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Structures, Not Strings: Linguistics as Part of the Cognitive Sciences.
Martin B H Everaert1, Marinus A C Huybregts1, Noam Chomsky2
1Utrecht Institute of Linguistics, Utrecht University, 3512 JK Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|November 14, 2015
Summary
This study clarifies human language by examining its cognitive and biological foundations. Generative grammar offers a computational approach to understanding language, surpassing surface-level analyses.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Human language encompasses diverse properties, including neural representation, usage, variation, acquisition, and origin.
- Understanding language requires a clear definition of its core concept.
- Linguistics is intrinsically linked to cognitive sciences due to its focus on the language faculty and its biological underpinnings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define language as a computational cognitive mechanism.
- To explore the biological foundations of the language faculty.
- To address limitations in surface-oriented language approaches using generative grammar.
Main Methods:
- Adopting a generative grammar framework.
- Treating language as a computational cognitive mechanism.
- Analyzing the biological and cognitive aspects of the language faculty.
Main Results:
- Generative grammar provides a robust framework for understanding language.
- A computational cognitive approach addresses deeper linguistic questions.
- This perspective clarifies the biological basis of language.
Conclusions:
- Linguistics, viewed through generative grammar, is a core cognitive science.
- Generative grammar offers a more profound explanation of language than surface-level analyses.
- Further research into language as a computational mechanism is warranted.
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