Language Science Studies

Language Science Studies

The Biological Foundations of Syntax

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
PhD Candidate; Linguistics; Allameh Tabataba'i University
Abstract
What language is has been one of the most problematic questions in both science and philosophy for millennia. A detailed scientific answer to this question matters greatly as it is sometimes claimed that what makes us human is language. It is widely held that language is a communication system but there is compelling evidence available suggesting that the language design favors computational efficiency over communicative efficiency in every case known. The present work attempts to show that despite prevailing beliefs, communicative concerns cannot be a factor in language design. Instead, by providing a biolinguistic and minimalist framework within which a myriad of Persian constructions are analyzed (e.g. minimal structural distance versus minimal linear distance, the subjacency condition and island violations, structural ambiguities, the copy theory of movement and extraposition), it attempts to show that language is essentially an instrument of thought and that syntax, the most powerful engine of the language faculty (FL), evolved very suddenly and abruptly in evolutionary timeline and therefore not a succession to animal communication system.
Keywords
Subjects


Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 November 2025

  • Receive Date 11 March 2023
  • Revise Date 03 November 2025
  • Accept Date 16 July 2023