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Language as Shaped by the Brain

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by Morten H. Christiansen , Nick Chater
Citations:105 - 24 self
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BibTeX

@MISC{Christiansen_languageas,
    author = {Morten H. Christiansen and Nick Chater},
    title = {Language as Shaped by the Brain},
    year = {}
}

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Abstract

It is widely assumed that human learning and the structure of human languages are intimately related. This relationship is frequently suggested to be rooted in a language-specific biological endowment, which encodes universal, but arbitrary, principles of language structure (a universal grammar or UG). How might such a UG have evolved? We argue that UG could not have arisen either by biological adaptation or non-adaptationist genetic processes. The resulting puzzle concerning the origin of UG we call the logical problem of language evolution. Because the processes of language change are much more rapid than processes of genetic change, language constitutes a “moving target ” both over time and across different human populations, and hence cannot provide a stable environment to which UG genes could have adapted. We conclude that a biologically determined UG is not evolutionarily viable. Instead, the original motivation for UG—the mesh between learners and languages—arises because language has been shaped to fit the human brain, rather than vice versa. Following Darwin, we view language itself as a complex and interdependent “organism, ” which evolves under selectional pressures from human learning and processing mechanisms. That is, languages are themselves undergoing severe selectional pressure from each generation of language users and learners. This suggests that apparently arbitrary aspects of linguistic structure may result from general learning and processing biases, independent of language. We illustrate how this framework can integrate evidence from different literatures and methodologies to explain core linguistic phenomena, including binding constraints, word order universals, and diachronic language change. 1.

Keyphrases

biological adaptation    language user    ug gene    arbitrary aspect    language arises    universal grammar    interdependent organism    processing bias    non-adaptationist genetic process    core linguistic phenomenon    vice versa    general learning    human brain    language evolution    diachronic language change    original motivation    human learning    human language    different human population    different literature    word order universal    genetic change    severe selectional pressure    selectional pressure    logical problem    language change    stable environment    linguistic structure    language-specific biological endowment    language structure   

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