NATURE / ACQUIRED NURTURE / LEARNED

1. The nativist theory defends that children have 1. Behaviorists like Skinner believed that
an innate ability to develop skills in language, language is just a matter of having a certain set of
thus, it is a part of the human experience behavioral dispositions. He called this process
(Litchfield & Lambert, 2011). Operant Conditioning.

2. Noah Chomsky suggested that children are
born with a language acquisition device (also
known as LAD) which concludes that language is
acquired by a human being and can naturally
recognize and use grammar.
2. Behaviorist linguists believe that without
interacting, people cannot come up with a
comprehensive common language.

3. The proponents of nature theory argue that 3. Language is learned through repetition and
language is purely a biological phenomenon. reinforcement just like when a child is learning
According to Charles Darwin, early man uses how to count or tie a shoe.
language to enhance the chances for survival.

4. Studies have shown that normally children by 4. Skinner believed that human can speak because
the age of 4 or 5, whatever their culture is, have a we have the time, opportunity, and computational
language competence as adults. ability to learn a very large number of words and
the associations that tie those words together.

5. Slobin has pointed out that human anatomy is 5. Some studies show that language ability is
peculiarly adapted to the production of speech. A determined by the environment and all children
human being has a vocal tract that allows precise could develop the same language abilities given
articulation. the same circumstances.

References:

Lanir (2019). First Language Acquisition Development Theories: Nature vs. Nurture. Retrieved from
https://medium.com/@llanirfreelance/first-language-acquisition-development-theories-nature-vs-nurture-
27170818a6a6

https://www.montsaye.northants.sch.uk/assets/Uploads/English-Language-Summer-Work-2.pdf

WowEssays. (2020, January, 06) Nature Vs Nurture Debate On Language Acquisition Essay. Retrieved
November 05, 2022, from https://www.wowessays.com/free-samples/nature-vs-nurture-debate-on-
language-acquisition-essay/
Language acquisition: Nature or nurture?. (2017, Mar 04). Retrieved from
https://studymoose.com/language-acquisition-nature-or-nurture-essay

Cowie, Fiona, "Innateness and Language", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 Edition),
Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/innateness-language/>.