Biolinguistics: from species evolution to the notion of parameters

Abstract

Biolinguistics aims to shed light on the eminently biological nature of human language, focusing on, among other factors, (i) the phenotypic properties of language, (ii) the growth and maturation of the capacity of language in individuals; (iii) the implementation of language in the brain; and (iv) the evolutionary processes that led to the emergence of language. These key aspects are used in this work to frame a description of important issues in the study of language, leading to a discussion of advances in theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, comparative animal behavior and psychology, genetics/genomics, disciplines that can now put these long-dated factors in a new perspective, to raise challenges for future research.