Cognitive Theory

Linguistic theories have often assumed that language is learned separately from cognitive skills and operates according to principles that differ from most learned behaviors (Spolsky, 1985). This assumption is represented in analyses of unique language properties such as developmental language order, grammar, knowledge of language structures, social and contextual influences on language use, and the distinction between language acquisition and language learning. Language and linguistic processes are often viewed as interacting with cognition but nevertheless maintaining a separate identity that justifies investigation independent from cognitive processes (e.g., Wong Fillmore & Swain, 1984).