Interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolutionary and biological roots of syntax, describing current research on syntax in fields ranging from linguistics to neurology.
Interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolutionary and biological roots of syntax, describing current research on syntax in fields ranging from linguistics to neurology.
Syntax is arguably the most human-specific aspect of language. Despite the proto-linguistic capacities of some animals, syntax appears to be the last major evolutionary transition in humans that has some genetic basis. Yet what are the elements to a scenario that can explain such a transition? In this book, experts from linguistics, neurology and neurobiology, cognitive psychology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and computer modeling address this question. Unlike most previous work on the evolution of language, Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax follows through on a growing consensus among researchers that language can be profitably separated into a number of related and interacting but largely autonomous functions, each of which may have a distinguishable evolutionary history and neurological base. The contributors argue that syntax is such a function.
The book describes the current state of research on syntax in different fields, with special emphasis on areas in which the findings of particular disciplines might shed light on problems faced by other disciplines. It defines areas where consensus has been established with regard to the nature, infrastructure, and evolution of the syntax of natural languages; summarizes and evaluates contrasting approaches in areas that remain controversial; and suggests lines for future research to resolve at least some of these disputed issues.
Contributors Andrea Baronchelli, Derek Bickerton, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, Denis Bouchard, Robert Boyd, Jens Brauer, Ted Briscoe, David Caplan, Nick Chater, Morten H. Christiansen, Terrence W.
Deacon, Francesco d'Errico, Anna Fedor, Julia Fischer, Angela D. Friederici, Tom Giv n, Thomas Griffiths, Balazs Gulyas, Peter Hagoort, Austin Hilliard, James R. Hurford, Peter Ittzes, Gerhard J ger, Herbert J ger, Edith Kaan, Simon Kirby, Natalia L. Komarova, Tatjana Nazir, Frederick Newmeyer, Kazuo Okanoya, Csaba Pl h, Peter J. Richerson, Luigi Rizzi, Wolf Singer, Mark Steedman, Luc Steels, Szabolcs Szamad , E rs Szathmary, Maggie Tallerman, Jochen Triesch, Stephanie Ann White
Edited by:
Derek Bickerton,
Eors Szathmary
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 3
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780262549127
ISBN 10: 0262549123
Series: Strüngmann Forum Reports
Pages: 492
Publication Date: 19 September 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
The Ernst Strungmann Forum vii List of Contributors ix Preface xiii Background 1 Syntax for Non-syntacticians: A Brief Primer 3 Derek Bickerton 2 The Biological Background of Syntax Evolution 15 Anna Fedor, Peter Ittzes, and Eors Szathmary 3 Functional Neuroimaging and the Logic of Brain Operations: Methodologies, Caveats, and Fundamental Examples from Language Research 41 Balazs Gulyas Syntactics 4 Some Elements of Syntactic Computations 63 Luigi Rizzi 5 The Adaptive Approach to Grammar 89 T. Givon 6 Fundamental Syntactic Phenomena and Their Putative Relation to the Brain 117 Edith Kaan 7 What Kinds of Syntactic Phenomena Must Biologists, Neurobiologists, and Computer Scientists Try to Explain and Replicate? 135 Maggie Tallerman, Frederick Newmeyer, Derek Bickerton, Denis Bouchard, Edith Kaan, and Luigi Rizzi Evolution 8 Possible Precursors of Syntactic Components in Other Species 161 Austin T. Hilliard and Stephanie A. White 9 What Can Developmental Language Impairment Tell Us about the Genetic Bases of Syntax? 185 Dorothy V.M. Bishop 10 What Are the Possible Biological and Genetic Foundations for Syntactic Phenomena? 207 Szabolcs Szamado, James R. Hurford, Dorothy V.M. Bishop, Terrence W. Deacon, Francesco d'Errico, Julia Fischer, Kazuo Okanoya, Eors Szathmary, and Stephanie A. White Brain 11 Brain Circuits of Syntax 239 Angela D. Friederici 12 Neural Organization for Syntactic Processing as Determined by Effects of Lesions: Logic, Data, and Difficult Questions 253 David Caplan 13 Reflections on the Neurobiology of Syntax 275 Peter Hagoort 14 What Are the Brain Mechanisms Underlying Syntactic Operations? 299 Anna Fedor, Csaba Pleh, Jens Brauer, David Caplan, Angela D. Friederici, Balazas Gulyas, Peter Hagoort, Tatjana Nazir, and Wolf Singer Modeling 15 Syntax as an Adaptation to the Learner 325 Simon Kirby, Morten H. Christiansen, and Nick Chater 16 Cognition and Social Dynamics Play a Major Role in the Formation of Grammar 345 Luc Steels 17 What Can Formal or Computational Models Tell Us about How (Much) Language Shaped the Brain? 369 Ted Briscoe 18 What Can Mathematical, Computational, and Robotic Models Tell Us about the Origins of Syntax? 385 Herbert Jaeger, Luc Steels, Andrea Baronchelli, Ted Briscoe, Morten H. Christiansen, Thomas Griffiths, Gerhard Jager, Simon Kirby, Natalia L. Komarova, Peter J. Richerson, and Jochen Triesch Glossary 411 Bibliography 417 Subject Index 465
Derek Bickerton is Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. He is the author of Roots of Language, Language and Species, and Language and Human Behavior.
Reviews for Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax
This is a refreshingly clear volume on what is a technical but important subject. Even those who only have a passing interest in language will find it to be an interesting book to own. --The Quarterly Review of Biology
