TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution, brain, and the nature of language
AU - Berwick, Robert C.
AU - Friederici, Angela D.
AU - Chomsky, Noam
AU - Bolhuis, Johan J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to Riny Huybregts for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and to the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) for financial support to J.J.B. (NWO-Earth and Life Sciences Open Programme, NWO Gravity and Horizon Programmes).
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - Language serves as a cornerstone for human cognition, yet much about its evolution remains puzzling. Recent research on this question parallels Darwin's attempt to explain both the unity of all species and their diversity. What has emerged from this research is that the unified nature of human language arises from a shared, species-specific computational ability. This ability has identifiable correlates in the brain and has remained fixed since the origin of language approximately 100 thousand years ago. Although songbirds share with humans a vocal imitation learning ability, with a similar underlying neural organization, language is uniquely human.
AB - Language serves as a cornerstone for human cognition, yet much about its evolution remains puzzling. Recent research on this question parallels Darwin's attempt to explain both the unity of all species and their diversity. What has emerged from this research is that the unified nature of human language arises from a shared, species-specific computational ability. This ability has identifiable correlates in the brain and has remained fixed since the origin of language approximately 100 thousand years ago. Although songbirds share with humans a vocal imitation learning ability, with a similar underlying neural organization, language is uniquely human.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tics.2012.12.002
DO - 10.1016/j.tics.2012.12.002
M3 - Review article
C2 - 23313359
AN - SCOPUS:84872874456
SN - 1364-6613
VL - 17
SP - 89
JO - Trends in Cognitive Sciences
JF - Trends in Cognitive Sciences
IS - 2
ER -