Volume : 4, Issue : 1, January - 2015

The Impact of Language on Cognitive Development.

Dr Geeta Sahni

Abstract :

<p>Cognitive linguists have long debated whether language and cognition are seperate mental faculties or whether< /> language emerges from general cognitive abilities.Various theorists attribute importance to different factors in the< /> development of language. The nativist view stresses that children are preprogrammed and have an innate ability to< /> acquire language. The behaviorists focus on the importance of the language environment. Piaget believes that each stage in development< /> occurs as a result of the inter&ndash;action between maturation and environment. Whorf and Vygotsky shared the view that language is a social and< /> cultural phenomenon. Krashen uses the term language acquisition, while Vygotsky speaks of the internalisation of language. Chomsky argued< /> that language is innate and complex. He sees language development in the child as a seperate aspect of knowledge, apart from the rest of< /> cognition or mental functioning. </p>