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Case-marking systems evolve to be easy to learn and process

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

Maggie Tallerman
Maggie Tallerman
Affiliation:
Centre for Research in Linguistics and Language Sciences (CRiLLS), Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom. maggie.tallerman@ncl.ac.ukhttp://www.ncl.ac.uk/elll/staff/profile/maggie.tallerman
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Abstract

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) suggest that language is itself an evolutionary system, and that natural languages “evolve” to be easy to learn and process. The tight economy of the world's case-marking systems lends support to this hypothesis. Only two major case systems occur, cross-linguistically, and noun phrases are seldom overtly case-marked wherever zero-marking would be functionally practical.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 31 , Issue 5 , October 2008 , pp. 534 - 535
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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