What’s Special About Human Language? The Contents of the “Narrow Language Faculty” Revisited
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7900767 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew J Traxler (0000-0003-3441-8280, University of California, Davis), Megan Boudewyn, Megan A Boudewyn (0000-0001-7948-6303, University of California, Davis), Jessica Loudermilk (University of California, Davis) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 611-621 |
| Publication date | 2012-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language and Linguistics Compass (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1749-818X • E-ISSN: 1749-818X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/lnc3.355 |
| PMID | 23105948 |
| PMCID | PMC3478773 |
| OpenAlex | W1913627554 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 39 |
In this review, we re‐evaluate the recursion‐only hypothesis, advocated by Fitch, Hauser and Chomsky ( Fitch et al. 2005 ; Hauser et al. 2002 ). According to the recursion‐only hypothesis, the property that distinguishes human language from animal communication systems is recursion, which refers to the potentially infinite embedding of one linguistic representation within another of the same type. This hypothesis predicts (1) that non‐human primates and other animals lack the ability to learn recursive grammar, and (2) that recursive grammar is the sole cognitive mechanism that is unique to human language. We first review animal studies of recursive grammar, before turning to the claim that recursion is a property of all human languages. Finally, we discuss other views on what abilities may be unique to human language
Cognitive science · Epistemology · Grammar · Human language · Linguistics · Minimalist program · Programming language · Universal Grammar · Computer Science · Language and cultural evolution · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Discourse and social interaction
Noun classes
Phonotactics
Australian languages and interdisciplinary approaches to the past
The Oxford Guide to Australian Languages
Building blocks of language
Is recursion language-specific? Evidence of recursive mechanisms in the structure of intentional action
How did language evolve in the lineage of higher primates
The Faculty of Language
The item-based nature of children’s early syntactic development
Working Memory
Processing Subject and Object Relative Clauses
Fast mapping between a phrasal form and meaning
Linguistic complexity
Reassessing working memory
A theory of reading
Number as a cognitive technology
Lexically-based learning and early grammatical development
Investigating the abstractness of children's early knowledge of argument structure
An empirical generative framework for computational modeling of language acquisition
The Influence of Frequency and Semantic Similarity on How Children Learn Grammar
I want hold Postman Pat
Functional constraints of the acquisition of the passive
The evolution of the language faculty
The nature of the language faculty and its implications for evolution of language (Reply to Fitch, Hauser, and Chomsky)
The faculty of language
Lexical frequency and exemplar-based learning effects in language acquisition
Pirahã Exceptionality
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2023 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |