<P> Emergentist theories , such as MacWhinney 's competition model , posit that language acquisition is a cognitive process that emerges from the interaction of biological pressures and the environment . According to these theories , neither nature nor nurture alone is sufficient to trigger language learning ; both of these influences must work together in order to allow children to acquire a language . The proponents of these theories argue that general cognitive processes subserve language acquisition and that the end result of these processes is language - specific phenomena , such as word learning and grammar acquisition . The findings of many empirical studies support the predictions of these theories , suggesting that language acquisition is a more complex process than many believe . </P>
the emergentist model of language acquisition claims that language emerges primarily from
the interaction of biological pressures and the environment