The Nature of Language — David Adger / Serious Science

Summary

The speaker delves into the intricacies of syntax, exploring how languages vary in word order and the hierarchical structure of sentences. They emphasize the unbounded nature of language, allowing for creativity in expression. The talk also touches on the social aspects of language, illustrating how teenagers in multilingual areas of London have developed unique grammatical rules reflecting their identity and social interactions, showcasing the dynamic evolution of language influenced by social factors.

Takeaways

• 📝 The speaker's work focuses on syntax, which is the arrangement of words to create meaning.
• 🌐 Syntax researchers are interested in the variability of language structures across different languages, such as English, Japanese, and Russian.
• 🧠 The human capacity for language involves taking discrete units like words or sounds and combining them hierarchically in an unbounded fashion.
• 🌟 The speaker emphasizes the creativity of language, enabled by the hierarchical and unbounded nature of syntax.
• 💡 Beyond syntax, language is also used to express thoughts, feelings, and identity, which is often overlooked in theoretical linguistics.
• 🏫 The speaker discusses research conducted at Queen Mary, examining how language variation and individual self-concept influence grammatical rules.
• 🌍 The study looks at teenage language in multilingual areas of London, such as Hackney and Dalston, where hundreds of languages are spoken.
• 👥 The children in these areas, learning from immigrant parents and second-language English, develop a unique form of English when communicating with peers.
• 🔍 The research found that Hackney teenagers use relative clauses differently, influenced by the concept of topicality present in their home languages.
• 🆕 A new grammatical rule emerged among these teenagers, using 'who' in relative clauses when the noun is an ongoing topic of conversation.
• 🌈 This linguistic innovation reflects the teenagers' identity and social factors, showing that language evolves unconsciously through social interaction.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the speaker's work?

The speaker's work primarily focuses on syntax, which is the arrangement of words to create meanings, and how this process varies across different languages.

Why are syntacticians interested in the ways language varies?

Syntacticians are interested in the ways language varies to understand the underlying system that humans have for generating these variations, and to identify what is similar between different language speakers in sentence construction.

According to the speaker, what is the common capacity humans have in language construction?

The common capacity humans have is the ability to take discrete units like words or sounds and combine them hierarchically in an unbounded fashion, following the rules of their particular language.

What does the speaker suggest is a fundamental aspect of the nature of language?

The speaker suggests that the fundamental aspect of language is its discrete, hierarchical, and unbounded nature, which allows for creativity and endless sentence construction.

What is often overlooked in the study of syntax and grammar according to the speaker?

The speaker suggests that the way language is used to express oneself, thoughts, feelings, and identity is often overlooked in the study of syntax and grammar.

What was the focus of the work conducted by the speaker and colleagues at Queen Mary?

The focus of the work was to examine how the variation in language and the sense of self of individuals influence the grammatical rules in a language, particularly in the context of multilingual teenage speak in inner London.

Why is Hackney an interesting area to study language variation?

Hackney is interesting because it is massively multilingual with hundreds of languages spoken, primarily due to immigrant populations, which leads to a unique linguistic environment and potential language innovation.

What did Jenny Cheshire notice about the use of relative clauses in Hackney teenagers' speech?

Jenny Cheshire noticed that Hackney teenagers were using 'who' in relative clauses when the noun referred to an ongoing topic of conversation, which was a different usage pattern compared to other varieties of English.

How does the speaker describe the emergence of a new grammatical rule among Hackney teenagers?

The speaker describes the emergence of a new grammatical rule as a subconscious expression of identity influenced by social factors and the desire to be close to others, without the teenagers being consciously aware of this linguistic innovation.

What role do social factors play in the creation of new grammatical rules according to the speaker?

Social factors play a significant role in the creation of new grammatical rules as they influence the ways people interact and want to connect with each other, leading to linguistic innovations that reflect their social identity.

How does the speaker relate the linguistic innovation in Hackney to the broader nature of language?

The speaker relates the linguistic innovation in Hackney to the broader nature of language by highlighting that the creation of new grammatical rules from social factors is a fundamental aspect of language, demonstrating its dynamic and adaptive nature.