The nature of the language faculty and its implications for evolution of language (Reply to Fitch, Hauser, and Chomsky)
@article{Jackendoff2005TheNO, title={The nature of the language faculty and its implications for evolution of language (Reply to Fitch, Hauser, and Chomsky)}, author={R. Jackendoff and S. Pinker}, journal={Cognition}, year={2005}, volume={97}, pages={211-225} }
In a continuation of the conversation with Fitch, Chomsky, and Hauser on the evolution of language, we examine their defense of the claim that the uniquely human, language-specific part of the language faculty (the “narrow language faculty”) consists only of recursion, and that this part cannot be considered an adaptation to communication. We argue that their characterization of the narrow language faculty is problematic for many reasons, including its dichotomization of cognitive capacities… Expand
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