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Chomsky's And Skinner
There are different theories that exist regarding language acquisition A.N. Chomsky's perspective follows the Nativist theory wherein it is believed that children have a Language Acquisition Device in their brains that gives them the natural ability to organize the laws of language even without formal training. B.F. Skinner on the other hand explained language acquisition through a learning process that positively reinforces correct form of grammar and the incorrect form is negatively reinforced. This is what he called, Verbal Operant Conditioning.
These are two different perspectives with different sets of arguments, but in my opinion the more feasible one is that of Chomsky's. Skinner, being a behavioral psychologist, only looked on the "outer" aspect of the process. He only saw the physical stimulus that serves as reinforcements to acquiring the grammar. But where does the child's vocabulary come from in the first place and how can it explain the rapid evolution of his/her vast grammar? Skinner's perspective limits learning to what the child hears and experiences, but even on the same culture/country not every child receives the same kind of stimulus yet they learn the same set of vocabulary. Not all caregivers reinforce their children in the same way such that they all learn the same grammar rules. Also, I believe that every kind of animal have their own natural instinct to communicate. Just like how Chomsky explains, a child is "built" to learn how to talk. It is part of survival. Chomsky coins the terms generative grammar and transformational grammar which explain the natural ability of the child to organize language according to a set of rules that would give rise to the formulation of an infinite set of sentences and the process that takes place in the evolution of these sentences to more complex forms. This, for me, is a more complete explanation of language acquisition. Although Skinner's may also play a part in the whole process, his theory seems incomplete.
Bibliography:
Wikipedia Contributors (2006). "B.F. Skinner." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 2, 2006 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.F._Skinner
Wikipedia Contributors (2006). "Language acquisition." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 2, 2006 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition
Wikipedia Contributors (2006). "Noam Chomsky." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 2, 2006 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky
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