Chapter 3 The naturalistic tradition of biolinguistics and the study of child phonology
Abstract
Modern biolinguistics represents in a broad sense an enterprise in which different disciplines that study language as a natural object subject to empirical scientific research converge. It builds on a long and rich tradition of naturalistic studies of the “science of language” and addresses questions essential to the scientific study of language, such as its phylogenetic and ontogenetic origin and evolution, its use or its relation to mind and action. The biolinguistic approach arose in the context of the “cognitive revolution” in the mid-20th century, as a reaction against the reduction of linguistics to a taxonomic science allied to behaviorism, which denied the possibility of scientific investigation of mental processes. Linguistics, in search of its full autonomy, had refused to explain all the questions that had to do with linguistic change, considering that the dynamic aspects of language were not essential, but accidental. With the explanation of change being the hallmark of empirical science, the “cognitive revolution” was seen as a counter-revolution since it involved a return to the naturalistic tradition of the science of language. It also advocated the study of child language, to which the science of language had historically given increasing significance in explaining linguistic evolution and change. This chapter reviews the naturalistic tradition in the study of child language that preceded the “cognitive revolution” and the subsequent emergence of a line of research that could be framed within the biolinguistic enterprise, focusing primarily on the sound patterns of language that provide empirical evidence of the complex biopsycholinguistic dynamics of language change.
Abstract
Modern biolinguistics represents in a broad sense an enterprise in which different disciplines that study language as a natural object subject to empirical scientific research converge. It builds on a long and rich tradition of naturalistic studies of the “science of language” and addresses questions essential to the scientific study of language, such as its phylogenetic and ontogenetic origin and evolution, its use or its relation to mind and action. The biolinguistic approach arose in the context of the “cognitive revolution” in the mid-20th century, as a reaction against the reduction of linguistics to a taxonomic science allied to behaviorism, which denied the possibility of scientific investigation of mental processes. Linguistics, in search of its full autonomy, had refused to explain all the questions that had to do with linguistic change, considering that the dynamic aspects of language were not essential, but accidental. With the explanation of change being the hallmark of empirical science, the “cognitive revolution” was seen as a counter-revolution since it involved a return to the naturalistic tradition of the science of language. It also advocated the study of child language, to which the science of language had historically given increasing significance in explaining linguistic evolution and change. This chapter reviews the naturalistic tradition in the study of child language that preceded the “cognitive revolution” and the subsequent emergence of a line of research that could be framed within the biolinguistic enterprise, focusing primarily on the sound patterns of language that provide empirical evidence of the complex biopsycholinguistic dynamics of language change.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section I: The biolinguistic enterprise
- Chapter 1 A short history of biolinguistics 19
- Chapter 2 Biolinguistics in the context of linguistics 45
-
Section II: The quest for interdisciplinarity and the challenges of technification
- Chapter 3 The naturalistic tradition of biolinguistics and the study of child phonology 91
- Chapter 4 Psycholinguistics and biolinguistics 119
- Chapter 5 New techniques in neurolinguistics 159
- Chapter 6 The biological basis of language: insights from genetic studies of developmental language disorders 177
-
Section III: Theorizing biolinguistics
- Chapter 7 The nature of language and the structure of reality 207
- Chapter 8 Biolinguistics and human language evolution: On symbolism, language, and language evolution 237
-
Section IV: Going practical: The applicability of biolinguistics findings
- Chapter 9 Language disorders through the lens of biolinguistics 279
- Chapter 10 Approaching language and aging from a biolinguistic perspective 307
- Chapter 11 Biolinguistics and its impact on language teaching: Achievements and prospects 331
- Chapter 12 Biocultural evolution and human language diversity 359
- Index 381
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section I: The biolinguistic enterprise
- Chapter 1 A short history of biolinguistics 19
- Chapter 2 Biolinguistics in the context of linguistics 45
-
Section II: The quest for interdisciplinarity and the challenges of technification
- Chapter 3 The naturalistic tradition of biolinguistics and the study of child phonology 91
- Chapter 4 Psycholinguistics and biolinguistics 119
- Chapter 5 New techniques in neurolinguistics 159
- Chapter 6 The biological basis of language: insights from genetic studies of developmental language disorders 177
-
Section III: Theorizing biolinguistics
- Chapter 7 The nature of language and the structure of reality 207
- Chapter 8 Biolinguistics and human language evolution: On symbolism, language, and language evolution 237
-
Section IV: Going practical: The applicability of biolinguistics findings
- Chapter 9 Language disorders through the lens of biolinguistics 279
- Chapter 10 Approaching language and aging from a biolinguistic perspective 307
- Chapter 11 Biolinguistics and its impact on language teaching: Achievements and prospects 331
- Chapter 12 Biocultural evolution and human language diversity 359
- Index 381
