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8 - Language and Evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2024

Ryan M. Nefdt
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
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Summary

In this final chapter, we take on an issue that perhaps precedes all the others: how and why did language evolve? Linguistic theory has recently pivoted to amass considerable research on these questions. As we’ve seen over and over in the book, simpler structures have been posited across frameworks to account for the need to explain how language evolved. However, in this book, we’ve seen many distinct approaches to understand human language. A view of language evolution that permits the pluralism of the book would be consistent with the broad approach of this work. Therefore, in this chapter, I want to turn the minimalist research agenda on its head with an alternative thesis: natural language is a complex system and its emergence is likely to have been prompted by multiple interacting factors. First, we assess the current state of the art in biolinguistics and the strong saltation claim that goes with it. Then, we challenge the assumptions that’ve resulted in the saltation picture of language evolution on evolutionary grounds. Lastly, a radical approach to language evolution in terms of complexity science is proffered based on a unique connection with systems biology.

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The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics
A Contemporary Outlook
, pp. 183 - 204
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Language and Evolution
  • Ryan M. Nefdt, University of Cape Town
  • Book: The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics
  • Online publication: 25 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009082853.009
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  • Language and Evolution
  • Ryan M. Nefdt, University of Cape Town
  • Book: The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics
  • Online publication: 25 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009082853.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Language and Evolution
  • Ryan M. Nefdt, University of Cape Town
  • Book: The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics
  • Online publication: 25 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009082853.009
Available formats
×