Understanding the Evolution of Language Theories: From Structure to Meaning in Real Life

 To understand how we acquire, use, and teach language today, it's important to take a quick journey through the history of how language itself has been studied. You might be surprised to see how ideas have shifted—from simply listing "correct forms" to exploring how our body, culture, and mind shape the way we speak and understand each other.

Before Modern Linguistics: Grammar and Philology

Long before modern linguistics emerged, scholars were mostly focused on identifying what was correct or incorrect in language. This was the job of traditional grammar.

Others studied philology, which was broader. It looked at etymology (word origins), grammar, rhetoric, and even literary criticism, mainly focused on ancient Indo-European languages. Then came comparative philology, which tried to compare different languages. But this had its limits—it often ignored the deeper structures or purposes of language use in real life.

Saussure and the Birth of Modern Linguistics

The real shift came with Ferdinand de Saussure, often called the "father of modern linguistics." In his lectures—later published as Course in General Linguistics—Saussure proposed that language isn't just about individual words or grammar rules. It's about how we as a society structure and make sense of the world through language.

He introduced key ideas like:

• Langue vs. Parole: "Langue" is the system of a language (like grammar), while "Parole" is how people actually use it in daily conversation.
• Signifier and Signified: The word we use (like “tree”) is the signifier; the concept we picture is the signified. Saussure argued that the connection between the two is arbitrary—it's not based on nature, but on social agreement.
• Synchronic vs. Diachronic study: Linguistics can focus on a language at a specific moment (synchronic) or study its evolution through time (diachronic).

However, Saussure ignored the role of the human mind in producing language and didn’t account for culture’s influence. His focus remained on the structure of language, not its meaning or use.

What Came After: Structuralism and Beyond

After Saussure, structuralism became the dominant school of thought. It saw language as a system made of parts that relate to each other, much like a puzzle. While this helped create a more scientific study of language, it also overemphasized structure and neglected the messy, emotional, and social side of communication (Chandler, 2017).

Semiotics: How Signs Make Meaning

Inspired by Saussure, Charles Sanders Peirce expanded the idea of signs in what we now call semiotics. He proposed three kinds of signs:

• Icon: Resembles what it represents (e.g., a photo of a dog).
• Index: Has a direct link (e.g., smoke indicates fire).
• Symbol: Has no natural link, but we agree on its meaning (e.g., traffic lights or letters in the alphabet).

Peirce emphasized that signs only become meaningful when someone interprets them. In other words, we are the meaning-makers (Peirce, 1960).

Functionalism: Language in Action

Then came Roman Jakobson, who focused on how language functions in real communication. He described six elements (or “factors”) involved in every communication event: the context, the sender, the receiver, the message, the channel (contact), and the code (shared language).

Each element corresponds to a function:

• Informative (giving facts)
• Emotive (expressing feelings)
• Imperative (giving commands)
• Poetic (using language artistically)

This approach helps teachers understand that language is not just structure—it’s also about intention, emotion, and interaction (Jakobson, 1981).

Halliday and Language Acquisition

Michael Halliday explored how children acquire language naturally. Studying his own child, he found that children don’t just learn words—they learn to use language to meet needs, make friends, express emotions, and explore the world (Halliday, 1975).

This challenged the idea that language is learned only by imitation (behaviourism) or that it's entirely hardwired (nativism). Halliday saw language as a tool for social interaction.

Chomsky and Universal Grammar

In contrast, Noam Chomsky revolutionized linguistics by focusing on syntax—the structure of sentences. He believed language is innate, meaning we're born with a kind of mental blueprint called universal grammar (Chomsky, 1965). According to him, our brains automatically generate grammatical structures, no matter what language we speak.

However, Chomsky also claimed that syntax is independent of meaning. For him, language is a mental system, and the body or culture plays no essential role.

Critiques of Chomsky: Meaning Matters

Later thinkers like George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1999) disagreed with Chomsky. They argued that meaning, culture, and bodily experience deeply influence how language is structured and used. After all, we speak with emotions, gestures, and cultural references—not just with grammars.

They proposed that syntax is shaped by how we want to express meaning, our sensory experiences, and our cultural norms.

Cognitive Linguistics: Bridging Mind, Body, and Culture

All of this led to the development of Cognitive Linguistics, which says that language is connected to:

• Our bodily experience (e.g., pain, joy, movement),
• Our cognitive abilities (thinking, remembering, imagining),
• And our social and cultural world.

This perspective helps us understand that language is not a separate system, but a reflection of how we live, feel, and connect with others (Evans & Green, 2006).

Connecting to the Classroom

So, what does this mean for you as a future bilingual teacher?

It means that language is more than grammar drills or vocabulary lists. It’s a living, breathing process that involves the mind, the body, and the community. When you teach a language, you're helping students build connections between meaning, culture, and expression.

You’re not just teaching a code. You’re helping students interpret signs, engage in social dialogue, and express themselves in a new world.

And the truth is, that’s both a privilege and a powerful responsibility.

✅ References

Chandler, D. (2017). Semiotics: The Basics (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press.

Evans, V., & Green, M. (2006). Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Halliday, M. A. K. (1975). Learning How to Mean: Explorations in the Development of Language. Edward Arnold.

Jakobson, R. (1981). Selected Writings II: Word and Language. Mouton.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought. Basic Books.

Peirce, C. S. (1960). Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Vols. 1–8). Harvard University Press.

Sreedharan, E. (2007). A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students. Macmillan.