A Linguistics for the Evolution and Neurobiology of Language

This article raises questions about the kind of linguistic data that is relevant to evolutionary and neurobiological accounts of language. We would not want to demand an account of the evolution and current neurobiology of human movement provide an explanation for how an Olympic skater is able to do a triple Lutz. We also would not want to burden an account of the evolution and neurobiology of language with the necessity to explain the form of utterances made possible by writing. In both cases, the brain (nervous system) requires years of specialized training to produce the behavior. And in neither case would we have identified the evolutionary and neurobiological phenomenon we wish to understand. This article discusses problems in identifying “what evolved” in language evolution and in identifying the kind of language the brain processes today when it comprehends, produces, and acquires “what evolved.”