The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (83 page)

Universal Grammar.
The basic design underlying the grammars of all human languages; also refers to the circuitry in children’s brains that allows them to learn the grammar of their parents’ language.

verb.
One of the major syntactic categories, comprising words that typically refer to an action or state:
hit, break, run, know, seem
.

voice.
The difference between the active and passive constructions:
Dog bites man
versus
Man is bitten by dog
.

voicing.
Vibration of the vocal folds in the larynx simultaneous with the articulation of a consonant; the difference between
b, d, g, z, v
(voiced) and
p, t, k, s, f
(unvoiced).

vowel.
A phoneme pronounced without any constriction of the airway.

white matter.
See
cortex.

word.
See
listeme, morphology, syntactic atom.

X-bar.
The smallest kind of phrase, consisting of a head and its non-subject arguments (role-players):
The Romans’
DESTRUCTION OF THE CITY
; She
WENT TO SCHOOL
on foot; He is very
PROUD OF HIS SON
.

X-bar theory; X-bar phrase structure.
The particular kind of phrase structure rules thought to be used in human languages, according to which all the phrases in all languages conform to a single plan. In that plan, the properties of the whole phrase are determined by the properties of a single element, the head, inside the phrase.

Académie Française, 385

Accents, 186–170, 176, 295–296, PS11, PS16, PS23

Afrikaans, 253

Afro-Asiatic, 256, 259, 261, 262

Agreement, 14, 32–34, 120–121, 389, 391–392, 404–405,
glossary

Allen, W., 74, 119, 195, 304, 397

Alpert, N., 315

Alphabet, 186, 188, 235, 253, PS14, PS22–23

Altaic languages, 234, 256, 259

Ambiguity, 69–70, 94, 101, 107, 112, 127, 206–218, 228, 288–289

American English, 248–250, 295, 388

American languages, 16, 48, 50–55, 120, 186, 234, 241, 245, 257–260, 262, 267, PS10–11, PS15, PS16

American Sign Language (ASL), 24, 26–28, 120, 147–148, 344, 346–347, 359, PS17

Anderson, J., 455

Anderson, R., 144

Animal cognition, 5, 45, 59–61, 243, 298, 311, 329, 347

Animal communication, 154, 329, 343, 363, PS20

Anomia, 318–321

Anthropology, 12–15, 48–55, 361–365, 379–381, 421, 427–432, 436

Apache, 50, 120

Aphasia, 3, 34–37, 57, 111, 304–308, 313–325, 342,
glossary

Arabic, 165, 256, 259, 261

Arguments, 99–102, 105–108, 114–115

Aronoff, M., 454, 458, 460

Artificial intelligence, 190–195, 199,
glossary. See also
Computers and language

ASL,
glossary. See also
American Sign Language

Aspect, 26, 128

Atran, S., 440

Au, T., 57

Auditory perception.
See
Hearing

Australian languages, 232, 241, 257, 258, 259, 262–274, 292

Autosegmental phonology, 174–176

Auxiliaries, 18, 28–31, 110–111, 276,
glossary

 

 

Babbling, 269

Baillargeon, R., 455

Baker, M., PS 15

Bantu, 14, 120–121, 167, 234, 256, PS16

Bar Hillel, Y., 454

Barry, D., 195, 248

Barzun, J., 408–409

Basque, 233, 234, 256, 261

Bates, E., 351, 377, 450, 461, 463, 465

Baynes, K., 318

Beatles, 183

Behavioral genetics, 333–339, PS11.
See also
Genes; Genes and language.

Behavorism, 8–9, 346, 421–423,
glossary

Bellugi, U., 41, 307

Belushi, J., 168

Belviso, B., 168

Benedict, R., 48

Berlin, B., 440, 451

Bernstein, T., 394, 402

Berra, Y., 338

Berwick, R., 461

Bever, T., 346, 457, 458

Bickerton, D., 21, 377, 460, 465

Bilingualism, 295–296, PS9, PS16–17

Birdsong, D., 455, 461, PS17

Black English Vernacular, 16–19, 29, 290, PS11, PS22, PS23

Bloom, A., 56–57

Bloom, P., 376, 456, 459, 464, PS5, PS14.

Boas, F., 48, 54

Bodmer, W., 447–448

Bolinger, D., 398, 413, 456

Bombeck, E., 302–303, 383

Bergman, D., 399

Bouchard, T., 335–336

Bowerman, M., 279

Bracken, H., PS3.

Brain, 34–35, 47, 67, 293–294, 304–324, 360, 373–376, 438, PS16, PS18–19

Brain damage.
See
Aphasia

Braine, M., 285, 460

Brandreth, G., 399, 454

Breathing, 159–160, 268–269

Bregman, A., 153, PS3

Breland, K. and M., 347

Bresnan, J., 14, 454, 457, 464, PS4, PS13.

Broca, P., 304

Broca’s area, 304, 313–317, 319–321, 343, 360, 362, 363, PS18

Brown, D., 427–432

Brown, R., 10, 50–51, 152, 272–275, 284, 450, 455, 469, PS4, PS23

Bryson, B., 466, PS23

Bush, G. H. W., 337, 403–404

Bushman.
See
Khoisan

 

 

Calvin, W., 375

Campbell, J., 453

Canadian English, 171

Caplan, D., 315, 461, 462, 463

Caramazza, A., 463

Carey, S., 145, 455, 468

Carroll, L., 31–32, 80–81, 109, 112, 205

Case, 108–110, 232–233, 240, 252, 402–406,
glossary

Caucasian languages, 257

Cavalli-Sforza, L., 256, 258, 260, 447–448, PS16

Celtic, 233, 251, 254

Chaucer, G., 252, 277, 389

Cheney, D., 59, 362

Cherokee, 15, 186

Children, 20, 23, 27–34, 58–59, 140–141, 144–145, 146–147, 265–388, 293–299, 248–350, 431, PS4, PS11, PS16–17

Chimpanzees, 343–359, 361, PS20

Chinese Sign Language, 147

Chomsky, C., 456

Chomsky, N., 8–11, 26, 29–31, 41, 75, 79, 85–89, 95–96, 104, 111, 113–114, 119, 218, 232, 238–239, 304, 341, 365–366, 368, 369, 373–374, 413, 425, 429, 436, 452, 453, PS3, PS4, PS8, PS10, PS11, PS13, PS14, PS20

Churchill, W., 387

Clahsen, H., 454

Clark, E., 455, 458, 460

Clark, H., 458

Clicks, 167–168, PS16

Clinton, B., 404–405, PS14

Closed-class words.
See
Function words

Cognitive science, 3,
glossary

Cole, R., 455

Coleridge, S. T., 61

Competence and performance, 195–196, 201–205, 210–212

Compounds, 122, 126, 136–138, 140–141, 399, 406–407,
glossary

Comprehension, 194–230, 272, 314, 318, PS14–15

Computers and language, 15, 19, 32, 69–72, 84–90, 122, 123, 157, 165, 178–180, 184–185, 190–195, 199–200, 207–209, 215, 227, 237, 270, PS14, PS14–15, PS20

Comrie, B., 450, 458, 459

Concepts, 45, 48–56, 57–61, 68, 70, 147–152, 429–430, 432–434, 437, 438–443

Conrad, J., 296

Consonants, 165–166, 169–170, 172–176, 178, 247,
glossary

Content words,
glossary. See also
Function words

Cooper, L., 62–63

Cooper, W., 455

Corballis, M., 462,

Cosmides, L., 334, 425, 429, 449, 465, 467, 468

Crain, S., 31–32, 141

Creoles and creolization, 20–28, 57, 73, 359, PS11, PS22

Crick, F., 61

Critical period, 25–26, 295–301, PS16–17

Crystal, D., 455, 456, 459, 466, PS22

Culicover, P., PS13.

Culture, 5–6, 13–15, 19, 421–423, 429–432

Cuneiform, 186

Curtiss, S., 451, 461

Czech, 139, 267

 

 

Daly, M., 468

Damasio, A. and H., 463

Darwin, C., 6, 7, 149, 242, 254, 341, 351–352, 365–369, 370, 377, 381, 425, 435, PS10

Dative, 14, 248,
glossary

Dawkins, R., 371, 372, 452, 465, PS5

Deacon, T., 360, 465

Deafness, 24, 25, 57–59, 269, 282, 296, 297–298, 307–308, 346–347, PS17

Dean, D., 134

Deep structure, 113–118, 218–222, 453,
glossary

Deixis, 71

Dennett, D., 452, 465, PS5.

Derivation, 121–123, 125–130, 393–394, 407–410,
glossary

Di Sciullo, A., 142–143, 453

Diachronic linguistics.
See
Historical change

Dialects, 15, 16–19

Dictionaries, 119, 123, 143–145, 205, 396, 397, 416–417

Dictionary, mental, 74–75, 91, 105–108, 114–116, 125, 130–152, 197–199, 317–321

Didion, J., 61

Discourse,
glossary. See also
Pragmatics

Dronkers, N., 462

Druyan, A., 344

Dutch, 253

Dylan, B., 83, 409–410

Dyslexia, 186, 312, 329,
glossary

Dyson, F., 241–242

 

 

Ebonics.
See
Black English Vernacular

Education, PS17

EEG, 219, 306, 319, 324

Eimas, P., 266

Einstein, A., 61–62

ELIZA, 193–194

Embedding, 86–87, 91–93, 201–206, 291–292

Emonds, J., 405, 413

English, history of, 32, 109, 130, 131, 163–164, 187, 241, 247–253, 278–279, 386–389, 392, 417–418

English-only movement, PS23

Ervin-Tripp, S., 460–461

Espy, W., 399, 452, 454, 456

Etcoff, N., 462

Evoked potentials.
See
EEG

Everett, D., PS10, P11, PS15

Evolution, 241–245, 298–301, 308–313, 351–359, 365–373, 425, PS19–20

Evolution of humans, 5, 260–262, 268, 352–365, 425, 447–448

Evolution of language, 341, 351–366, 373–381, PS5, P10, PS19–21

Evolutionary psychology, 425–427

Extinction of languages, 262–264, PS16

 

 

Faraday, M., 61–62

Faulkner, W., 78

Feral children, 281–282, 296–298

Fernald, A., 461

Finite-state devices, 80–90, 91–93, 123–124, 184, 203–204, 209, 213, 419–420, 452

Fitch, T, PS20

fMRI.
See
MRI

Fodor, J., 419–421, PS4

FOXP2 gene, 38, 331–332, PS12, PS20

Frayn, M., 81–83, 84

Frazier, L., 457

Freeman, D., 428

Freeman, J., PS21

French, 112, 165, 251–252, 254, 267, 385, 289

Function words, 35–36, 110–113

 

 

Galaburda, A., 360, 461

Gallistel, C.R., 425

Gamow, G., PS5.

Garden path sentences, 211–216

Gardner, B. and A., 364, 350

Gardner, H., 35–36, 449, 462

Gardner, M., PS5

Garnsey, S., 213

Gazzaniga, M., 305, 312, 313, 425, 461, 463

Geertz, C., 427

Gelman, S., 443, 467

Gender, 14–15, 111, 120–122, 277,
glossary

General Semantics, 46

Genes, 62, 75–76, 259–261, 298–301, 311, 328–330, 333–336, 360–362, 370, 422–424, 426, 444–448, PS12, PS19–20, P22,
glossary

Genes and language, 37–38, 41–43, 302–304, 330–333, 337, 360, PS12, PS17, PS20

Genie, 297

German, 50, 112, 113, 165, 173, 235, 253, 277

Geschwind, N., 461, 462

Gleitman, L., 453, 455, 460

Glossolalia, 168

Glottis, 160, 165

Golinkoff, R., 460, PS16

Goodall, J., 347

Goodglass, H., 462

Goodman, N., 432–433

Gopnik, M., 37–39, 302–303, 332–333

Gordon, P., 140–141, 237, PS11

Gould, S. J., 359, 370, 468, PS5

Grammar, generative, 9, 76–81, 89–118, 124–143, 159, 195–197, 237–241, 383,
glossary

Grammar, prescriptive, 16, 19, 79–80, 383–418, PS21,
glossary

Grammar, Universal.
See
Universal Grammar

Grammatical categories, 91–92, 97–99, 127, 138–139, 206–207, 289.
See also
Nouns, Verbs

Greek, 120, 235, 254, 258

Greenberg, J., 234–237, 256–259

Grice, P., 228–230

Grimm, J., 254

Grimshaw, J., 453

 

 

Hackers, 130–131, 133, 163

Hagoort, P., PS 19

Haig, A., 130

Haldane, J., 369

Hale, K., 264

Halle, M., 10, 454, 456, PS14

Harris, J. R., PS11, PS22

Hauser, M., PS20

Hawaiian, 257

Hawaiian Pidgin and Creole, 20–23

Hayakawa, S. I., 46

Hadza, PS16

Hearing, 153–154, 156–158

Heath, S. B., 29

Hebb, D. O., PS3.

Heinlein, R., 134

Hellman, L., 110

Hickok, G., PS5, PS19

Hieroglyphics, 186

Hinton, G., 459

Hirschberg, S. and T., PS23

Hirsh-Pasek, K., 460, PS16

Historical change, 242–248, 257–262, 416–418, PS15–16, PS23.
See also
English, history of

Hockett, C., 159, 238

Hofstadter, D., 452

Hopi, 53, 120

Humboldt, W. von, 75

Humor and wordplay, 48, 75, 80, 82, 94, 107–108, 112–113, 130–135, 155–157, 163, 166, 168–169, 170, 171, 175–177, 182, 185, 192, 230, 390, 399–402

Human nature, 419–448, PS10, PS21

Hungarian, 256

Hunter-gatherers, 5, 12, 259, 379–381, 425, 438–440, PS16

Hurfbrd, J., 300, 461

Hutchinson, J., 151

Huttenlocher, P., 461

 

 

Illiteracy, 186

Indian, American.
See
American languages

Indian languages, 234, 253–257, 259, 267

Individual differences, 333–339, 444–448

Indo-European, 132, 253–257, 259, 261, 278, PS15–l6,
glossary

Induction, 148–152, 432–436,
glossary

Infant cognition, 59, 151, 266–269, 441–442

Infinity of language, 77–78, 84, 93, 122–124, 127, 292, 424

Inflection, 25, 32–34, 38–39, 46, 120–122, 123–127, 131–141, 232–233, 236, 239–240, 277–279, 288, 320, 333, 388–389, 393–394,
glossary

Innateness of language, 5–7, 9–10, 13–15, 18–20, 31, 104, 141, 186, 243–244, 245, 281, 287, 327, 424–425

Intonation, 160,
glossary

Irish.
See
Celtic

Irregularity, 134–141, 187, 247, 255–256, 277–279, 288, 388, 393–394, PS4, PS6,
glossary

Italian, 120, 168–169, 170, 234, 254, 320

 

 

Jackendoff, R., 425, 452, 453, 456, 468, PS10, PS13, PS14, PS21

James, W., 7, 243

Japanese, 103, 146, 168, 170, 186, 202, 233, 236, 245, 257, 259, 260

Jesperson, O., 459

Jeyifous, S., 468

Johnson, S., 119, 417–418

Joos, M., 232

Jordan, M., 456

Journalism, 223–226, 302–304

Jusczyk, P., 266, 267

 

 

Kaplan, S., 468

Kay, P., 451

Keenan, J., 25

Kegl, J., 25

Kenneally, C., PS19

Kennedy, R. F., 101

Khan, Genghis, 256

Khoisan, 135, 256, PS16

Kilpatrick, J., 302–303, 332

Kim, J., 454–466

King, M. L., 339

Kinsbourne, M., 309–311

Kiparsky, P., 140, 454, 459