"There was originally thought" meaning "Chomsky thought". But it was all obvious bollocks, contrary to elementary natural selection.
Grammars necessarily have to be compatible with brain organization inherited from our primate ancestors, who obviously could have had no "language organ" carried about waiting to find some sort of use by their future descendants. Brain structures all need to be immediately useful for surviving or reproducing.
One theory has been that language runs on a bit of brain hypertrophied as a sort of peacock's tail, not necessarily of any survival value, originally, but needed to impress a potential mate. It could have been used to carry a tune.
Others have suggested language originated between mothers and children, growing out of lullabies. The two are not incompatible.
> One theory has been that language runs on a bit of brain hypertrophied as a sort of peacock's tail
> Others have suggested language originated between mothers and children, growing out of lullabies.
Sources?
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Separately, is language unique to humans? Are there examples of convergent evolution (semblances of grammatical structure) that can give us more clues as to how language may have evolved in humans?
Grammatical language, e.g. with subclauses, does appear from evidence thus far to be unique to humans, although whalesong is complex enough that it might yet be found there.
I gather that, since the "universal grammatical structure" was promoted, languages have been discovered that are said to lack any such forms. "Said to", because very few people are reporting on them.
Sorry, for sources I would be doing the same DDGing you will.
Grammars necessarily have to be compatible with brain organization inherited from our primate ancestors, who obviously could have had no "language organ" carried about waiting to find some sort of use by their future descendants. Brain structures all need to be immediately useful for surviving or reproducing.
One theory has been that language runs on a bit of brain hypertrophied as a sort of peacock's tail, not necessarily of any survival value, originally, but needed to impress a potential mate. It could have been used to carry a tune.
Others have suggested language originated between mothers and children, growing out of lullabies. The two are not incompatible.