Acquisition of Language: the Debate Between Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky.

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A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: IS THE DEBATE BETWEEN PIAGET AND CHOMSKY STILL HOLDS?

Rafidah Aga Mohd Jaladin

Department Of Educational Psychology & Counselling

Faculty Of Education

University Of Malaya

50603 Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

In language acquisition studies, the names Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky are not uncommon. They were known because they were the founders of language acquisition theories, which act as guidance for researchers to study language and language acquisition. Although these two theorists were the main contributors in the study of language, they had a different and contradictory viewpoint. Piaget emphasized on the role of cognitive development factors in language acquisition, whereas, Chomsky focused on the role of genetic endowment factors. This paper discusses the differences in Piaget’s and Chomsky’s approaches to language acquisition in an attempt to present a new perspective showing that each has a place. A special focus is given to their differences in opinions and approaches towards the study of syntax and semantics, which are the two important components of a language.

Introduction

How children acquire language is one of the key mysteries facing scientific enquiry into humans. One of the reasons the topic excites so much interest is that many regard language as a defining characteristic of our species – a capacity that distinguishes us sharply from other creatures, and gives us enormous evolutionary advantages (Durkin, 1995). Thus, there are several theoretical approaches to the explanation of language acquisition, and this paper shall consider only two of them. This paper compares the Piagetian and Chomskian views on language acquisition and attempts to present a new perspective to indicate that each has a place. Recently, a similar attempt has been made by Rowe (1997) who tried to explain the differences between the two theories based on the process of language acquisition. However, this paper discusses their differences in the study of syntax and semantics, which are the two important components of a language.

One of the earlier theories on language acquisition was proposed by Noam Chomsky, a biological theorist. Chomsky once said, “As far as we know, possession of human language is associated with a specific type of mental organization, not simply a higher degree of intelligence” (1972, p.70). Based on this quotation, it is clear that Chomsky did not consider the development of human language as a part of their cognitive (or intellectual) development. However, he claimed that human linguistic capacities are a highly specialized part of human genetic inheritance, largely separate from other human faculties and more plausibly viewed as a kind of innate knowledge that grows independently in human mind (Gardner, 1980). This is a hotly debated issue that draws people’s attention, especially Jean Piaget. Piaget disagreed with Chomsky’s argument because he claimed that human linguistic capacities could be considered as a product of general “constructed” intellectual development (Gardner, 1980). Due to these competing views, a debate between Piaget and Chomsky was held in 1975. In this paper, the two main areas of disagreement - syntax and semantics - between Piaget’s and Chomsky’s accounts of the acquisition of language will be discussed. It is hoped that the discussion may help to resolve the above issue. Before turning to this discussion, an overview of each approach is presented.

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A Brief Overview Of Piaget’s And Chomsky’s Theories

In the study of how language is acquired, Piaget, who was a cognitive developmentalist, discussed his theory in terms of the links between cognitive development and the development of various aspects of language (Piaget, 1980). Piaget believed that language has a complex structure, which emerges as a result of continuing interaction between children’s current level of cognitive functioning and their current linguistic and non-linguistic environment (Bohannon, 1993). This interactive approach is known as Piagetian Constructivism (Piattelli-Palmarini, 1980). On the other hand, Chomsky, who was a nativist and also a psycholinguist, ...

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