1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910461216303321

Autore

Sampson Geoffrey <1944->

Titolo

The 'language instinct' debate [[electronic resource] /] / Geoffrey Sampson ; with a foreword by Paul M. Postal

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York, : Continuum, c2005

ISBN

1-283-20251-4

9786613202512

1-4411-0764-9

Edizione

[Rev. ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (239 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

PostalPaul M

SampsonGeoffrey

Disciplina

401

Soggetti

Innateness hypothesis (Linguistics)

Language and languages - Philosophy

Creativity (Linguistics)

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

First published as Educating Eve, 1997.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Contents; Foreword; Preface; 1. Culture or Biology?; 2. The Original Arguments for a Language Instinct; 3. How People Really Speak; 4. The Debate Renewed; 5. Language Structure Turns Queen's Evidence; 6. The Creative Mind; 7. Conclusion; Notes; Index

Sommario/riassunto

When it was first published in 1997, Geoffrey Sampson's Educating Eve was described as the definitive response to Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct and Noam Chomsky's nativism. In this revised and expanded new edition, Sampson revisits his original arguments in the light of fresh evidence that has emerged since the original publication. Since Chomsky revolutionized the study of language in the 1960's, it has increasingly come to be accepted that language and other knowledge structures are hard-wired in our genes. According to this view, human beings are born with a rich structure of cognition.