Evolutionary Syntax
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Evolutionary Syntax
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Author : Ljiljana Progovac
language : en
Publisher: Oxford Studies in the Evolutio
Release Date : 2015
Evolutionary Syntax written by Ljiljana Progovac and has been published by Oxford Studies in the Evolutio this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
In this book, Ljiljana Progovac proposes a gradualist, adaptationist approach to the evolution of syntax, subject to natural selection. She provides a specific framework for its study, combining the fields of evolutionary biology, theoretical syntax, typology, neuroscience, and genetics. The author pursues an internal reconstruction of the stages of grammar based on the syntactic theory associated with Chomskyan Minimalism and arrives at specific, testable hypotheses, which are then corroborated by an abundance of theoretically analysed 'living fossils' drawn from a variety of languages. Her approach demonstrates that these fossil structures do not just coexist alongside more modern structures, but are in fact built into the very foundation of more complex structures, leading to quirks and complexities that are suggestive of a gradualist evolutionary scenario. By reconstructing a particular path along which syntax evolved, Evolutionary Syntax sheds light on the crucial properties of language design itself, as well as on the major parameters of crosslinguistic variation. As a result, this reconstruction can be meaningfully correlated with both the hominin timeline and the ever-growing body of genetic evidence that is available.
Evolutionary Syntax
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Author : Ljiljana Progovac
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Release Date : 2015
Evolutionary Syntax written by Ljiljana Progovac and has been published by Oxford University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
In this book, Ljiljana Progovac proposes a gradualist, adaptationist approach to the evolution of syntax, subject to natural selection. She provides a specific framework for its study, combining the fields of evolutionary biology, theoretical syntax, typology, neuroscience, and genetics. The author pursues an internal reconstruction of the stages of grammar based on the syntactic theory associated with Chomskyan Minimalism and arrives at specific, testable hypotheses, which are then corroborated by an abundance of theoretically analysed 'living fossils' drawn from a variety of languages. Her approach demonstrates that these fossil structures do not just coexist alongside more modern structures, but are in fact built into the very foundation of more complex structures, leading to quirks and complexities that are suggestive of a gradualist evolutionary scenario. By reconstructing a particular path along which syntax evolved, Evolutionary Syntax sheds light on the crucial properties of language design itself, as well as on the major parameters of crosslinguistic variation. As a result, this reconstruction can be meaningfully correlated with both the hominin timeline and the ever-growing body of genetic evidence that is available.
Language Evolution And Syntactic Theory
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Author : Anna R. Kinsella
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2009-07-23
Language Evolution And Syntactic Theory written by Anna R. Kinsella and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009-07-23 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
Discusses the relationship between Chomskyan syntactic theory and the evolution of language.
Biological Foundations And Origin Of Syntax
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Author : Derek Bickerton
language : en
Publisher: MIT Press
Release Date : 2023-09-19
Biological Foundations And Origin Of Syntax written by Derek Bickerton and has been published by MIT Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-09-19 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
Interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolutionary and biological roots of syntax, describing current research on syntax in fields ranging from linguistics to neurology. Syntax is arguably the most human-specific aspect of language. Despite the proto-linguistic capacities of some animals, syntax appears to be the last major evolutionary transition in humans that has some genetic basis. Yet what are the elements to a scenario that can explain such a transition? In this book, experts from linguistics, neurology and neurobiology, cognitive psychology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and computer modeling address this question. Unlike most previous work on the evolution of language, Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax follows through on a growing consensus among researchers that language can be profitably separated into a number of related and interacting but largely autonomous functions, each of which may have a distinguishable evolutionary history and neurological base. The contributors argue that syntax is such a function.The book describes the current state of research on syntax in different fields, with special emphasis on areas in which the findings of particular disciplines might shed light on problems faced by other disciplines. It defines areas where consensus has been established with regard to the nature, infrastructure, and evolution of the syntax of natural languages; summarizes and evaluates contrasting approaches in areas that remain controversial; and suggests lines for future research to resolve at least some of these disputed issues. Contributors Andrea Baronchelli, Derek Bickerton, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, Denis Bouchard, Robert Boyd, Jens Brauer, Ted Briscoe, David Caplan, Nick Chater, Morten H. Christiansen, Terrence W.Deacon, Francesco d'Errico, Anna Fedor, Julia Fischer, Angela D. Friederici, Tom Givón, Thomas Griffiths, Balázs Gulyás, Peter Hagoort, Austin Hilliard, James R. Hurford, Péter Ittzés, Gerhard Jäger, Herbert Jäger, Edith Kaan, Simon Kirby, Natalia L. Komarova, Tatjana Nazir, Frederick Newmeyer, Kazuo Okanoya, Csaba Plèh, Peter J. Richerson, Luigi Rizzi, Wolf Singer, Mark Steedman, Luc Steels, Szabolcs Számadó, Eörs Szathmáry, Maggie Tallerman, Jochen Triesch, Stephanie Ann White
The Genesis Of Syntactic Complexity
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Author : Talmy Givón
language : en
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Release Date : 2009
The Genesis Of Syntactic Complexity written by Talmy Givón and has been published by John Benjamins Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
Complex hierarchic syntax is a hallmark of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the evolutionary apex of the uniquely - human language faculty - evolutionary yet mysteriously immune to Darwinian adaptive selection. Prof. Givón's book treats syntactic complexity as an integral part of the evolutionary rise of human communication. The book first describes grammar as an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic object- and-event cognition and mental representation. It then surveys the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax and cross-language diversity; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for acquiring the competent use of grammar. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is compared with second language acquisition, pre-grammatical pidgin and pre-human communication. The evolutionary relevance of language diachrony, language ontogeny and pidginization is argued for on general bio-evolutionary grounds: It is the organism's adaptive on-line behavior- invention, learning and skill acquisition - that is the common thread running through all three developmental trends. The neuro-cognitive circuits that underlie language, and their evolutionary underpinnings, are described and assessed. Recursive embedding turns out to be not an adaptive target on its own, but the by-product of two distinct adaptive moves: (i) the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on, or referential specifiers of, other clauses; and (ii) the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.
Syntactic Complexity
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Author : Talmy Givón
language : en
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Release Date : 2009
Syntactic Complexity written by Talmy Givón and has been published by John Benjamins Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
Complex hierarchic syntax is considered one of the hallmarks of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the apex of the uniquely-human language faculty evolutionary but somehow immune to adaptive selection. This volume, coming out of a symposium held at Rice University in March 2008, tackles syntactic complexity from multiple developmental perspectives. We take it for granted that grammar is an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic cognition. Most of the papers in the volume deal with the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for the acquisition of competent grammatical performance. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is considered alongside with the cognition and neurology of grammar and of syntactic complexity, and the evolutionary relevance of diachrony, ontogeny and pidginization is argued on general bio-evolutionary grounds. Lastly, several of the contributions to the volume suggest that recursive embedding is not in itself an adaptive target, but rather the by-product of two distinct adaptive gambits: the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on other clauses and the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.
A Theory Of Syntax
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Author : Norbert Hornstein
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2009
A Theory Of Syntax written by Norbert Hornstein and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
Discusses a topical set of issues in syntactic theory, including a number of original proposals at the cutting edge of research in this area. The book provides a theory of the basic grammatical operations and suggests that there is only one that is distinctive to language.
A Critical Introduction To Language Evolution
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Author : Ljiljana Progovac
language : en
Publisher: Springer
Release Date : 2018-12-18
A Critical Introduction To Language Evolution written by Ljiljana Progovac and has been published by Springer this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-12-18 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
This book provides a critical introduction to the current views and controversies regarding language evolution. It sheds new light on hot topics such as: How ancient is language? Did Neanderthals have some form of language? Did language evolve gradually and incrementally, through stages, or suddenly, in one leap, in all its complexity? Does language evolution involve natural selection or not? This book is essential reading for scholars and students interested in language evolution, especially those in the fields of linguistics, psychology, biology, anthropology, and neuroscience.
Toward An Evolutionary Biology Of Language
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Author : Philip Lieberman
language : en
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Release Date : 2006-06-30
Toward An Evolutionary Biology Of Language written by Philip Lieberman and has been published by Harvard University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2006-06-30 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
In this forcefully argued book, the leading evolutionary theorist of language draws on evidence from evolutionary biology, genetics, physical anthropology, anatomy, and neuroscience, to provide a framework for studying the evolution of human language and cognition. Philip Lieberman argues forcibly that the widely influential theories of language's development, advanced by Chomskian linguists and cognitive scientists, especially those that postulate a single dedicated language "module," "organ," or "instinct," are inconsistent with principles and findings of evolutionary biology and neuroscience. He argues that the human neural system in its totality is the basis for the human language ability, for it requires the coordination of neural circuits that regulate motor control with memory and higher cognitive functions. Pointing out that articulate speech is a remarkably efficient means of conveying information, Lieberman also highlights the adaptive significance of the human tongue. Fully human language involves the species-specific anatomy of speech, together with the neural capacity for thought and movement. In Lieberman's iconoclastic Darwinian view, the human language ability is the confluence of a succession of separate evolutionary developments, jury-rigged by natural selection to work together for an evolutionarily unique ability.
Language Origins
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Author : Maggie Tallerman
language : en
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Release Date : 2005-05-27
Language Origins written by Maggie Tallerman and has been published by OUP Oxford this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2005-05-27 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
This book addresses central questions in the evolution of language: where it came from; how it relates to primate communication; how and why it evolved; how it came to be culturally transmitted; and how languages diversified. The chapters are written from the perspective of the latest work in linguistics, neuroscience, psychology, and computer science, and reflect the idea that various cognitive, physical, neurological, social, and cultural prerequisites led to the development of full human language. Some of these evolutionary changes were preadaptations for language, while others were adaptive changes allowing the development of particular linguistic characteristics. The authors consider a broad spectrum of ideas about the conditions that led to the evolution of protolanguage and full language. Some examine changes that occurred in the course of evolution to Homo sapiens; others consider how languages themselves have adapted by evolving to be learnable. Some chapters look at the workings of the brain, and others deploy sophisticated computer simulations that model such aspects as the emergence of speech sounds and the development of grammar. All make use of the latest methods and theories to probe into the origins and subsequent development of the only species that has language. The book will interest a wide range of linguists, cognitive scientists, biologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, and experts in artificial intelligence, as well as all those fascinated by issues, puzzles, and problems raised by the evolution of language.