Language and Mind: A Study in Psycholinguistics

Dr. Fayez Issa Al-Mahsneh

Abstract

The researchers either as Psycholinguistics scientists, linguists and others, agree about the fact of language acquisition, but they disagree in their interpretation to this process. They also have multiple views about that because of disagreement in theoretical trends that they issue about it, which forms their vision of what can be subdivided from that of concepts and models.

The two most notable theoretical trends that affected the study of language and thinking, language and acquisition are: The structural behavioral trend with its psychological and linguistic theories, as well as the cognitive rational direction which is represented by the views of Chomsky and Steven Pinker, who adopted this trend.

This study considers language as a gift for the humans, according to Chomsky, man is born provided by the programmed knowledge initially, or a basic plan for language, it was also said that there are  some restrictions which are considered to be as a foundation for  language acquisition, which is accompanied by a small system of media / (the variables), which are similar to a list of the available choices, that languages differ in installing their values.