Benítez-Burraco Antonio
Department of Spanish, Linguistics and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, C/Palos de la Frontera s/n, 41004, Seville, Spain.
Cogn Process. 2025 Feb 25. doi: 10.1007/s10339-025-01262-z.
Linguistics needs to embrace all the way down a key feature of language: its diversity. In this paper, we build on recent experimental findings and theoretical discussions about the neuroscience and the cognitive science of linguistic variation, but also on proposals by theoretical biology, to advance some future directions for a more solid neurocognitive approach to language diversity. We argue that the cognitive foundations and the neuroscience of human language will be better understood if we pursue a unitary explanation of four key dimensions of linguistic variation: the different functions performed by language, the diversity of sociolinguistic phenomena, the typological differences between human languages, and the diverse developmental paths to language. Succeeding in the cognitive and neurobiological examination and explanation of these four dimensions will not only result in a more comprehensive understanding of how our brain processes language, but also of how language evolved and the core properties of human language(s).
其多样性。在本文中，我们以近期关于语言变异的神经科学和认知科学的实验发现及理论探讨为基础，同时也借鉴理论生物学的提议，来推进一些未来的方向，以实现对语言多样性更坚实的神经认知研究方法。我们认为，如果我们对语言变异的四个关键维度进行统一解释，就能更好地理解人类语言的认知基础和神经科学，这四个维度分别是：语言所执行的不同功能、社会语言现象的多样性、人类语言之间的类型学差异，以及语言的多样发展路径。成功对这四个维度进行认知和神经生物学的审视与解释，不仅会让我们更全面地理解大脑如何处理语言，还会让我们更全面地理解语言是如何演化的以及人类语言的核心属性。
