Language evolution

evidence from historical linguistics

Bernard Bichakjian

pp. 497-516

in: Jan Wind, Brunetto Chiarelli, Bernard Bichakjian, Alberto Nocentini, Abraham Jonker (eds), Language origin, Berlin, Springer, 1992

Abstract

While the evolution of species is universally accepted by the scientific community, language evolution is still waiting for recognition. This paper will present evidence showing that language evolution does take place, and that it is a neotenous process, whereby the features (sounds, signs, and strategies) that native children normally master at a later age are constantly replaced by everearlier-acquired alternatives. It will be argued furthermore that the linguistic process has probably a biological underpinning — it could be brought about by a change in the genetically-directed regulation of the plasticity of the appropriate cortical regions, and, since early-achieved linguistic proficiency constitutes a definite advantage, the corresponding selection pressures can be expected to guide the biological evolution towards earlier plasticity and, by so doing, the linguistic evolution towards earlier-acquired features.