Formal and functional analyses of verbal behavior have been often considered to be divergent and incompatible. Yet, an examination of the history of part of the analytical approach used in Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957/1992) for the identification and conceptualization of verbal operant units discloses that it corresponds well with formal analyses of languages. Formal analyses have been carried out since the invention of writing and fall within the scope of traditional grammar and structural linguistics, particularly in analyses made by the linguist Leonard Bloomfield. The relevance of analytical instruments originated from linguistic studies (which examine and describe the practices of verbal communities) to the analysis of verbal behavior, as proposed by Skinner, relates to the conception of a verbal community as a prerequisite for the acquisition of verbal behavior. A deliberately interdisciplinary approach is advocated in this paper, with the systematic adoption of linguistic analyses and descriptions adding relevant knowledge to the design of experimental research in verbal behavior.

Verbal Behavior (1957), de B. F. Skinner, propõe uma análise inovadora do comportamento verbal. Este artigo procura expor e exemplificar alguns dos conceitos e processos apresentados nesta obra para a análise funcional do comportamento verbal, tais como: conceito e classificação do comportamento verbal, sua análise funcional, a causação múltipla, o papel da audiência, o pensamento verbal, a comunidade verbal, a consciência, entre outros. Utilizam-se exemplos quotidianos e literários do comportamento verbal. Faz-se uma breve menção aos temas que têm sido pesquisados na área do comportamento verbal, assim como a algumas das dificuldades específicas de seu estudo. São propostas algumas questões de estudo.

Skinner's definition of verbal behavior, with its brief and refined versions, has recently become a point of controversy among behavior analysts. Some of the arguments presented in this controversy might be based on a misreading of Skinner's (1957a) writings. An examination of Skinner's correspondence with editors of scientific journals shows his sophisticated mastery of English and his knowledge of contemporary approaches of linguistics, and might help to settle the meaning of the passages involved in the controversy. A more precise definition of verbal behavior, deduced from Skinner's distinction between verbal and nonverbal operants, is suggested, and a possible reason why Skinner did not define verbal behavior in the terms proposed by this alternative definition is discussed. The alternative definition is more compatible with a functional approach to behavior and highlights what is specific to verbal behavior by pointing to the conventions of the verbal community. Some possible consequences of adopting this alternative definition are described.

The approaches of Bloomfield and Skinner on the topics of speech-community, functions of language, and language and scientific activity are characterized; a comparative analysis follows; and approximations between the two authors are pointed out. The most important approximations are the verbal community as the ultimate source of language; the main function of language of obtaining practical effects in the world; the characterization of a considerable part of scientific activity as verbal; and the scientific activity as being deeply committed with successful action. The difference found is related to the subject matter: Bloomfield describes the system of the language of the community, and Skinner does the functional analysis of the repertoire of the individual.

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