QUINE’S TAXONOMY, CHOMSKY’S MENTALISM: A DISCOURSE ON THEORIES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND IMPLICATION ON YORUBA LANGUAGE

Abstract

W. V. Quine’s taxonomic and N. Chomsky’s mentalistic theories of language are the two main rival theories of language learning. Quine argues essentially that what determines how a particular language is learned and the meaning of words is external stimulation. This may be verbal or non-verbal. He therefore recasts meaning in terms of stimulation. The stimulus meaning of a sentence for an individual sums up his disposition to assent to or dissent from the sentence in response to present stimulation. Opposing to this view is Chomsky’s mentalistic theory which maintains that the subject matter of language learning, properly so called, does not consist in the systematic structure of the disposition towards stimulation, but it is a mental activity which consists in the mental capacity to discover, study and understand the nature of mental realities of language. The paper argues that neither of these theories, taken independently, can provide an adequate explanation of language learning. Argument is then made for holistic theory of language learning. This is to the fact that language learning can only be adequate when it combines the two theories otherwise inadequate. This, essentially, is the suggested remedy to the deficient teaching and/ or learning of Yoruba language.