Language evolution seminar
Speaker: Jennifer Culbertson (University of Edinburgh)
Title: Not all cross-linguistic generalizations are driven by universal cognitive biases... but some are
Abstract: Experiments are an important tool for understanding why languages look the way they do; they allow us to identify cases where cross-linguistic trends are likely to be driven by universal cognitive biases, as opposed to e.g., accidents of history, or pathways of language change, etc. However, like most work in psychology and cognitive science, these kinds of experiments often exclusively target English speakers. For example, experimental work on the so-called "suffixing bias" has been conducted with English speakers, even though their language follows the cross-linguistic trend of using suffixes. Similarly, work on preferences for word order in the noun phrase has been conducted with English speakers, even though their language follows the cross-linguistic trend in that domain. Here I revisit each of these experiments and report new results from a speaker population whose language goes against the common trend. In one case, the results are radically different, suggesting an apparent bias is simply a result of native language transfer. In the other case, the results are the same, providing the strongest support yet for a universal cognitive bias at play.
Contact
Seminars are organised by the Centre for Language Evolution
Language evolution seminar
Room G.16 - Doorway 4, Old Medical School, The University of Edinburgh, Central Campus, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2QZ; online via link invitation