NoamChomskyontheEvolutionofLanguage:

ABiolinguisticPerspective
Saturday,24September201600:00

ByC.J.Polychroniou(/author/itemlist/user/45668),Truthout|Interview

(Image:LaurenWalker/Truthout(http://www.flickr.com/photos/truthout))

Humanlanguageiscrucialtothescientificquesttounderstandwhatkindofcreaturesweareand,
thuscrucialtounlockingthemysteriesofhumannature.
Intheinterviewthatfollows,NoamChomsky,thescholarwhosinglehandedlyrevolutionizedthe
modernfieldoflinguistics,discussestheevolutionoflanguageandlaysoutthebiolinguist
perspectivetheideathatahumanbeing'slanguagerepresentsastateofsomecomponentofthe
mind.Thisisanideathatcontinuestobafflemanynonexperts,manyofwhomhavesoughtto
challengeChomsky'stheoryoflanguagewithoutreallyunderstandingit.
Journalistand''radicalchic"reactionarywriterTomWolfewasthelatesttodosoinhislaughable
newbook,TheKingdomofSpeech,whichseekstotakedownCharlesDarwinandNoamChomsky
throughsarcasticandignorantremarks,makingvitriolicattacksontheirpersonalitiesand
expressingadeephatredfortheLeft.Indeed,thismuchpublicizedbooknotonlydisplaysamazing
ignoranceaboutevolutioningeneralandthefieldoflinguisticsinparticular,butalsoaimsto
portrayNoamChomskyasevilduetohisconstantandrelentlessexposureofthecrimesofUS
foreignpolicyandotherchallengestothestatusquo.
C.J.Polychroniou:Noam,inyourrecentlypublishedbookwithRobertC.Berwick
(WhyOnlyUs:LanguageandEvolution,MITPress2016),youaddressthequestionof
theevolutionoflanguagefromtheperspectiveoflanguageaspartofthebiological
world.Thiswasalsothethemeofyourtalkataninternationalphysicsconferenceheld

thismonthinItaly,asitseemsthatthescientificcommunityappearstohaveadeeper
appreciationandamoresubtleunderstandingofyourtheoryoflanguageacquisition
thanmostsocialscientists,whoseemtomaintaingravereservationsaboutbiology
andtheideaofhumannatureingeneral.Indeed,isn'titthecasethatthespecific
abilityofourspeciestoacquireanylanguagewasamajorthemeofinteresttothe
modernscientificcommunityfromthetimeofGalileo?
NoamChomsky:Thisisquitetrue.Attheoutsetofthemodernscientificrevolution,Galileoand
thescientistphilosophersofthemonasteryofPortRoyalissuedacrucialchallengetothose
concernedwiththenatureofhumanlanguage,achallengethathadonlyoccasionallybeen
recognizeduntilitwastakenupinthemid20thcenturyandbecametheprimaryconcernofmuch
ofthestudyoflanguage.Forshort,I'llrefertoitastheGalileanchallenge.Thesegreatfoundersof
modernsciencewereawedbythefactthatlanguagepermitsus(intheirwords)toconstruct"from
25or30soundsaninfinitevarietyofexpressions,whichalthoughnothavinganyresemblancein
themselvestothatwhichpassesthroughourminds,neverthelessdonotfailtorevealallofthe
secretsofthemind,andtomakeintelligibletootherswhocannotpenetrateintothemindallthatwe
conceiveandallofthediversemovementsofoursouls."
WecannowseethattheGalileanchallengerequiressomequalifications,butitisveryrealand
should,Ithink,berecognizedasoneofthedeepestinsightsintherichhistoryofinquiryinto
languageandmindinthepast2500years.
Thechallengehadnotbeenentirelyignored.ForDescartes,ataboutthesametime,thehuman
capacityforunboundedandappropriateuseoflanguagewasaprimarybasisforhispostulationof
mindasanewcreativeprinciple.Inlateryears,thereisoccasionalrecognitionthatlanguageisa
creativeactivitythatinvolves"infiniteuseoffinitemeans,"inWilhelmvonHumboldt'sformulation
andthatitprovides"audiblesignsforthought,"inthewordsoflinguistWilliamDwightWhitneya
centuryago.Therehasalsobeenawarenessthatthesecapacitiesareaspeciesproperty,sharedby
humansanduniquetothemthemoststrikingfeatureofthiscuriousorganismandafoundation
foritsremarkableachievements.Buttherewasnevermuchtosaybeyondafewphrases.
Butwhyisitthattheviewoflanguageasaspeciesspecificcapacityisnottakenup
untilwellintothe20thcentury?
Thereisagoodreasonwhytheinsightslanguisheduntilmid20thcentury:intellectualtoolswere
notavailableforevenformulatingtheprobleminaclearenoughwaytoaddressitseriously.That
changedthankstotheworkofAlanTuringandothergreatmathematicianswhoestablishedthe
generaltheoryofcomputabilityonafirmbasis,showinginparticularhowafiniteobjectlikethe
braincangenerateaninfinitevarietyofexpressions.Itthenbecamepossible,forthefirsttime,to
addressatleastpartoftheGalileanchallengedirectlyalthough,regrettably,theearlierhistory[for
example,thehistoryofGalileo'sandDescartes'inquiriesintothephilosophyoflanguage,aswellas
thePortRoyalGrammarbyAntoineArnauldandClaudeLancelot]wasentirelyunknownatthe
time.
Withtheseintellectualtoolsavailable,itbecomespossibletoformulatewhatwemaycalltheBasic
Propertyofhumanlanguage:Thelanguagefacultyprovidesthemeanstoconstructadigitally
infinitearrayofstructuredexpressions,eachofwhichhasasemanticinterpretationexpressinga
thought,andeachofwhichcanbeexternalizedbymeansofsomesensorymodality.Theinfiniteset
ofsemanticallyinterpretedobjectsconstituteswhathassometimesbeencalleda"languageof
thought":thesystemofthoughtsthatreceivelinguisticexpressionandthatenterintoreflection,

inference,planningandothermentalprocesses,andwhenexternalized,canbeusedfor
communicationandothersocialinteractions.Byfar,themajoruseoflanguageisinternalthinking
inlanguage.
Canyoupleaseexpandonthenotionoftheinternallanguage?
Wenowknowthatalthoughspeechistheusualformofsensorymotorexternalization,itcanjustas
wellbesignoreventouch,discoveriesthatrequireaslightreformulationoftheGalileanchallenge.A
morefundamentalqualificationhastodowiththewaythechallengeisformulated:intermsof
productionofexpressions.Soformulated,thechallengeoverlookssomebasicissues.Production,
likeperception,accessestheinternallanguagebutcannotbeidentifiedwithit.Wemustdistinguish
theinternalizedsystemofknowledgefromtheactionsthataccessit.Thetheoryofcomputability
enablesustoestablishthedistinction,whichisanimportantone,familiarinotherdomains.
Consider,forexample,humanarithmeticalcompetence.Instudyingit,weroutinelydistinguishthe
internalsystemofknowledgefromtheactionsthataccessit,likemultiplyingnumbersinourhead,
anactionthatinvolvesmanyfactorsbeyondintrinsicknowledgememoryconstraints,forexample.
Thesameistrueoflanguage.Productionandperceptionaccesstheinternallanguagebutinvolve
otherfactorsaswell,includingagainshorttermmemory,mattersthatbegantobestudiedwith
somecareintheearlydaysofconcernwiththeGalileanchallenge,nowreformulatedtofocusonthe
internallanguage,thesystemofknowledgethatisaccessedbyactualproductionandbyperception.
Doesthismeanthatwehavesolvedthemysteryoftheinternallanguage?Forexample,
thewholeideacontinuestobequestionedinsomequarters,althoughitiswidely
accepted,apparently,bymostscientists.
Therehasbeenconsiderableprogressinunderstandingthenatureoftheinternallanguage,butits
freecreativeuseremainsamystery.Thatcomesasnosurprise.Inarecentreviewofthestateofthe
artconcerningfarsimplercasesofvoluntaryaction,twoleadingresearchers,neuroscientistsEmilio
BizziandRobertAjemian,writethatwearebeginningtolearnsomethingaboutthepuppetandthe
strings,butthepuppeteerremainsshroudedinmystery.Thatisevenmoredramaticallytruefor
suchcreativeactsasthenormal[everyday]useoflanguage,theuniquehumancapacitythatso
impressedthefoundersofmodernscience.
InformulatingtheBasicProperty,weareassumingthatthefacultyoflanguageissharedamong
humans.Thatseemssolidlyestablished.Therearenoknowngroupdifferencesinlanguagecapacity,
andindividualvariationisfoundonlyatthemargins.Moregenerally,geneticvariationamong
humansisquiteslight,nottoosurprisingly,giventherecencyofcommonorigins.
ThefundamentaltaskofinquiryintolanguageistodeterminethenatureoftheBasicPropertythe
geneticendowmentthatunderliesthefacultyoflanguage.Totheextentthatitspropertiesare
understood,wecanseektoinvestigateparticularinternallanguages,eachaninstantiationofthe
BasicProperty,muchaseachindividualvisualsystemisaninstantiationofthehumanfacultyof
vision.Wecaninvestigatehowtheinternallanguagesareacquiredandused,howthelanguage
facultyitselfevolved,itsbasisinhumangeneticsandthewaysitfunctionsinthehumanbrain.This
generalprogramofresearchhasbeencalledtheBiolinguisticProgram.Thetheoryofthegenetically
basedlanguagefacultyiscalledUniversalGrammarthetheoryofeachindividuallanguageiscalled
itsGenerativeGrammar.
Butlanguagesvarygreatlyfromoneanother,sowhat'sthelinkbetweenGenerative
GrammarandUniversalGrammar?

Languagesappeartobeextremelycomplex,varyingradicallyfromoneanother.Andindeed,a
standardbeliefamongprofessionallinguists60yearsagowasthatlanguagescanvaryinarbitrary
waysandeachmustbestudiedwithoutpreconceptions.Similarviewswereheldatthetimeabout
organismsgenerally.ManybiologistswouldhaveagreedwithmolecularbiologistGuntherStent's
conclusionthatthevariabilityoforganismsissofreeastoconstitute"anearinfinitudeofparticulars
whichhavetobesortedoutcasebycase."Whenunderstandingisthin,weexpecttoseeextreme
varietyandcomplexity.
However,agreatdealhasbeenlearnedsincethen.Withinbiology,itisnowrecognizedthatthe
varietyoflifeformsisverylimited,somuchsothatthehypothesisofa"universalgenome"hasbeen
seriouslyadvanced.Myownfeelingisthatlinguisticshasundergoneasimilardevelopment,andI
willkeepheretothatstrandincontemporarystudyoflanguage.
TheBasicPropertytakeslanguagetobeacomputationalsystem,whichwethereforeexpectto
observegeneralconditionsoncomputationalefficiency.Acomputationalsystemconsistsofasetof
atomicelementsandrulestoconstructmorecomplexones.Forgenerationofthelanguageof
thought,theatomicelementsarewordlike,thoughnotwordsforeachlanguage,thesetofthese
elementsisitslexicon.Thelexicalitemsarecommonlyregardedasculturalproducts,varyingwidely
withexperienceandlinkedtoextramentalentities[objectsentirelyoutsideofourminds,suchas
thetreeoutsidethewindow]anassumptionexpressedinthetitlesofstandardworks,suchas
W.V.Quine'sinfluentialstudyWordandObject.Closerexaminationrevealsaverydifferentpicture,
onethatposesmanymysteries.Let'sputthatasidefornow,turningtothecomputationalprocedure.
Clearly,wewillseekthesimplestcomputationalprocedureconsistentwiththedataoflanguage,for
reasonsthatareimplicitinthebasicgoalsofscientificinquiry.Ithaslongbeenrecognizedthat
simplicityoftheorytranslatesdirectlytoexplanatorydepth.Amorespecificversionofthisquestfor
understandingwasprovidedbyafamousdictumofGalileo's,whichhasguidedthesciencessince
theirmodernorigins:natureissimple,anditisthetaskofthescientisttodemonstratethis,fromthe
motionoftheplanets,toaneagle'sflight,totheinnerworkingsofacell,tothegrowthoflanguagein
themindofachild.Linguisticshasanadditionalmotiveofitsownforseekingthesimplesttheory:it
mustfacetheproblemofevolvability.Notagreatdealisknownaboutevolutionofmodernhumans,
butthefewfactsthatarewellestablished,andothersthathaverecentlybeencomingtolight,are
rathersuggestiveandconformwelltotheconclusionthatthelanguagefacultyisnearoptimalfora
computationalsystem,thegoalweshouldseekonpurelymethodologicalgrounds.
DidlanguageexistbeforetheemergenceofHomoSapiens?
Onefactthatdoesappeartobewellestablishedis,asIhavealreadymentioned,thatthefacultyof
languageisatruespeciesproperty,invariantamonghumangroupsandfurthermore,uniqueto
humansinitsessentialproperties.Itfollowsthattherehasbeenlittleornoevolutionofthefaculty
sincehumangroupsseparatedfromoneanother.Recentgenomicstudiesplacethisdatenotvery
longaftertheappearanceofanatomicallymodernhumansabout200,000yearsago,perhapssome
50,000yearslater,whentheSangroupinAfricaseparatedfromotherhumans.Thereissome
evidencethatitmighthavebeenevenearlier.Thereisnoevidenceofanythinglikehumanlanguage,
orsymbolicactivitiesaltogether,beforetheemergenceofmodernhumans,HomoSapiensSapiens.
Thatleadsustoexpectthatthefacultyoflanguageemergedalongwithmodernhumansornotlong
afteraverybriefmomentinevolutionarytime.Itfollows,then,thattheBasicPropertyshould
indeedbeverysimple.Theconclusionconformstowhathasbeendiscoveredinrecentyearsabout
thenatureoflanguageawelcomeconvergence.

ThediscoveriesaboutearlyseparationoftheSanpeoplearehighlysuggestive...[they]have
significantlydifferentexternalizedlanguages.Withirrelevantexceptions,theirlanguagesarealland
onlythelanguageswithphoneticclicks,withcorrespondingadaptationsinthevocaltract.Themost
likelyexplanationforthesefacts,developedindetailincurrentworkbyDutchlinguistRiny
Huijbregts,isthatpossessionofinternallanguageprecededseparation,whichinturnpreceded
externalization,thelatterinsomewhatdifferentwaysinseparatedgroups.Externalizationseemsto
beassociatedwiththefirstsignsofsymbolicbehaviorinthearchaeologicalrecord,afterthe
separation.Puttingtheseobservationstogether,itseemsthatwearereachingastagein
understandingwheretheaccountofevolutionoflanguagecanperhapsbefleshedoutinwaysthat
wereunimaginableuntilquiterecently.
Whendouniversalpropertiesoflanguagecometolight?
Universalpropertiesofthelanguagefacultybegantocometolightassoonasseriouseffortswere
undertakentoconstructgenerativegrammars,includingquitesimpleonesthathadneverbeen
noticed,andthatarequitepuzzlingaphenomenonfamiliarinthehistoryofthenaturalsciences.
Onesuchpropertyisstructuredependence:therulesthatyieldthelanguageofthoughtattendsolely
tostructuralproperties,ignoringpropertiesoftheexternalizedsignal,evensuchsimpleproperties
aslinearorder.
Toillustrate,considerthesentencebirdsthatflyinstinctivelyswim.Itisambiguous:theadverb
"instinctively"canbeassociatedwiththeprecedingverb(flyinstinctively)orthefollowingone
(instinctivelyswim).Supposenowthatweextracttheadverbfromthesentence,forming
instinctively,birdsthatflyswim.Nowtheambiguityisresolved:Theadverbisconstruedonlywith
thelinearlymoreremotebutstructurallycloserverbswim,notthelinearlycloserbutstructurally
moreremoteverbfly.Theonlypossibleinterpretationbirdsswimistheunnaturalone,butthat
doesn'tmatter:therulesapplyrigidly,independentofmeaningandfact.Whatispuzzlingisthatthe
rulesignorethesimplecomputationoflineardistanceandkeeptothefarmorecomplex
computationofstructuraldistance.
Thepropertyofstructuredependenceholdsforallconstructionsinalllanguages,anditisindeed
puzzling.Furthermore,itisknownwithoutrelevantevidence,asisevidentincasesliketheoneIjust
gaveandinnumerableothers.Experimentshowsthatchildrenunderstandthatrulesarestructure
dependentasearlyastheycanbetested,byaboutage3,anddonotmakeerrorsandare,of
course,notinstructed.Wecanbequiteconfident,then,thatstructuredependencefollowsfrom
principlesofuniversalgrammarthataredeeplyrootedinthehumanlanguagefaculty.Thereis
evidencefromothersourcesthatsupportstheconclusionthatstructuredependenceisatrue
linguisticuniversal,deeplyrootedinlanguagedesign.ResearchconductedinMilanadecadeago,
initiatedbyAndreaMoro,showedthatinventedlanguageskeepingtotheprincipleofstructure
dependenceelicitnormalactivationinthelanguageareasofthebrain,butmuchsimplersystems
usinglinearorderinviolationoftheseprinciplesyielddiffuseactivation,implyingthatexperimental
subjectsaretreatingthemasapuzzle,notalanguage.SimilarresultswerefoundinworkbyNeil
SmithandIanthiTsimpliintheirinvestigationofacognitivelydeficientbutlinguisticallygifted
subject.Theyalsomadetheinterestingobservationthat[peoplewithaveragecognitiveabilities]can
solvetheproblemifitispresentedtothemasapuzzle,butnotifitispresentedasalanguage,
presumablyactivatingthelanguagefaculty.
Theonlyplausibleconclusion,then,isthatstructuredependenceisaninnatepropertyofthe
languagefaculty,anelementoftheBasicProperty.Whyshouldthisbeso?Thereisonlyoneknown
answer,andfortunately,itistheanswerweseekforgeneralreasons:Thecomputationaloperations

oflanguagearethesimplestpossibleones.Again,thatistheoutcomethatwehopetoreachon
methodologicalgrounds,andthatistobeexpectedinthelightoftheevidenceaboutevolutionof
languagealreadymentioned.
Whataboutthesocalledrepresentationaldoctrineaboutlanguage?Whatmakesita
falseideaforhumanlanguage?
AsImentioned,theconventionalviewisthatatomicelementsoflanguageareculturalproducts,and
thatthebasiconesthoseusedforreferringtotheworldareassociatedwithextramental
entities.Thisrepresentationalistdoctrinehasbeenalmostuniversallyadoptedinthemodernperiod.
Thedoctrineappearstoholdforanimalcommunication:amonkey'scalls,forexample,are
associatedwithspecificphysicalevents.Butthedoctrineisradicallyfalseforhumanlanguage,as
wasrecognizedasfarbackasclassicalGreece.
Toillustrate,let'stakethefirstcasethatwasdiscussedinpreSocraticphilosophy,theproblem
posedbyHeraclitus:howcanwecrossthesamerivertwice?Toputitdifferently,whyaretwo
appearancesunderstoodtobetwostagesofthesameriver?Contemporaryphilosophershave
suggestedthattheproblemissolvedbytakingarivertobeafourdimensionalobject,butthat
simplyrestatestheproblem:whythisobjectandnotsomedifferentone,ornoneatall?
Whenwelookintothequestion,puzzlesabound.Supposethattheflowoftheriverhasbeen
reversed.Itisstillthesameriver.Supposethatwhatisflowingbecomes95percentarsenicbecause
ofdischargesfromanupstreamplant.Itisstillthesameriver.Thesameistrueofotherquiteradical
changesinthephysicalobject.Ontheotherhand,withveryslightchangesitwillnolongerbeariver
atall.Ifitssidesarelinedwithfixedbarriersanditisusedforoiltankers,itisacanal,notariver.If
itssurfaceundergoesaslightphasechangeandishardened,alineispainteddownthemiddle,andit
isusedtocommutetotown,thenitisahighway,nolongerariver.Exploringthematterfurther,we
discoverthatwhatcountsasariverdependsonmentalactsandconstructions.Thesameistrue,
quitegenerally,ofeventhemostelementaryconcepts:tree,water,house,person,London,orinfact,
anyofthebasicwordsofhumanlanguage.Radically,unlikeanimals,theitemsofhumanlanguage
andthoughtuniformlyviolatetherepresentationalistdoctrine.
Furthermore,theintricateknowledgeofthemeansofeventhesimplestwords,letaloneothers,is
acquiredvirtuallywithoutexperience.Atpeakperiodsoflanguageacquisition,childrenare
acquiringaboutawordanhour,thatis,oftenononepresentation.Itmustbe,then,thattherich
meaningofeventhemostelementarywordsissubstantiallyinnate.Theevolutionaryoriginofsuch
conceptsisacompletemystery,onethatmaynotberesolvablebymeansavailabletous.
Sowedefinitelyneedtodistinguishspeechfromlanguage,right?
ReturningtotheGalileanchallenge,ithastobereformulatedtodistinguishlanguagefromspeech,
andtodistinguishproductionfrominternalknowledgethelatteraninternalcomputational
systemthatyieldsalanguageofthought,asystemthatmightberemarkablysimple,conformingto
whattheevolutionaryrecordsuggests.Secondaryprocessesmapthestructuresoflanguagetooneor
anothersensorymotorsystemforexternalization.Theseprocessesappeartobethelocusofthe
complexityandvarietyoflinguisticbehavior,anditsmutabilityovertime.
Therearesuggestiverecentideasabouttheneuralbasisfortheoperationsofthecomputational
system,andaboutitspossibleevolutionaryorigins.Theoriginoftheatomsofcomputation,
however,remainsacompletemystery,asdoesamajorquestionthatconcernedthosewho
formulatedtheGalileanchallenge:theCartesianquestionofhowlanguagecanbeusedinthenormal

creativeway,inamannerappropriatetosituationsbutnotcausedbythem,inwaysthatareincited
andinclinedbutnotcompelled,inCartesianterms.Themysteryholdsforeventhesimplestformsof
voluntarymotion,asdiscussedearlier.
AgreatdealhasbeenlearnedaboutlanguagesincetheBiolinguisticProgramwasinitiated.Itisfair
tosay,Ithink,thatmorehasbeenlearnedaboutthenatureoflanguage,andaboutaverywide
varietyoftypologicallydifferentlanguage,thanintheentire2,500yearhistoryofinquiryinto
language.Butasisfamiliarinthesciences,themorewelearn,themorewediscoverwhatwedonot
know.Andthemorepuzzlingitseems.
Copyright,Truthout.Maynotbereprintedwithoutpermission(mailto:editor@truthout.org).

C.J.POLYCHRONIOU(/AUTHOR/ITEMLIST/USER/45668)
C.J.Polychroniouisapoliticaleconomist/politicalscientistwhohastaughtandworkedinuniversitiesand
researchcentersinEuropeandtheUnitedStates.HismainresearchinterestsareinEuropeaneconomic
integration,globalization,thepoliticaleconomyoftheUnitedStatesandthedeconstructionofneoliberalism's
politicoeconomicproject.HeisaregularcontributortoTruthoutaswellasamemberofTruthout'sPublic
IntellectualProject.Hehaspublishedseveralbooksandhisarticleshaveappearedinavarietyofjournals,
magazines,newspapersandpopularnewswebsites.Manyofhispublicationshavebeentranslatedintoseveral
foreignlanguages,includingCroatian,French,Greek,Italian,Portuguese,SpanishandTurkish.
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