by Janet Grischy

Created on: March 13, 2009   Last Updated: March 26, 2009

That we learn language at all is astonishing. We learn it so young, and in such a predictable pattern, that scientists are certain that the ability is inborn. Yet we still cannot help but be amazed at the task that each human faces, and that the vast majority of us succeed with it.

A baby has to learn rules. No one says what they are though, he or she must deduce them all alone. In fact a young child will never consciously learn the grammatical rules of a language, even though the quality of all his or her communication with the world will depend upon his or her knowing how to follow them.

A baby also has to learn the connections between certain arbitrary symbols, sounds or signs, and the meaning that underlies them. For a child, there is no accessible reason why the sound "rabbit" should mean a long-eared furry creature, yet it does. Each child must learn a stunningly large number of these symbols, these words, and connect each to an arbitrarily assigned meaning.

No one teaches their baby language either, at least not in the way that loglan or math are taught. No parent sits down and tells the infant that each English sentence must have a verb, and that the verb must agree in number with its subject. Yet somehow, all English-speaking children try to follow this rule.

No one knows for certain how all this learning is accomplished, although there are several theories. The behaviors involved are so complex, so mysterious, and so central to our humanity that they are difficult to analyze. At least four theories try to explain how children develop language.

Behaviorist

The behavioral theorists, led by B.F. Skinner, feel that language learning is shaped by chains of reward. Each successful approach to conversation is encouraged by a positive response, and thus gurgling and baby talk are gradually moved closer to real language.

Words are gradually connected to their meanings because the use of a specific word is only encouraged in the presence of the thing it signified. Grammar is learned by the child's imitation of modules he or she hears in speech or sees in sign. With correct language continually reinforced, the child's language comes closer and closer to the community standard.

Faults can be found with this behaviorist theory. For example, parents in general tend to correct the child if he says something untrue, but not if she says something ungrammatical, according to Noam Chomsky, a proponent of the psycholinguistic school.

Psycholinguistic

Psycholinguistic theorists

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