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Here's your wiki for the **Pinker & Jackendoff** article.

Have fun!

So, i guess i have a bad vocab so i'll be posting definitions as i go along :p piecemeal- by a small amount at a time; incremental saltational- a sudden discontinuity in a line of descent/ a mutation (saltare = to jump) adduce- to bring forward in argument or as evidence


 * preadaptation and exapatation are synonymous terms

can someone explain recursion a bit better? i'm not sure i understand

Recursion is the ability to place a sentence within a sentence, such as "I think THAT Bill said THAT Mary forgot THAT today is Valentine's Day."

Recursion in terms of linguistic theory refers to the mechanism that enables similar language structures to reoccur within given sentences or fractions of speech. Here's an example of the recursion of noun phrases in a sentence (see italics): "//The congressman// is wearing //a pin-striped suit// paired with //a floral tie// which is adorned with //a hideous stain//." Recursion in this sense allows an accumulation of detail (or meaning) as we move from the initial noun phrase (//the congressman//) through a series of noun phrases that are tied together within a single sentence. We eventually conclude on a detail (the //hideous stain//) that was contextually derived from the succession of homologous phrases (in this case nouns).

Syntax- it employs four combinatorial devices: collecting words hierarchially into syntactic phrases, ordering of words or phrases with a phrase, agreement, and casemaking

parsimonious- frugal or sparing

What is languages place in the natural world and how does it relate to other species? Is language learned through environmental pressure or comes from aspects of the brain functions, is language learned or built in? definitions: Sensorimotor-The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages of cognitive development. "In this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motoric actions. Infants gain knowledge of the world from the physical actions they perform on it

HCF says that language is an adaptation of what we have physically, lungs and vocal cords. Recursion is unique to human language, and distinguishes us from animals recursion takes form in cognitive abilities of navigation, number and social relationships

I have a question - in section 2.3 about speech production, there's a few mentions of the vocal tract and selection for exaggerated size. What does that mean? Why would a vocal tract be selected for size? Is it for its sound? Its manliness? "...evidence that the larynx was recently adapted for speech is stronger than evidence that it was originally adapted for size exaggeration." So.... what does that mean? Any ideas?