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Abstract

This chapter argues that the existence of universals in language would only be surprising if the rest of cognition, as well as the world at large, were unstructured. Given that the world is in some sense and to some extent predictable, universals should be sought in the structure of information it presents to the language system. A productive approach to the study of language universals could follow the lead of biology, where looking at the interplay of evolution and development is proving particularly effective.

Keywords: evolution and development; biology; cognition; linguistics; language universals

@incollection{finlay09LUchapter,
  author={Barbara L. Finlay},
  title={Evolution, Development, and Emerging Universals},
  year={2009},
  pages={261-266},
  chapter={13},
  editor={M.H. Christiansen and C. Collins and S. Edelman},
  publisher={Oxford University Press},
  booktitle={Language Universals},
  url={http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~amag/langev/paper/finlay09LUchapter.html},
  keywords={evolution and development; biology; cognition; linguistics; language universals}
}