| Title & Author | Abstract | |
|---|---|---|
| 10(033) | LANGUAGE EVOLUTION AND THE COMPLEXITY CRITERION
Target Article on Language-Complexity Bernard H. Bichakjian Department of French University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands http://welcome.to/bichakjian Bichakjian@let.kun.nl |
Abstract:
Though it is increasingly accepted in the behavioral
sciences, the evolutionary approach is still meeting resistance in
linguistics. Linguists generally cling to the idea that alternative
linguistic features are simply gratuitous variants of one another,
while the advocates of innate grammars, who make room for evolution
as a biological process, exclude the evolution of languages. The
rationale given is that today's languages are all complex systems.
This argument is based on the failure to distinguish between
complexities of form and function. The proper analysis reveals
instead that linguistic features have consistently decreased their
material complexity, while increasing their functionality. A
systematic historical survey will show instead that languages have
evolved and linguistic features have developed along a Darwinian
line.
Keywords: complexity, Indo-European, language evolution, lateralization, neoteny, word order. |
| 10(080) | RECONSTRUCTING THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE:
'EARLY-BLOOMER' VERSUS 'LATE-BLOOMER' THEORIES Commentary on Bichakjian on Language-Complexity Thomas Suddendorf School of Psychology University of Queensland Brisbane, Qld 4071 Australia t.suddendorf@psy.uq.edu.au |
Abstract:
By investigating historic changes in complexity
Bichakjian (1999) tries to convince linguists that languages
evolve. Here, I wish to add a reason why speculation about the very
origin of language may be a fruitful endeavour. The significance of
the question, and increasing archaeological evidence, has resulted
in an avalanche of recent proposals. These accounts can be divided
into two broad categories; those that advocate either early or late
emergence. The "late-bloomer" theories face the likelihood of being
disproved by mounting evidence, yet it is precisely for this reason
that theories of the evolution of language might gain
respectability within the realms of scientific inquiry.
Keywords: complexity, Indo-European, language evolution, lateralization, neoteny, word order. |
| 11(118) | LANGUAGE ORIGIN AND LANGUAGE EVOLUTION
Reply to Suddendorf on Bichakjian on Language-Complexity Bernard H. Bichakjian Department of French University of Nijmegen PO Box 9103 6500 HD Nijmegen, Netherlands B.Bichakjian@mailbox.kun.nl |
Abstract:
Though my target article (Bichakjian 1999) was on the
evolution of linguistic features, in his commentary, Suddendorf
(1999) addresses the question of the origin of language and points
out the risks of advocating too recent an emergence. My reply
stresses that the evidence from historical linguistics and all
other evolutionary indicators goes against the saltationist
scenarios, and that language evolution has been a gradual process
which probably started hundreds of millennia ago. A reply is also
given to the question raised about the shift from aspect to tense.
Keywords: complexity, Indo-European, language evolution, lateralization, neoteny, word order. |