Misbeliefs about languages - Essay Example

t in their language since the relational frame theory suggest that children naturally acquire their language through interaction with their own environment. “Skinner ( 1978 ) defined verbal behavior as any behavior on the speaker as reinforced through mediation of a listener who is trained by a verbal community so as to mediate such reinforcement” ( Hayes, et.al, 2001). Drawing from the post-skinner theories, it can be deducted that children learn through social interaction. Their own environment at home is enough to provide them with basic proficiency.

For example, a toddler is usually taught by the parents to speak even baby words depending on the context of their culture. Later on, the parents are surprised by the ability of their children to speak some words that they haven’t taught. In fact, some homes are multi-lingual and children do not have a hard time acquiring a second or third language especially when it is frequently spoken at home. The second argument is that “the English language traces its ancestry back to Latin”. Again, this is a false statement since the roots of the English language is actually from Old English.

History tells us that during the 5th century, the group of Anglo-Saxon settlers that invaded the eastern coast of Great Britain were the one s that brought this type of Old English. The modern English language cannot have its roots in Latin since it is considered a West Germanic language. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary cites the etymology of the word "English" which is actually derived from 12th century Old English englisc or Engle, plural form Angles. The English Club illustrates the historical development of the English language: These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany.

At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into