New Directions in Cognitive Science The Inheritance and Innateness of Grammars

Based on an annual conference at Simon Fraser University, this volume collects together papers that discuss the evidence and arguments regarding the inheritability and innateness of grammar, and shows that whole precursors of language exist in other creatures. In the VANCOUVER STUDIES IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE series. This volume, the sixth in the Vancouver series based on an annual conference at Simon Fraser University, collects papers that discuss the evidence and arguments regarding the inheritability and innateness of grammars. The evidence - which ranges from babies who are just beginning to learn the properties of their native language, to language-impaired adults who will never learn it - converges to show that whole precursors of language exist in other creatures, the abilities necessary for constructing fully fledged grammars are part of the biological endowment of human beings.