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The language faculty that wasn't : a usage-based account of natural language recursion

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Christiansen, Morten H. and Chater, Nick (2015) The language faculty that wasn't : a usage-based account of natural language recursion. Frontiers in Psychology, 6 . 1182. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01182 ISSN 1664-1078.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01182

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Abstract

In the generative tradition, the language faculty has been shrinking—perhaps to include only the mechanism of recursion. This paper argues that even this view of the language faculty is too expansive. We first argue that a language faculty is difficult to reconcile with evolutionary considerations. We then focus on recursion as a detailed case study, arguing that our ability to process recursive structure does not rely on recursion as a property of the grammar, but instead emerges gradually by piggybacking on domain-general sequence learning abilities. Evidence from genetics, comparative work on non-human primates, and cognitive neuroscience suggests that humans have evolved complex sequence learning skills, which were subsequently pressed into service to accommodate language. Constraints on sequence learning therefore have played an important role in shaping the cultural evolution of linguistic structure, including our limited abilities for processing recursive structure. Finally, we re-evaluate some of the key considerations that have often been taken to require the postulation of a language faculty.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Behavioural Science
Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Psycholinguistics, Language and culture, Historical linguistics
Journal or Publication Title: Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
ISSN: 1664-1078
Official Date: 27 August 2015
Dates:
DateEvent
27 August 2015Available
27 July 2015Accepted
5 May 2015Submitted
Volume: 6
Article Number: 1182
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01182
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit: 14 January 2016
Date of first compliant Open Access: 23 February 2016
Funder: United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, European Research Council (ERC), Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC), Leverhulme Trust (LT), Research Councils UK (RCUK)
Grant number: 2011107 (BSF), 95917-RATIONALITY (ERC), EP/K039830/1 (RCUK)

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