Toward an evolutionary framework for language variation and change

Bioessays 44 (3):2100216 (2022)
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Abstract

In this paper, we identify the parallels and the differences between language and life as evolvable systems in pursuit of a framework that will investigate language change from the perspective of a general theory of evolution. Despite the consensus that languages change similarly to species, as reflected in the construction of language trees, the field has mainly applied biological techniques to specific problems of historical linguistics and has not systematically engaged in disentangling the basic concepts (population, reproductive unit, inheritance, etc.) and the core processes underlying evolutionary theory, namely mutation, selection, drift, and migration, as applied to language. We develop such a proposal. Treating language as an evolvable system places previous studies in a novel perspective, as it offers an elegant unifying framework that can accommodate current knowledge, utilize the rich theoretical framework of evolutionary biology, and synthesize many independent strands of inquiry, initiating a whole new research program.

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Evolutionary Aspects of Language Change.Johann-Mattis List - 2023 - In Agathe du Crest, Martina Valković, André Ariew, Hugh Desmond, Philippe Huneman & Thomas A. C. Reydon (eds.), Evolutionary Thinking Across Disciplines: Problems and Perspectives in Generalized Darwinism. Springer Verlag. pp. 2147483647-2147483647.

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References found in this work

A Natural History of Negation.Laurence R. Horn - 1989 - Philosophy and Rhetoric 24 (2):164-168.
The language bioprogram hypothesis.Derek Bickerton - 1984 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 7 (2):173.
Constructions: a new theoretical approach to language.Adele E. Goldberg - 2003 - Trends in Cognitive Sciences 7 (5):219-224.

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