Six things we have and they don’t — part 2

Jan 26, 2011 by

In the previous posting, I talked about three of the six design features that separate human language from other communication systems, including those in the animal kingdom. These three features are: arbitrariness, reflexivity and...

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Six things we have and they don’t — part 1

Jan 26, 2011 by

In the last couple of postings I argued that animals — dogs, apes etc. — do not have language. Of course, animals of various species have communication systems but these communication systems do not count as language....

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Do apes have language?

Jan 25, 2011 by

So dogs may be smart and dilligent, but they do not have language. What about apes? After all, apes are closer to us genetically, and chimps — our closest relatives in the animal world — share about 98.4% of DNA with us....

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Sit. Stay. Fetch! — Do dogs have language?

Jan 24, 2011 by

Recently, I’ve been blogging a lot about the so-called “amateurish linguistics”. It does seem that practically every time I read something in the media that has to do with language, another example of...

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Innovations to the human vocal apparatus

Aug 30, 2010 by

To make speech sounds we use the same basic apparatus that apes have: lungs, throat, voice box, tongue and lips. But we are the ones who can speak and sing. Why? Although speech organs have evolved primarily for other survival...

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Language is what makes us human

Aug 27, 2010 by

In the last couple of postings I talked about Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar (Principles & Parameters Theory), which is — sadly — misrepresented by Lera Boroditsky in her The Wall Street Journal article....

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