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How plausible is the motherese hypothesis?

Authors :
Bouissac, Paul
Source :
Behavioral & Brain Sciences. Aug2004, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p506-507. 2p.
Publication Year :
2004

Abstract

Falk's hypothesis is attractive and seems to be supported by data from primatology and language acquisition literature. However; this etiological narrative presents a fairly low degree of plausibility, the result of two epistemological fallacies: an implicit reliance on a unilinear model of causality and the explicit belief that ontogeny is homologous to phylogeny. Although this attempt to retrace the early emergence of prelinguistic capacities in hominins falls short of producing a compelling argument, it does call attention to an aspect of linguistic behavior which may indeed have evolved under the pressure of nurturing constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0140525X
Volume :
27
Issue :
4
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
16052251
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X04250117