Abstract
The article illustrates that humans have a language faculty, a cognitive system that supports the acquisition and use of certain languages, with several core properties. The faculty is apparently governed by principles that are logically contingent, specific to human language, and innately determined. A naturally acquirable human language (Naturahl) is a finite-yet-unbounded language, with two further properties that include: its signals are overt sounds or signs, and it can be acquired by a biologically normal human child, given an ordinary course of human experience. Any biologically normal human child can acquire any Naturahl, given an ordinary course of experience with users of that language. An E-language is a set of signal-interpretation pairs, while an I-language is a procedure that pairs signals with interpretations. The I-languages that children acquire are biologically implementable, since they are actually implemented in human biology. A function has a unique value for each argument, but Naturahls admit the possibility of ambiguity. A domain general learning procedure might help children learn the environments in which negative polarity items (NPI) can appear but acquiring the constraint on where such expressions cannot appear is another matter. The language faculty makes it possible to acquire an Ilanguage that permits questions with a medial-wh, even if one does not encounter such questions.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Oxford handbook of philosophy of cognitive science |
| Editors | Eric Margolis, Richard Ian Samuels, Stephen P. Stich |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Pages | 361-381 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780199940967 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780195309799 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
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Keywords
- Cognitive system
- E-language
- I-language
- Language faculty
- Naturahls
- Negative polarity items
Cite this
}
The language faculty. / Pietroski, Paul; Crain, Stephen.
The Oxford handbook of philosophy of cognitive science. ed. / Eric Margolis; Richard Ian Samuels; Stephen P. Stich. New York : Oxford University Press, 2012. p. 361-381.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Research › peer-review
TY - CHAP
T1 - The language faculty
AU - Pietroski, Paul
AU - Crain, Stephen
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - The article illustrates that humans have a language faculty, a cognitive system that supports the acquisition and use of certain languages, with several core properties. The faculty is apparently governed by principles that are logically contingent, specific to human language, and innately determined. A naturally acquirable human language (Naturahl) is a finite-yet-unbounded language, with two further properties that include: its signals are overt sounds or signs, and it can be acquired by a biologically normal human child, given an ordinary course of human experience. Any biologically normal human child can acquire any Naturahl, given an ordinary course of experience with users of that language. An E-language is a set of signal-interpretation pairs, while an I-language is a procedure that pairs signals with interpretations. The I-languages that children acquire are biologically implementable, since they are actually implemented in human biology. A function has a unique value for each argument, but Naturahls admit the possibility of ambiguity. A domain general learning procedure might help children learn the environments in which negative polarity items (NPI) can appear but acquiring the constraint on where such expressions cannot appear is another matter. The language faculty makes it possible to acquire an Ilanguage that permits questions with a medial-wh, even if one does not encounter such questions.
AB - The article illustrates that humans have a language faculty, a cognitive system that supports the acquisition and use of certain languages, with several core properties. The faculty is apparently governed by principles that are logically contingent, specific to human language, and innately determined. A naturally acquirable human language (Naturahl) is a finite-yet-unbounded language, with two further properties that include: its signals are overt sounds or signs, and it can be acquired by a biologically normal human child, given an ordinary course of human experience. Any biologically normal human child can acquire any Naturahl, given an ordinary course of experience with users of that language. An E-language is a set of signal-interpretation pairs, while an I-language is a procedure that pairs signals with interpretations. The I-languages that children acquire are biologically implementable, since they are actually implemented in human biology. A function has a unique value for each argument, but Naturahls admit the possibility of ambiguity. A domain general learning procedure might help children learn the environments in which negative polarity items (NPI) can appear but acquiring the constraint on where such expressions cannot appear is another matter. The language faculty makes it possible to acquire an Ilanguage that permits questions with a medial-wh, even if one does not encounter such questions.
KW - Cognitive system
KW - E-language
KW - I-language
KW - Language faculty
KW - Naturahls
KW - Negative polarity items
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84905386429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195309799.013.0015
DO - 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195309799.013.0015
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9780195309799
SP - 361
EP - 381
BT - The Oxford handbook of philosophy of cognitive science
A2 - Margolis, Eric
A2 - Samuels, Richard Ian
A2 - Stich, Stephen P.
PB - Oxford University Press
CY - New York
ER -