Journal :: Studies in language
2009
The Pre-linguistic Basis of Grammaticalisation: A Unified Approach to Metaphor and ReanalysisPDF
Studies in Language 33(4):886-909, 2009
Traditionally, grammaticalisation has been described as being based on phenomena specific to language such as metaphorical extension or reanalysis. This characterisation is somewhat in contrast to claims that grammaticalisation is involved in the much more general process of the ...MORE ⇓
Traditionally, grammaticalisation has been described as being based on phenomena specific to language such as metaphorical extension or reanalysis. This characterisation is somewhat in contrast to claims that grammaticalisation is involved in the much more general process of the initial emergence of language. In this article, we provide a unified analysis of both the metaphor-based and the reanalysis-based account of grammaticalisation which is grounded in the cognitive mechanisms underlying ostensive-inferential communication. We are thus able to show that the process of grammaticalisation is an instantiation of a domain-general pre-linguistic phenomenon.
2008
On analogy as the motivation for grammaticalization
Studies in language 32(2):336--382, 2008
Abstract: The number of phenomena which are gathered together under the term'grammaticalization'is quite large and in some ways quite diverse. For the different types of grammaticalization similar motivating factors have been suggested, similar principles, ...
2007
Recent evidence against the Language Bioprogram Hypothesis: The pivotal case of Hawai'i Creole
Studies in language 31(1):51--88, 2007
Abstract: Referring to recent sociohistorical and comparative linguistic research on Hawai'i Creole, this article critically examines the four main tenets of Derek Bickerton's Language Bioprogram Hypothesis:(1) that creoles were created in one generation with only a ...
2004
From UG to Universals: linguistic adaptation through iterated learningPDF
Studies in Language 28(3):587-607, 2004
What constitutes linguistic evidence for Universal Grammar (UG)? The principal approach to this question equates UG on the one hand with language universals on the other. Parsimonious and general characterizations of linguistic variation are assumed to uncover features of UG. ...MORE ⇓
What constitutes linguistic evidence for Universal Grammar (UG)? The principal approach to this question equates UG on the one hand with language universals on the other. Parsimonious and general characterizations of linguistic variation are assumed to uncover features of UG. This paper reviews a recently developed evolutionary approach to language that casts doubt on this assumption: the Iterated Learning Model (ILM). We treat UG as a model of our prior learning bias, and consider how languages may adapt in response to this bias. By dealing directly with populations of linguistic agents, the ILM allows us to study the adaptive landscape that particular learning biases result in. The key result from this work is that the relationship between UG and language structure is non-trivial.