Steels Luc
Icrea, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2017 Feb;24(1):190-193. doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1086-6.
It is well accepted that languages change rapidly in a process of cultural evolution. But some animal communication systems, in particular bird song, also exhibit cultural change. So where exactly is the difference? This article argues that the main selectionist pressure on human languages is not biological-that is, related to survival and fecundity-but instead is linked to producing enough expressive power for the needs of the community, maximizing communicative success, and reducing cognitive effort. The key question to be answered by an "evolutionary linguistics" approach to language is, What are the causal mechanisms sustaining an evolutionary dynamic based on these selection criteria? In other words, what cognitive mechanisms and social interaction patterns are needed, and how do they allow a language to emerge and remain shared, despite profound variation and never-ending change?
人们普遍认为，语言在文化进化过程中变化迅速。但一些动物交流系统，尤其是鸟鸣，也表现出文化变化。那么，两者究竟有何不同呢？本文认为，人类语言面临的主要选择压力并非生物学上的——即与生存和繁殖力相关——而是与为满足群体需求产生足够的表达能力、最大化交流成功以及减少认知努力有关。语言的“进化语言学”方法要回答的关键问题是，基于这些选择标准维持进化动态的因果机制是什么？换句话说，需要哪些认知机制和社会互动模式，以及它们如何使一种语言得以出现并保持共享，尽管存在深刻的差异和永不停息的变化？
