Running head: REACTIONAIRRE: THE LANGUAGE INSTINCT

Reactionairre:
TheLanguageInstinctbyStevenPinker

KelleyBratcher
TheUniversityofSouthernMississippi

Reactionairre: The language instinct

Abstract
InTheLanguageInstinctbyStevenPinker,welearnthatthoughvariationexists,
languageischaracteristicofallhumankind.Pinkerinvestigatestopicsincludinglanguage
acquisition,UniversalGrammar,cognitivesciences,signlanguage,bilingualismand
sociolinguistics.Asheguidesusthroughsomeofthemyths,misconceptionsand
mysteriesoflanguage,weareforcedtoconcludethatinitsessence,languageisa
uniquelyhumantraitthatisfullofintricaciesandunknowns.

Reactionairre: The language instinct

Reactionairre:TheLanguageInstinctbyStevenPinker

InTheLanguageInstinctbyStevenPinker,welearnthatthoughvariationexists,
thecommonalityoflanguagebindsusall.Pinkerexplainsthisconceptbyleadingthe
readerthroughanindepthexplorationoflanguagefromthecognitiverealmtothefield
ofsociolinguisticsandplacesinbetween.Pinkeraddressestopicssuchascognitive
development,languageacquisitionandsociolinguistics.Wefindthatlanguageisa
complexblendofartandsciencethatmixesinalittleinsanity.Forexample,considerthe
factthatwedriveonaparkway,butparkinadriveway.Pinkerbreaksdownsuch
mysteriesoflanguage,debunksdozensofmyths,andclearsupsometruemisconceptions
surroundinglanguageacquisition.
Pinker(2007)explainslanguageasabiologicaladaptationtocommunicate
information(p.6).Knowingthatlanguageisaninstinctualcharacteristicofthehuman
experienceiscomfortingasateacher.Teachersandlearnerscanworktogetherto
improveuponnaturesalreadyrefinedsystemoflanguagedevelopment.AsOscarWilde
said,Educationisanadmirablething,butitiswelltorememberfromtimetotimethat
nothingthatisworthknowingcanbetaught(Pinker,2007,p.6).
Forexample,weseelanguageemergefromthemostremotecivilizations,likethe
remotehighlandtribeMichaelLeahyfirstmadecontactwithin1930.Cutofffromother
civilizations,thisgroupofpeopledevelopedalanguagethathadsurvivedinisolationfor

Reactionairre: The language instinct

40,000years.WhattheAustralianLeahyperceivedasjabberwasacomplex,albeit
unfamiliar,languagesystemwhosespeakerscouldexpressabstractthought,invisible
entitiesandsequencesofreasoning(p.13).
AlthoughthelanguageLeahyheardsoundedforeign,thereexistsaUniversal
Grammarsysteminwhichsimilaritiesbetweenlanguagesabound.Infact,themind
containsaprogramforbuildingunlimitedamountsofcommunicationsfromsentences
andwordscallUniversalGrammar(UG).Pinkerexplainsthatlanguagedevelopsrapidly
andwithoutformalinstructiondueinparttoUG(p.9).
Someofthemostcompellingevidenceoflanguageasabiologicalinstinctcomes
fromDerekBikertonandhisstudiesonthepidginlanguageofslaveplantationsthat
eventuallydevelopedintothefull,complexlanguagescalledcreoles.Thoughthe
sentence,"Mecapbuy,mecheckmake"isfairlyimpossibletounderstandtothe
Englishspeaker,itisnonethelessafullandcomplexutteranceofHawaiiancreolethat
translatesto,"Heboughtmycoffee;hemademeoutacheck"(p.22).Thiscreole
languageemergedfromtheworkersbroughtfromAsia,EuropetoHawaiitoworksugar
plantationsinthe1890s(p.22).Thechildrenoftheseimmigrantlaborerswerenot
contenttospeakthebrokenpidginusedbytheirparentsinthefields,andinstead
instinctuallybegantoinventwhatisnowknownasHawaiiCreole.Thechildren
unknowinglyfollowedtherulesofUGduringtheirdevelopmentofthelanguage,which
exhibitssimilarbasicgrammarpatternsasthosefoundinlanguagesaroundtheworld(p.
23).

Reactionairre: The language instinct

Children,therefore,aretheinnovatorsoflanguage.Researchshowsthatnative
likelanguageacquisitionisnormalforchildrenuptotheageofsix,increasingly
compromisedfromthenuntiljustafterpuberty,andisuncommonthereafter(p.298).
This'criticalperiod'oflanguagedevelopmentdependsonthepracticalityofthehuman
brain,whichseeksenergyintheformofoxygenandcalories,andcastsoffneuraltissue
thatisnolongeruseful(p.300).
Asgenerationsofchildrentransformlanguage,grammarmavensaroundthe
worldsquawkatthenewestinnovationsandtrytoholdontooldfashionedrules.Many
currentprescriptiverulesofgrammarcanbetracedbacktotheprestigethatLatin
assumedinthe1700s.DeviationsfromStandardAmericanEnglish,suchasAfrican
AmericanVernacularEnglishorChicanoEnglish,areoftenlabeledaslesssophisticated
andillogical.AsPinkerclaims,"...forcingmodernspeakersofEnglishtonotwhoops,
nottosplitaninfinitivebecauseitisn'tdoneinLatinmakesaboutasmuchsenseas
forcingmodernresidentsofEnglandtowearlaurelsandtogas"(p.386).Linguistic
diversityisattheheartoflanguageevolution.
Whetherwesayarenotorain't,weallthinkinmentalese.Mentaleseisthe
hypothetical"languageofthought."Pinkerdebunksthepopularmyththathumansthink
intermsofspecificlanguages(i.e.IndiansinHindi,ChileansinSpanish)andclaimsthat
humansthinkinmentalese.BackersofthisnotionincludeMichaelFaraday,Albert
Einstein,JamesWatsonandFrancisCrickwhohaveallclaimedtohavehadepiphanies
notinwords,butinimages(p.61).AsEinsteinstated,"Conventionalwordsorother
signshavetobesoughtforlaboriouslyonlyinasecondarystate..."(p.62).Linguist

Reactionairre: The language instinct

RogerShepardsustainedtheideaofastateofimagerybasedlanguagethroughhisvisual
experimentthatprovedthatthemindinitiallyproducesmentalpicturesinsteadofverbal
language(p.62).Hesays,"Knowingalanguage,then,isknowinghowtotranslate
mentaleseintostringsofwordsandviceversa"(p.73).
Languagetranslation,then,involvesaprocessinwhichthespeakerrecordsthe
relationofwordcategoriessuchasnouns,verbsandobjects,toothercategories(p.85).
Thesesequencesgiverisetophrases.Speakersthenusephrases,oftengroupedtogether
intobiggerphrases,muchliketwigsonabranch,tocreatesentences(p.90).Thesetwigs
andbranchesformmodulartreesthataretreatedliketelephonejacks.Onceatypeof
phraseisdefinedbyarule,itneverhastobedefinedagainandcanbepluggedin
anywherethereisasocket(p.92).
Knowingthisblueprintoflanguagecancreateanindefinitenumberofsentences.
AccordingtothetheoryofUG,thebrainisbiologicallydesignedtoacquiregrammarand
conformtoabstractgrammarprincipals.UGisatypeofcommonplanwithasmallsetof
varyingparametersdescribedbyPinkeras,"...likeanarchetypalbodyplanfoundacross
vastnumbersofanimalsinaphylum.Forexample,amongalltheamphibians,reptiles,
birds,andmammals,thereisacommonbodyarchitecture..."(p.239).ThoughUGforms
acollectivebondbetweenlanguages,differencesariseduetoinnovation,learningand
migration.
Unfortunately,weareseeingadeclineoflinguisticdiversityworldwidemuchlike
theextinctionofplantandanimalspecies.Pinkerstates,"Languagesdisappearbythe
destructionofthehabitatsoftheirspeakers,aswellasbygenocide,forcedassimilation

Reactionairre: The language instinct

andassimilatoryeducation,demographicsubmersion,andbombardmentbyelectronic
media"(p.263).Itisestimatedthatasmanyas90%oftheworld'slanguagesare
threatenedwithextinctioninthenextcentury(p.262).The4,0006,000languagesonthe
planetrepresenthistory,culture,anthropology,biologyandmore.AsthelinguistKen
Haleputsit,"Thelossofalanguageispartofthemoregenerallossbeingsufferedbythe
world,thelossofdiversityinallthings"(p.264).Ontheotherhand,languageis
dismantledandreplenishedconstantlyovertimeduetothecreativityofthehumanbrain,
asevidentinwordssuchastext,emailandblog.
MytakeawayfromTheLanguageInstinctisthatwhetheryouhappentobea
Yiddish,French,Gaelic,JapaneseorEnglishspeaker,theubiquitousandinnatenatureof
languageisatraitthatbondsusall.Thisbookisauniquecollectionofanecdotes,quotes,
theoriesanddiscussionsthatcaptivatedandenlightenedmefromthefirstpage.

Reactionairre: The language instinct

References

Pinker, S. (2007). The language instinct. New York: HarperCollins.