Why is language unique to humans
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Why is Language Unique to Humans?
Human Language and Syntactic Recursion
One of the most debated aspects of human language is syntactic recursion, the ability to embed phrases within phrases, which some researchers argue is the only uniquely human aspect of language. However, this view is contested. Language encompasses many non-recursive elements such as phonology, morphology, and word properties, which are also uniquely human1. Additionally, the anatomy and neural control of the human vocal tract are specialized for speech, further distinguishing human language from other forms of communication1.
Innate Linguistic Blueprint
The concept of an innate blueprint for human language, often referred to as the "universal grammar," suggests that humans are born with a pre-configured capacity for language. This idea is supported by the rapid and effortless language acquisition observed in infants, which is attributed to a specifically human ability to acquire language3. This innate capacity is thought to be a species-specific biological property, invariant among human groups and dissociated from other cognitive systems6.
Evolutionary Perspective on Language
From an evolutionary standpoint, language is seen as a complex adaptation for communication that evolved piecemeal. This counters the notion that language is a perfect, non-redundant system unusable in any partial form1. The evolution of language likely involved the recombination of pre-existing cognitive capacities, such as motor action planning and symbolic behavior, which were gradually adapted for linguistic purposes9. This gradual evolution is supported by evidence of symbolic behavior predating modern humans' departure from Africa3.
Brain and Language
The human brain's unique computational abilities are central to language. These abilities have identifiable correlates in the brain and have remained fixed since the origin of language approximately 100,000 years ago4. The brain's capacity to generate an infinite array of novel and well-formed sentences from a finite set of elements is a key characteristic of human language3. This capacity is not observed in other species, even those with similar vocal imitation abilities, such as songbirds4.
Language Acquisition and Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience has revealed that human neonates display a typical brain response to speech sounds just hours after birth, indicating a genetic predisposition for language acquisition10. This predisposition involves both statistical learning and the ability to draw structural generalizations, which interact intimately during language development10. The rhythmic properties of language and natural speech categories play specific roles in this process, further highlighting the specialized nature of human language10.
Conclusion
Language is unique to humans due to a combination of factors, including syntactic recursion, an innate linguistic blueprint, specialized brain structures, and evolutionary adaptations. These elements collectively enable humans to acquire, generate, and use language in ways that are not observed in other species. The complexity and specificity of these factors underscore the uniqueness of human language.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
The faculty of language: what's special about it?
The claim that only syntactic recursion is uniquely human and linguistic is problematic and inconsistent with human anatomy and neural control of the vocal tract.
Highly CitedHuman Linguisticality and the Building Blocks of Languages
Human linguisticality is uncontroversial, but the idea that language building blocks are part of an innate blueprint for human language disappears when considering convergent cultural evolution of grammatical structures.
Why Only Us? Language and Evolution
The evolution of language faculty, not individual languages, is the key event that enabled human language capacities, with no known group differences amongst humans.
Highly CitedEvolution, brain, and the nature of language
Human language is unique due to a shared species-specific computational ability, with a fixed brain correlate, dating back to approximately 100 000 years ago.
Highly CitedLanguage Evolution: A Changing Perspective
Language evolved from mental processes with gradual evolutionary trajectories, and its uniqueness may be its ability to communicate mental experiences and knowledge gained from them.
The language capacity: architecture and evolution
The human language capacity is a species-specific biological property, unique to humans, and has not evolved since human groups dispersed.
Rigorous JournalIs Language the Key to Human Intelligence?
Human intelligence is unique in that it is able to acquire and use spoken language, and recursive grammar, which is not found in tamarin monkeys.
Highly CitedHuman language evolution: a view from theoretical linguistics on how syntax and the lexicon first came into being
Human syntax and lexicon may have evolved from pre-existing cognitive capacities in our ancestors and other species, promoting a gradual evolution scenario for language.
Why is language unique to humans?
Language acquisition is largely due to our genetic endowment, with rhythmic properties of language biasing word segmentation and speech categories playing specific roles in statistical dependencies and structural generalizations.
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