Language and Culture Prof. R. Hickey ss 2006 The evolution of language

The Rabbit-out-of-hat problem

• language emerged fairly suddenly (like a rabbit out of a hat)
• mutation in hominid gene pool
• extra use for already enlarged brain
• but:
• language evolved slowly over millennia

Why do languages differ?

• new appearances could not be handled with properly (e.g. (new) thoughts could not be expressed properly)
• differences between and within languages are signs of a flexible and adjustable system
• ‘Tower of Babel’

Why do languages differ?

• ‘Swiss army knife’ view: specialized linguistic system, which allows variation
• human mind as gadget with numerous specialized devices
• humans acquire language through a language-handling mechanism
• difference of language according to an inherited degree of flexibility
• ‘Auntie Maggie’s remedy’ view: languages differ because human general intelligence produced them
• language is one of many different tasks children have to encounter – use the mind to sort out the way it works
• tasks can be encountered in different ways