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NEUROSCIENCE:
The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?
Marc D. Hauser,1*Noam Chomsky,2W. Tecumseh Fitch1
We argue that an understanding of the faculty of language
requires substantial interdisciplinary cooperation. We suggest howcurrent developments in linguistics can be profitably wedded towork in
evolutionary biology, anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience.We
submit that a distinction should be made between the facultyof
language in the broad sense (FLB) and in the narrow sense (FLN).FLB
includes a sensory-motor system, a conceptual-intentionalsystem, and
the computational mechanisms for recursion, providingthe capacity to
generate an infinite range of expressions froma finite set of
elements. We hypothesize that FLN only includesrecursion and is the
only uniquely human component of the facultyof language. We further
argue that FLN may have evolved for reasonsother than language, hence
comparative studies might look forevidence of such computations
outside of the domain of communication(for example, number,
navigation, and social relations).
1 Department of Psychology, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
2 Department of
Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
mdhauser{at}wjh.harvard.edu
B. MacWhinney (2006)
Applied Linguistics
27, 729-740
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Singing Mice, Songbirds, and More: Models for FOXP2 Function and Dysfunction in Human Speech and Language.
S. A. White, S. E. Fisher, D. H. Geschwind, C. Scharff, and T. E. Holy (2006)
J. Neurosci.
26, 10376-10379
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
From the Cover: Evolution of increased glia-neuron ratios in the human frontal cortex.
C. C. Sherwood, C. D. Stimpson, M. A. Raghanti, D. E. Wildman, M. Uddin, L. I. Grossman, M. Goodman, J. C. Redmond, C. J. Bonar, J. M. Erwin, et al. (2006)
PNAS
103, 13606-13611
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Reading words in discourse: the modulation of lexical priming effects by message-level context..
K. Ledoux, C. C. Camblin, T. Y. Swaab, and P. C. Gordon (2006)
Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev
5, 107-127
|Abstract »|PDF »
Temporal Dissociation of Early Lexical Access and Articulation Using a Delayed Naming Task -- An fMRI Study.
S. Kemeny, J. Xu, G. H. Park, L. A. Hosey, C. M. Wettig, and A. R. Braun (2006)
Cereb Cortex
16, 587-595
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
The brain differentiates human and non-human grammars: Functional localization and structural connectivity.
A. D. Friederici, Jör. Bahlmann, S. Heim, R. I. Schubotz, and A. Anwander (2006)
PNAS
103, 2458-2463
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
The effect of music on cognitive performance: insight from neurobiological and animal studies..
N. S. Rickard, S. R. Toukhsati, and S. E. Field (2005)
Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev
4, 235-261
|Abstract »|PDF »
The Evolution of Music in Comparative Perspective.
R. A. Varley, N. J. C. Klessinger, C. A. J. Romanowski, and M. Siegal (2005)
PNAS
102, 3519-3524
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Toward an evolutionary perspective on conceptual representation: Species-specific calls activate visual and affective processing systems in the macaque.
R. Gil-da-Costa, A. Braun, M. Lopes, M. D. Hauser, R. E. Carson, P. Herscovitch, and A. Martin (2004)
PNAS
101, 17516-17521
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Brain Correlates of Language Learning: The Neuronal Dissociation of Rule-Based versus Similarity-Based Learning.
