Jerome Bruner (1983), like many linguists, has adopted an eclectic or holistic approach
to thinking about speech and language. Using, what is now generally accepted as the
three major components of language by theorists and practitioners: syntax, semantics
and pragmatics (or form content and use), Bruner examines the manner in which
young children acquire language. This “compromise view,” as Hulit and Howard call
it, is the result of theorists exploring the middle ground between the extreme nativist
and behaviorist viewpoints. Hulit and Howard (2010) refer to this middle ground view
as social interactionism. “According to the social interactionist interpretation of speech
and language development, both biological and environmental factors are important
in the acquisition process, although not necessarily equally” (p. 38). It is important to
note that the interactionist view places emphasis on the interaction between the young
language learner and the experienced language user.