The Influence of Bloomfield's Linguistics on Skinner.
Bloomfield and Skinner fit like puzzle pieces, so you can teach language form and function in the same lesson without contradiction.
01Research in Context
What this study did
de Lourdes R da F Passos et al. (2007) compared two old texts. One was Bloomfield's 1933 book on language. The other was Skinner's 1957 book Verbal Behavior.
The authors asked: Do these views clash or fit together? They read both works line-by-line and listed shared ideas.
What they found
The two men sound alike. Both say language is public, physical, and shaped by a listener. Both reject hidden mind stuff.
The papers do not fight. Bloomfield shows word forms. Skinner shows word function. The pieces click like Lego blocks.
How this fits with other research
Palmer (2023) takes Skinner's idea of 'autoclitic frames' and uses it to explain English grammar. Maria et al. gives the history that lets Palmer build that bridge.
Imam (2001) shows Skinner left pure mechanism in 1945 and chose selectionism. Maria et al. adds that Bloomfield's physicalism helped open that path.
Petursdottir et al. (2023) warn that 'selection-based' vs 'topography-based' labels can mislead AAC teams. Maria et al. gives the same lesson: labels matter less than what the listener's feedback actually does.
Why it matters
When you teach verbal behavior, you can tell staff: 'We are not throwing out regular linguistics. We are just looking at why the talk works for the listener.' Use Bloomfield examples for word parts, then switch to Skinner for why the child keeps talking. The team hears one clear story, not a turf war.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Bloomfield's "Linguistics as a Science" (1930/1970), Language (1933/1961), and "Language or Ideas?" (1936a/1970), and Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957) and Science and Human Behavior (1953) were analyzed in regard to their respective perspectives on science and scientific method, the verbal episode, meaning, and subject matter. Similarities between the two authors were found. In particular both asserted that (a) the study of language must be carried out through the methods of science; (b) the main function of language is to produce practical effects on the world through the mediation of a listener; and (c) a physicalist conception of meaning. Their differences concern the subject matter of their disciplines and their use of different models for the analysis of behavior. Bloomfield's linguistics and Skinner's functional analysis of verbal behavior are complementary approaches to language.
The Behavior analyst, 2007 · doi:10.1007/BF03392151