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What are the requirements for a Functionalist theory of Language Development?
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What are the requirements for a Functionalist theory of Language Development? Most theories of language development have considered the matter from one of two broad viewpoints - behaviourist (language is learnt by imitation, e.g. Skinner), or innatist (particularly Chomsky, who believes that we are born with the necessary cognitive 'equipment' to learn language). However, these theories are not truly complete accounts of language development because they only begin to study from the first appearance of words and syntax; none considers how the child gets to this stage. This is where functionalist theories attempt to redress the balance; by concentrating on the functions, or uses, of language, they hope to understand why and how a child begins to use language. For such a theory to be valid, language development must meet certain requirements. The functions of language first need some qualification. Halliday (1975) separates the child's utterances with two principal functions: mathematic, when...
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