Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax

by Derek Bickerton (Editor), Eors Szathmary (Editor)

Overview

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 Givón, Thomas Griffiths, Balázs Gulyás, Peter Hagoort, Austin Hilliard, James R. Hurford, Péter Ittzés, Gerhard Jäger, Herbert Jäger, Edith Kaan, Simon Kirby, Natalia L. Komarova, Tatjana Nazir, Frederick Newmeyer, Kazuo Okanoya, Csaba Plèh, Peter J. Richerson, Luigi Rizzi, Wolf Singer, Mark Steedman, Luc Steels, Szabolcs Számadó, Eörs Szathmáry, Maggie Tallerman, Jochen Triesch, Stephanie Ann White

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262549127
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Series:	Strüngmann Forum Reports , #3
Pages:	492
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

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

What People are Saying About This

Michael Arbib

This book continues the debate between those who see the core rules of syntax as the result of biological evolution and those who stress cultural evolution atop more general brain functions. To this reader, the chapters enriched by consideration of brain and computation swing the weight of evidence to the latter camp.

Endorsement

This book continues the debate between those who see the core rules of syntax as the result of biological evolution and those who stress cultural evolution atop more general brain functions. To this reader, the chapters enriched by consideration of brain and computation swing the weight of evidence to the latter camp.

—Michael Arbib, Fletcher Jones Professor of Computer Science and Professor of Neuroscience, University of Southern California

From the Publisher

This book continues the debate between those who see the core rules of syntax as the result of biological evolution and those who stress cultural evolution atop more general brain functions. To this reader, the chapters enriched by consideration of brain and computation swing the weight of evidence to the latter camp.

—Michael Arbib, Fletcher Jones Professor of Computer Science and Professor of Neuroscience, University of Southern California

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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

Reviews

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