Nature article in the news

[Daniel Everett]

Thanks for this, Shannon. Fascinating stuff.

My book-length study on culture and language (Cognitive Fire: Language as a Cultural Tool)  will be out from Random House in early 2012.  The folks in NZ are doing some interesting research. Michael Corballis's new book, The Recursive Mind: The Origins of Human Language, Thought, and Civilization (http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9424.html) is almost out and looks to be a very worthwhile read.

Dan



On Apr 14, 2011, at 3:12 PM, s.t. bischoff wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> Here is an LA Times story that may be of interest...haven't had a chance to
> track down the original Nature article yet...would be curious to hear
> reactions.
> 
> Culture trumps biology in language development, study argues Researchers
> construct evolutionary trees for four linguistic groups and conclude that
> cultures, not innate preferences, drive the language rules humans create –
> contrary to the findings of noted linguists Noam Chomsky and Joseph
> Greenberg.
> Are the rules of language encoded in our
> genes<http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/human-body/genes-chromosomes-HHA000024.topic>,
> or are they primarily shaped by the speaker's cultural context?
> 
> Leading linguistic thinkers have argued that our brains are hard-wired for
> languages to follow certain sets of rules. But a team of scientists is
> challenging that premise in a study published online Wednesday in the
> journal Nature.
> 
> The team used biological tools to construct evolutionary trees for four
> language families and found that each of the families followed its own
> idiosyncratic structural rules, a sign that humans' language choices are
> driven by culture rather than innate preferences.
> 
> The authors say their findings run contrary to the idea of Noam
> Chomsky<http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/noam-chomsky-PECLB000974.topic>'s
> generative grammar, which says the brain has hard and fast ordering rules
> for language. They also contradict the "universal rules" of Joseph H.
> Greenberg, who said languages tended to choose certain patterns over others.
> 
> http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-language-20110414,0,1473928.story
> 
> Cheers,
> Shannon
>