LING 162 -- Nature/Nurture in Lang

Whispering Schoolgirls, Hadleyville, Oregon 1912 - photo by Roy Andrews [link]

Expanded course description

This course surveys issues in language with a special emphasis on explanations for how linguistic structure develops and is used by the individual and by communities of speakers. Two types of explanation for language structure will be presented as opposing views: (1) structure is genetically determined through natural selection (nature); (2) structure emerges from cultural selection and is learned anew by each generation of language speakers (nurture). The view that nature or nurture principally determines behavior is not unique to Linguistics. Theoretical divides in other disciplines that study human behavior are also often based in a nature-nurture opposition. In this course, we will explore the merits and demerits of each view and its impact on language research. We will conclude that the opposition is beneficial to the development of knowledge because of the debate that it engenders, and the research undertaken in support of one view or the other. A complete explanation for language structure will necessarily incorporate insights gained from the advancement of both perspectives.

Group: A&L

Offered 200601.

Syllabus

Although syllabi can change from term to term, a syllabus may provide further information about typical instances of this course.