10 Theories of Language

1. Behavioural Theory (BF Skinner theory of langauge acquisition)

The Behavioural theory of language acquisition, sometimes called the Imitation Theory, is
part of behaviourist theory. Behaviourism proposes that we are a product of our environment.
Therefore, children have no internal mechanism or ability to develop language by
themselves. BF Skinner (1957) suggests that children learn language first through imitating
their caregivers (usually parents) and then modifying their use of language due to operant
conditioning.

2. Nativist Theory (Noam Chomsky theory of language acquisition)

Noam Chomsky (1957) proposes that children are born with an instinct or drive for language
learning which he calls the language acquisition device (LAD). He argued that even if a child
is not educated in their country's language, so long as they grow in a normal environment,
they will still devise a system of verbal communication. Therefore, there must be an innate,
biological component to language acquisition.

3. Interactionist Theory (Jerome Bruner theory of language acquisition)

Jerome Bruner (1961) believed that children are born with an ability to develop language but
they require regular interaction with their caregivers or teachers to learn and understand it to
a level of full fluency. This idea is known as the Language Acquisition Support
System (LASS). Caregivers tend to correct mistakes that children make when using language
and also regularly teach them what objects are and what their purposes are. Bruner suggests
that this helps to build the scaffolding that children will later rely on when further developing
language.

4. Daniel Everett’s Theory: Language Scratches the Communicative Itch

Picking up and using a language is something, inventing it from scratch is a whole another
thing. Here come the homo Erectus! The language phenomenon may not have started with
us, homo sapiens. According to linguist Daniel Everett, nearly two million years have
passed since “homo Erectus” first started uttering meaningful sounds.Homo erectus is
considered the first human species, which also includes homo sapiens and
Neanderthals.These early hominins had big brains, walked upright, and were the first
gatherer-hunters. They traveled in groups across the islands, and the ocean couldn’t get in
their way. The Erectus needed language because they had to communicate more complex
ideas than just pointing to a mammoth to alert the hunting party.“You need communication
with symbols, not just grunts,” says Everett. “They accomplished too much for this to simply
be the sort of communication that we see in other species without symbols.”Settlement
evidence found on the island of Flores, in Indonesia, suggests that the Erectus came together
in groups — on rafts.They crossed strong currents surrounding the island. For that, they had
to paddle together and know when to stop. Homo erectus needed “words” to give commands
and instructions.Homo erectus had a vocal apparatus similar to gorillas, so they couldn’t
make all the sounds we can make. Their linguistic capabilities were just enough to make them
one of the most successful species to ever walked the Earth.They roamed the face of the
planet for over 2 million years. For as many as 350,000 years, we haven’t lived but about a
sixth of the time.

5. Vygotsky’s Social Interactionist Theory

The social interactionist theory is based on the work of Soviet psychologist Lev
Vygotsky.The basic notion of this theory is that language has a social origin. In that regard, it
has some similarities with Everett’s model.This concept suggests that the child, from birth, is
continually engaging in social interactions, which allows him to develop higher cognitive
functions, namely language, and thought. According to Vygotsky’s social development
model, socio-cultural interactions come first, then cognition and language development.

6. Piaget’s Constructivist Theory

For Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, language is not only due to genetic predisposition or
imitation. Piaget’s constructivist theory argues that language is constructed by following
cognitive development. In other words, people develop their language skills and construct
overall knowledge based on their own experience. Beyond just language development,
Piaget’s theory focuses on understanding the nature of intelligence itself. He defines four
stages that cognitive development goes through:
 Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years
 Preoperational stage: 2 to 7 years
 Concrete operational stage: 7 to 11 years
 Formal operational stage: 12 and up
We have barely scratched the surface here. There are several other theories, each with its
unique approach. Like languages themselves, thoughts on them may overlap and cross-
fertilize.

7. Monitor Theory

Monitor theory comprises five hypotheses about second language

acquisition (SLA) developed by Stephen Krashen: the acquisition-learning hypothesis;
the monitor hypothesis; the natural order hypothesis; the input hypothesis; and the affective
filter hypothesis. Each hypothesis relates to conditions that are necessary for
subconscious emergence of language to take place, and also assume that conscious learning
can improve communication but does not lead to true acquisition.
8. Innateness Theory
Chomsky said that children face poverty of stimulus. But there is no evidence to say that
children actually face this problem. Unlike the minds of the adults, the minds of the children
are not cluttered. An uncluttered mind can take more input and absorb it. This might be the
reason behind the ability of the infants in internalizing their mother tongue at a rapid pace.
Moreover language is not something which remains static. It keeps changing. It evolves
constantly and continuously.

9. Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory suggests that children learn language through a process of mental
representation. They construct mental representations of the world around them, and these
representations guide their understanding and use of language. According to cognitive theory,
children are active learners who are constantly trying to make sense of their experiences.

10. Creative Construction Theory

The Creative Construction approach has sometimes been connected to Noam Chomsky's
innatist theory. This is due to the idea that as learners are exposed to input, whether it be via
reading or listening, they begin to form mental representations of the language and it's
structures. These structures are eventually solidified in fluent speech.