Language Evolution and Syntactic Theory (Approaches to the Evolution of Language) - Hardcover

Kinsella, Anna R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521895308 ISBN 13: 9780521895309

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Evolution has not typically been recognised by linguists as a constraining factor when developing linguistic theories. This book demonstrates that our theories of language must reflect the fact that language has evolved. It critiques a currently dominant framework in the field of linguistics - the Minimalist Program - by showing how it fails to take evolution into account. It approaches the question of the evolution of human language in a novel way by applying findings from the field of evolutionary biology to language. Key properties associated with typically evolving systems are identified in language, and the shortcomings of the Minimalist Program in its outright rejection of these features are exposed. The book will be of interest to individual researchers and advanced students in linguistics, psychology, biology, anthropology and cognitive science.

About this title

Book Description:

Evolution has not typically been recognised by linguists as a constraining factor when developing linguistic theories. It critiques a currently dominant framework in the field of linguistics - the Minimalist Program - by showing how it fails to take evolution into account.

About the Author:

Anna R. Kinsella is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Language Evolution & Computation Research Unit in the Department of Linguistics & English Language at the University of Edinburgh.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0521895308
• ISBN 13: 9780521895309
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 236