetition or mechanistic improvement.What enables this unique faculty for generating and assimilating meaning? Where does it come from?Here are my reflections on this question.