The Origin Of Language Essay -- essays research papers fc

There has been tidy historical discourse over the nature of vocabulary. Most contend that thinking and phrase atomic number 18 cardinal interrelated criteria. Just how these criteria relate to the inclination over whether sensuals be consent dustup capabilities and even more specifically to the Sapir-Whorf charitable language thought debate, however, is non always clear. From a human condition we know that language is a achievement which allows us to communicate our thoughts to others and in so doing to attain sought after "biological, cognitive, and social/ behavioural feedback" (McDonnell, 1977). The question as to whether language is a skill that human beings are natural with or whether it is a skill that is acquired is a complex wiz and non one in which all tecs are in agreement.Neither are researchers in agreement about whether animals have the capability of language. To resolve these controversies we must research to both human and animal research. The linguistic relativity surmisal cognise as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was substantial by Benjamin Lee Whorf (a linguist and anthropologist) and Edward Sapir. The theory argues that language is a finite array of lexical and grammatical categories that group experiences into usable classes which start across cultures but influence thought.The theory maintains that a concept cannot be understood without an appropriate word for that concept. To explore this theory and the animal language controversy we must first pack that both animals and humans have the mental ability for language. The next task thus would be to determine whether that capacity is innate or acquired. A mark which is innate is an instinctual behavior and closely often one which one was born with. An innate or instinctual behavior is often associated with an organisms transmissible propensity to stand or react in a certain way.Innate language ability or our genetic paper, under the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, would serve to limit the abstract ability of an individual for without haggling concepts could not be understood agree to this hypothesis. There are legion(predicate) points which can serve to discredit this hypothesis.The fundamental interaction between genetic makeup and behavior or reaction is an arouse one. Some researchers contend that grassroots linguistic organization, or grammar, is a one, which is strengthened into the human brain (McConnell, 1977). These researcher believe that humans... ... is, inarguably, a tremendously all-important(prenominal) part of linguistic study and justness. Obviously it is social interaction which determines the particulars of our language. It could be contended therefore that because animals have not been presented with the appropriate stimulus which would require the refinement of their language, they have not slap-up language skills to the class which is evidenced in humans. This does not mean that animals are incapable of lang uage, or that they lack an instinct of concepts due to their lack of haggle for those concepts, just that they presently lack the degree of refinement which is observable in human language.BibliographyGrunwald, Lisa Jeff Goldberg and Stacey Be. (1993, 1 Jul).Discovery The fearful Minds of Infants. Life.Huba, M.E. and S. Ramisetty-Mikler. (1995, 1 Sep). TheLanguage skills and concepts of azoic and non-earlyReaders. ledger of Genetic Psychology.McConnell, James V. (1977). arrest Human BehaviorAn foundation garment to Psychology. Holt, Rinehart andWinston. New York.Murray, Linda A. (1996, Feb 1). Social Interaction and the evolution of Language and Cognition. British Journalof Psychology. The Origin Of Language Essay -- essays research papers fc There has been considerable historical discourse over the nature of language. Most contend that thought and language are two interrelated criteria. Just how these criteria relate to the controversy over whether animals h ave language capabilities and even more specifically to the Sapir-Whorf human language thought debate, however, is not always clear. From a human context we know that language is a skill which allows us to communicate our thoughts to others and in so doing to attain desired "biological, cognitive, and social/behavioral feedback" (McDonnell, 1977). The question as to whether language is a skill that human beings are born with or whether it is a skill that is acquired is a complex one and not one in which all researchers are in agreement.Neither are researchers in agreement about whether animals have the capability of language. To resolve these controversies we must look to both human and animal research.The linguistic relativity theory known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was developed by Benjamin Lee Whorf (a linguist and anthropologist) and Edward Sapir. The theory argues that language is a finite array of lexical and grammatical categories that group experiences into usable classes which vary across cultures but influence thought.The theory maintains that a concept cannot be understood without an appropriate word for that concept. To explore this theory and the animal language controversy we must first accept that both animals and humans have the capacity for language. The next task then would be to determine whether that capacity is innate or acquired. A characteristic which is innate is an instinctual behavior and most often one which one was born with. An innate or instinctual behavior is often associated with an organismsgenetic propensity to behave or react in a certain way.Innate language ability or our genetic makeup, under the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, would serve to limit the conceptual ability of an individual for without words concepts could not be understood according to this hypothesis. There are numerous points which can serve to discredit this hypothesis.The interaction between genetic makeup and behavior or reaction is an interesting one . Some researchers contend that basic linguistic organization, or grammar, is a one, which is built into the human brain (McConnell, 1977). These researcher believe that humans... ... is, inarguably, a tremendously important part of linguistic development and refinement. Obviously it is social interaction which determines the particulars of our language. It could be contended therefore that because animals have not been presented with the appropriate stimulus which would require the refinement of their language, they have not refined language skills to the degree which is evidenced in humans. This does not mean that animals are incapable of language, or that they lack an understanding of concepts due to their lack of words for those concepts, just that they presently lack the degree of refinement which is observable in human language.BibliographyGrunwald, Lisa Jeff Goldberg and Stacey Be. (1993, 1 Jul).Discovery The Amazing Minds of Infants. Life.Huba, M.E. and S. Ramisetty-Mikler. (1995, 1 Sep). TheLanguage skills and concepts of early and non-earlyReaders. Journal of Genetic Psychology.McConnell, James V. (1977). Understanding Human BehaviorAn Introduction to Psychology. Holt, Rinehart andWinston. New York.Murray, Linda A. (1996, Feb 1). Social Interaction and theDevelopment of Language and Cognition. British Journalof Psychology.