"Evolutionary linguistics or Darwinian linguistics is a sociobiological approach to the study of language. Evolutionary linguists consider linguistics as a subfield of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The approach is also closely linked with evolutionary anthropology, cognitive linguistics and biolinguistics."
The study of the evolution of language as a biological and cultural phenomenon.
Evolutionary theory: The principles and processes of evolution, including natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation.
Linguistics: The scientific study of language, including its structure, history, and variation across primate species.
Language acquisition: The process by which humans acquire language, including the role of innate cognitive mechanisms, social interaction, and language exposure.
Phonetics and phonology: The study of the sounds used in language and the rules governing their use, including the basic sounds of human language (phonemes) and the patterns of their combination (phonology).
Morphology and syntax: The study of the smallest units of meaning in language (morphemes) and the ways in which they are combined to form words, phrases and sentences (syntax).
Semantics and pragmatics: The study of meaning in language and the ways in which it is conveyed through context, including the use of figurative language, ambiguity, and presupposition.
Historical linguistics: The study of language change over time, including the reconstruction of protolanguages and the genetic relationships between different languages.
Computational linguistics: The use of computers to analyze and model human language, including natural language processing and machine translation.
Cultural evolution: The processes by which cultural traits and practices spread and change across populations, including the role of social transmission and cultural selection.
Evolutionary psychology: The study of how human cognition and behavior have been shaped by evolution, including the role of natural selection, sexual selection, and inclusive fitness.
"A main challenge in this research is the lack of empirical data: there are no archaeological traces of early human language."
"Computational biological modelling and clinical research with artificial languages have been employed to fill in gaps of knowledge."
"Although biology is understood to shape the brain, which processes language, there is no clear link between biology and specific human language structures or linguistic universals."
"It is suggested that grammar has emerged adaptationally from the human genome, bringing about a language instinct; or that it depends on a single mutation which has caused a language organ to appear in the human brain."
"There is so far little scientific evidence for any of these claims, and some of them have been labelled as pseudoscience."
"Others suggest language is not crystallized, but fluid and ever-changing."
"Others, yet, liken languages to living organisms. Languages are considered analogous to a parasite or populations of mind-viruses."
"The approach is also closely linked with evolutionary anthropology, cognitive linguistics, and biolinguistics."
"Studying languages as the products of nature, it is interested in the biological origin and development of language."
"Evolutionary linguists consider linguistics as a subfield of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology."
"Evolutionary linguistics is contrasted with humanistic approaches, especially structural linguistics."
"Computational biological modelling and clinical research with artificial languages have been employed to fill in gaps of knowledge."
"There is so far little scientific evidence for any of these claims, and some of them have been labelled as pseudoscience."
"It is suggested that grammar has emerged adaptationally from the human genome, bringing about a language instinct."
"It depends on a single mutation which has caused a language organ to appear in the human brain."
"Others suggest language is not crystallized, but fluid and ever-changing."
"Studying languages as the products of nature, it is interested in the biological origin and development of language."
"Evolutionary linguists consider linguistics as a subfield of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology."
"A main challenge in this research is the lack of empirical data: there are no archaeological traces of early human language."