What is language which has evolved: defining language from evolutionary perspective
Svetlana T.davidova
January 2023 

Language has proven to be a highly complex and multifaceted phenomenon, a co-existence of components, seemingly incompatible. Theoretical perspectives selectively focus on some to the disregard of others which is why in modern linguistics language is defined in two dominant and mutually exclusive alternatives. On the one had as a biological property and thus, stable, immutable and universal bio-cognitive capacity prompting the formation of modern languages, or on the other as a communicative technology, flexible and mutable in adapting to human demands for information and socialization. The present article defines language as a system of communication which incorporates elements of code and inference. It is a system stable and flexible at the same time. The best representation of language in use is the dialogue. The best example of a human language user is the normal adult human with average cognitive and physiological abilities. Such understanding of language could have profound consequences for tracing its evolution by understanding the contribution of phylogenesis and developmental experiences in the formation of language as stable and at the same time flexible system, well adapted for accommodating human demands for communication from the dawn of humanity to the present.

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/006612 (please use that when you cite this article)
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keywords:	language system, language use, language evolution, language faculty, semantics, syntax
previous versions:	v1 [May 2022]
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