The nature of grammar, its role in language and its evolutionary origins
Grammar is more than just order and hierarchy; it is a way of expressing complex multidimensional schemas in one dimension. The need to communicate these schemas is the concern of language, but how they are communicated is the concern of grammar. Because grammar does not necessarily rely on the preexistence of language, it is possible for the elements of grammar to be prototyped as features of other mental systems before language appears. These elements can then be exapted as needed for language. So the genesis of language and the genesis of grammar do not necessarily need to be considered as a single process. In this dissertation, the continuity of language with other forms of signalling is reviewed. Language as a communicative act has the same structure as nonhuman signalling: the components in both cases are sender, receiver, message and referent. The sender is always me, the first person, and the receiver is always you, the second person. These roles are invariant in all signalling, including language, and there is no need for them to be explicit in the signal. The nonhuman signal has to express only the referent or context - a single unsegmented call will suffice. The specific action to be undertaken
Edwardes, Martin Peter James
The nature of grammar, its role in language and its evolutionary origins. Grammar is more than just order and hierarchy; it is a way of expressing complex multidimensional schemas in one dimension. The need to communicate these schemas is the concern of language, but how they are communicated is the concern of grammar. Because grammar does not necessarily rely on the preexistence of language, it is possible for the elements of grammar to be prototyped as features of other mental systems before language appears. These elements can then be exapted as needed for language. So the genesis of language and the genesis of grammar do not necessarily need to be considered as a single process. In this dissertation, the continuity of language with other forms of signalling is reviewed. Language as a communicative act has the same structure as nonhuman signalling: the components in both cases are sender, receiver, message and referent. The sender is always me, the first person, and the receiver is always you, the second person. These roles are invariant in all signalling, including language, and there is no need for them to be explicit in the signal. The nonhuman signal has to express only the referent or context - a single unsegmented call will suffice. The specific action to be undertaken
nature grammar role language evolutionary origin grammar order hierarchy way express complex multidimensional schema dimension need communicate schema concern language communicate concern grammar grammar necessarily rely language possible element grammar feature mental system language appear element need language genesis language genesis grammar necessarily need_consider single process continuity language form signal language_communicative act structure nonhuman component case receiver message referent always first_person receiver always second_person role invariant signal include language need explicit signal nonhuman signal express referent context single call suffice specific action undertaken