Brain readiness and the nature of language
To identify the neural components that make a brain ready for language, it is important to have well defined linguistic phenotypes, to know precisely what language is. There are two central features to language: the capacity to form signs (words), and the capacity to combine them into complex struct...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01376/full |
| _version_ | 1818137463406723072 |
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| author | Denis eBouchard |
| author_facet | Denis eBouchard |
| author_sort | Denis eBouchard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To identify the neural components that make a brain ready for language, it is important to have well defined linguistic phenotypes, to know precisely what language is. There are two central features to language: the capacity to form signs (words), and the capacity to combine them into complex structures. We must determine how the human brain enables these capacities.A sign is a link between a perceptual form and a conceptual meaning. Acoustic elements and content elements, are already brain-internal in non-human animals, but as categorical systems linked with brain-external elements. Being indexically tied to objects of the world, they cannot freely link to form signs. A crucial property of a language-ready brain is the capacity to process perceptual forms and contents offline, detached from any brain-external phenomena, so their representations may be linked into signs. These brain systems appear to have pleiotropic effects on a variety of phenotypic traits and not to be specifically designed for language.Syntax combines signs, so the combination of two signs operates simultaneously on their meaning and form. The operation combining the meanings long antedates its function in language: the primitive mode of predication operative in representing some information about an object. The combination of the forms is enabled by the capacity of the brain to segment vocal and visual information into discrete elements. Discrete temporal units have order and juxtaposition, and vocal units have intonation, length, and stress. These are primitive combinatorial processes. So the prior properties of the physical and conceptual elements of the sign introduce combinatoriality into the linguistic system, and from these primitive combinatorial systems derive concatenation in phonology and combination in morphosyntax.Given the nature of language, a key feature to our understanding of the language-ready brain is to be found in the mechanisms in human brains that enable the unique means of representation that allow perceptual forms and contents to be linked into signs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:56:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3b3916ba8bcd4ce5879b16dda9007ad3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:56:42Z |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3b3916ba8bcd4ce5879b16dda9007ad32022-12-22T01:12:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782015-09-01610.3389/fpsyg.2015.01376158611Brain readiness and the nature of languageDenis eBouchard0Université du Québec à MontréalTo identify the neural components that make a brain ready for language, it is important to have well defined linguistic phenotypes, to know precisely what language is. There are two central features to language: the capacity to form signs (words), and the capacity to combine them into complex structures. We must determine how the human brain enables these capacities.A sign is a link between a perceptual form and a conceptual meaning. Acoustic elements and content elements, are already brain-internal in non-human animals, but as categorical systems linked with brain-external elements. Being indexically tied to objects of the world, they cannot freely link to form signs. A crucial property of a language-ready brain is the capacity to process perceptual forms and contents offline, detached from any brain-external phenomena, so their representations may be linked into signs. These brain systems appear to have pleiotropic effects on a variety of phenotypic traits and not to be specifically designed for language.Syntax combines signs, so the combination of two signs operates simultaneously on their meaning and form. The operation combining the meanings long antedates its function in language: the primitive mode of predication operative in representing some information about an object. The combination of the forms is enabled by the capacity of the brain to segment vocal and visual information into discrete elements. Discrete temporal units have order and juxtaposition, and vocal units have intonation, length, and stress. These are primitive combinatorial processes. So the prior properties of the physical and conceptual elements of the sign introduce combinatoriality into the linguistic system, and from these primitive combinatorial systems derive concatenation in phonology and combination in morphosyntax.Given the nature of language, a key feature to our understanding of the language-ready brain is to be found in the mechanisms in human brains that enable the unique means of representation that allow perceptual forms and contents to be linked into signs.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01376/fullself-organizationlanguage evolutionEvolvabilityLinguistic signsbrain readiness |
| spellingShingle | Denis eBouchard Brain readiness and the nature of language Frontiers in Psychology self-organization language evolution Evolvability Linguistic signs brain readiness |
| title | Brain readiness and the nature of language |
| title_full | Brain readiness and the nature of language |
| title_fullStr | Brain readiness and the nature of language |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brain readiness and the nature of language |
| title_short | Brain readiness and the nature of language |
| title_sort | brain readiness and the nature of language |
| topic | self-organization language evolution Evolvability Linguistic signs brain readiness |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01376/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT denisebouchard brainreadinessandthenatureoflanguage |