The emergence of phonological forms
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Bridget D. Samuels
Abstract
As it becomes increasingly clear that language emerged suddenly in our species over the space of less than 100,000 years, the pressure to understand how the externalization system could have been ‘language-ready’ prior to the emergence of syntax grows as well. Phonology, like other components of language, must then be understood to rely maximally on abilities that already found applications in other cognitive domains at the time externalized language emerged. In this chapter, I provide evidence from sign language and from animal cognition that the perception of a discrete phonological signal relies heavily on abilities humans share with our mammalian cousins. I build the case for this view with evidence from both humans and animals, discuss computational models of categorization that can build categories through feedback between perception and production, and provide a natural case study in phonological evolution provided by a young sign language. These arguments support the view that the building blocks of the phonological system – features and categories – were present prior to the emergence of externalized language as we know it.
Abstract
As it becomes increasingly clear that language emerged suddenly in our species over the space of less than 100,000 years, the pressure to understand how the externalization system could have been ‘language-ready’ prior to the emergence of syntax grows as well. Phonology, like other components of language, must then be understood to rely maximally on abilities that already found applications in other cognitive domains at the time externalized language emerged. In this chapter, I provide evidence from sign language and from animal cognition that the perception of a discrete phonological signal relies heavily on abilities humans share with our mammalian cousins. I build the case for this view with evidence from both humans and animals, discuss computational models of categorization that can build categories through feedback between perception and production, and provide a natural case study in phonological evolution provided by a young sign language. These arguments support the view that the building blocks of the phonological system – features and categories – were present prior to the emergence of externalized language as we know it.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Interfaces in a biolinguistic perspective 1
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Part I. Syntax, semantics
- Single cycle syntax and a constraint on quantifier lowering 13
- A constraint on remnant movement 31
- Language and conceptual reanalysis 57
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Part II. Features and interfaces
- Decomposing force 89
- Function without content 117
- The association of sound with meaning 141
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Part III. Phonology, syntax
- Towards a bottom-up approach to phonological typology 169
- The emergence of phonological forms 193
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Part IV. Language development
- Non-native acquisition and language design 217
- Interface ingredients of dialect design 239
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Part V. Experimental studies
- What sign languages show 265
- Indeterminacy and coercion effects 277
- Computation with doubling constituents 303
- Concealed reference-set computation 339
- Index 363
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Interfaces in a biolinguistic perspective 1
-
Part I. Syntax, semantics
- Single cycle syntax and a constraint on quantifier lowering 13
- A constraint on remnant movement 31
- Language and conceptual reanalysis 57
-
Part II. Features and interfaces
- Decomposing force 89
- Function without content 117
- The association of sound with meaning 141
-
Part III. Phonology, syntax
- Towards a bottom-up approach to phonological typology 169
- The emergence of phonological forms 193
-
Part IV. Language development
- Non-native acquisition and language design 217
- Interface ingredients of dialect design 239
-
Part V. Experimental studies
- What sign languages show 265
- Indeterminacy and coercion effects 277
- Computation with doubling constituents 303
- Concealed reference-set computation 339
- Index 363
