Toward an evolutionary linguistic theory

This work concentrates broadly on linguistic theory and the methodology thereof, criticizes the role intuition plays, and suggests a gradual replacement of intuition-based data with neurological data to remedy the problem. It argues that linguists can exploit the evolutionary design of the brain to solve interface issues and that, as technology becomes more sophisticated, neurological data will yield more fine-grained data that will inform more detailed theories of syntax, semantics, etc. This hypothesis is demonstrated through a detailed review of neurological data which attempts to categorize some phenomenon (e.g. the Gricean maxims, indirect speech, etc.) as either semantic or pragmatic in nature. Specifically, it is argued that Theory of Mind, a cognitive ability distinct from the Language Faculty, and the right hemisphere of the brain are essential to the felicitous use of pragmatic speech. Following from this, it is argued that a two-channel model of communication, where speakers communicate meaning-altering information not just linguistically, but also through Theory of Mind processes, is better equipped to characterize the relevant data than current one-channel models; the two channel model proposed is a minor alteration of Inquisitive Pragmatics (Groenendijk and Roelofsen 2009). Some other implications which are discussed include the assumption of nativism (which is defended with a poverty of stimulus argument in the style of (Pullum and Scholz 2002)), and the universality of the Gricean Maxims (which is defended through an appeal to cheater detection (Cosmides 1985) and the logic of evolution). This work adheres to the principles of evolutionary psychology in argumentation and draws upon findings from said approach to explain selected empirical observations and implications that arise throughout the argument. Thus, this work is best characterized as a philosophical work of evolutionary psychology and hopes to be seen as a first, modest step toward integrating evolutionary theory with linguistic theory.