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  With diversity in mind: Freeing the language sciences from universal grammar [Author's response]

Evans, N., & Levinson, S. C. (2009). With diversity in mind: Freeing the language sciences from universal grammar [Author's response]. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32(5), 472-484. doi:10.1017/S0140525X09990525.

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Evans_Levinson_BBS_response.pdf (Publisher version), 342KB
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 Creators:
Evans, Nicholas1, Author
Levinson, Stephen C.2, 3, Author           
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1Department of Linguistics, Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies, Australian National University, ou_persistent22              
2Language and Cognition Group, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society, ou_55204              
3Categories across Language and Cognition, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society, Nijmegen, NL, ou_55211              

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 Abstract: Our response takes advantage of the wide-ranging commentary to clarify some aspects of our original proposal and augment others. We argue against the generative critics of our coevolutionary program for the language sciences, defend the use of close-to-surface models as minimizing crosslinguistic data distortion, and stress the growing role of stochastic simulations in making generalized historical accounts testable. These methods lead the search for general principles away from idealized representations and towards selective processes. Putting cultural evolution central in understanding language diversity makes learning fundamental in the cognition of language: increasingly powerful models of general learning, paired with channelled caregiver input, seem set to manage language acquisition without recourse to any innate “universal grammar.” Understanding why human language has no clear parallels in the animal world requires a cross-species perspective: crucial ingredients are vocal learning (for which there are clear non-primate parallels) and an intentionattributing cognitive infrastructure that provides a universal base for language evolution. We conclude by situating linguistic diversity within a broader trend towards understanding human cognition through the study of variation in, for example, human genetics, neurocognition, and psycholinguistic processing.

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Language(s): eng - English
 Dates: 2009-10-272009-10-27
 Publication Status: Issued
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 Rev. Type: Peer
 Identifiers: DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X09990525
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Title: Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Source Genre: Journal
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Publ. Info: New York : Cambridge University Press
Pages: - Volume / Issue: 32 (5) Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 472 - 484 Identifier: Other: 954925341730
ISSN: 0140-525X