Monkey business
Name
[Theoretical Linguistics] Monkey business.pdf
Size
1.54 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
320aa4a13e67873c5151d523824c16f2
Author(s)
Berwick, Robert C
Date Issued
June 2016
Journal
Theoretical Linguistics
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter
Citation
Berwick, Robert C. “Monkey Business.” Theoretical Linguistics 42, 1–2 (January 2016). © 2016 Walter de Gruyter
Version
Final published version
Abstract
In their article “Formal Monkey Linguistics” Schlenker and colleagues have performed a great service for both primatology and linguistics by assembling in a single place much of what is currently known about the form and function of primate vocalization, along with a clarion call to apply the formal tools of modern linguistics in regard to any future development in this area. They have also quite appropriately taken great care to remind us of the gulf between human language and monkey call systems. This brief note underscores both points by illustrating some of the fundamental challenges that remain when applying the armamentarium of formal linguistics to domains fundamentally more circumscribed than human language, at least in the domain of syntax.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1515/TL-2016-0002
