Competing Conceptions of Language Dr. Douglas Fleming University of Ottawa

Generative Linguistics (Chomsky) an idealistic or rationalist (as opposed to a empirical or materialistic) theory of language that has antecedents back to Plato; universal standards as to what constitutes language; system that is genetically derived (i.e. hard wired in the brain); infinitely creative; existing at a deeper level than what we usually consider discrete languages (Universal Grammar).

hard-wired and genetic: How else can you explain the speed at which children learn first language(s)? creative: How else can one explain how one can create and comprehend sentences that are completely new to one’s (or potentially anyone else’s) experience?

Universal Grammar (UG) is the deep structure that everyone in our species shares; individual languages are its surface reflections; Chomsky started his project with an examination of the properties of syntax: how words are ordered in sequence. Although one can postulate the properties of many words in terms of where they are placed in sequence, many of these aspects seem determined independent of syntax.

Functional Linguistics (Halliday) although a recent school of linguistics, has a long ancestry that can be traced through the empirical tradition in philosophy. Until fairly recently, empiricism has been the dominant influence within linguistics. Rationalism, although just as old as empiricism, has become dominant in linguistics only recently.

1.Successful language learning occurs when the syllabus takes into account the uses the learner will make of the target language; 2.the use of informational content which is perceived as relevant by the learner enhances motivation and promotes learning effectiveness; 3.built upon the previous experience of the learner and use pedagogical methods which aim at overall development of cognitive and academic skills (as well as linguistic);

4.provide a larger context for language development, in which focus is not only on fragmented examples of correct language forms, but also on interaction and discourse patterns; 5.comprehensible input must be provided ; this requires focusing on the meaning rather than the form and the development of good receptive communicative skills as the foundation for productive skills.

Many of the debates between these two schools are around the emphasis they place on the innate and social aspects of language. Rational Linguistics emphasizes those aspects that are innate and reflective of self-contained systems; This school helps explain the creative aspects of language, the fact that we can comprehend and use the vastness of language at an early age, and how second language learning (code switching) is possible.

Functional Linguistics emphasizes the way in which people actively interact with and are influenced by their environment It explains how a language is used pragmatically and the way in which language performs social functions.

Which approach do you prefer? Is a combination of the two approaches possible?