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A solution to the logical problem of language evolution: language as an adaptation to the human brain
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Chater, Nick and Christiansen, Morten H. (2012) A solution to the logical problem of language evolution: language as an adaptation to the human brain. In: The Oxford handbook of language evolution. Oxford Handbooks Series (Chapter 65). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 626-639. ISBN 978-0-1995-4111-9
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Abstract
This paper argues against the viability of a traditional genetically-specified universal grammar(UG) on evolutionary grounds. We show that such a UG could not have arisen either by adaptationist and non-adaptationist evolutionary mechanisms. This “logical problem of language evolution” applies equally to traditional and minimalist conceptions of the innate faculty of language. We consider whether language might be shaped by cultural transmission alone, arguing that language is crucially influenced by a broad range of constraints including thought, perceptuo-motor factors, cognitive capacities, and social-pragmatic forces. We
explore the restricted conditions under which genes can co-evolve with language.
Item Type: | Book Item | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Behavioural Science Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School |
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Series Name: | Oxford Handbooks Series | ||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||
Place of Publication: | Oxford | ||||
ISBN: | 978-0-1995-4111-9 | ||||
Book Title: | The Oxford handbook of language evolution | ||||
Official Date: | 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Number: | Chapter 65 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 14 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 626-639 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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