In:Variation Rolls the Dice: A worldwide collage in honour of Salikoko S. Mufwene
Edited by Enoch O. Aboh and Cécile B. Vigouroux
[Contact Language Library 59] 2021
► pp. 191–210
Reflections on Darwin’s natural selection
A lens on variation, competition and change
Published online: 12 October 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/coll.59.08bap
https://doi.org/10.1075/coll.59.08bap
Abstract
In this chapter, I adopt Mufwene's (2001, 2008) concepts of feature pool and feature selection and competition and compare it to Darwin's theory of natural selection (Darwin 1859). Such a comparison brings to light both the descriptive and explanatory adequacy of Mufwene’s theoretical framework, showing how his work has undoubtedly furthered our understanding of language emergence and development. I will examine more specifically how, given Mufwene's biological model of language evolution, variation and diversity can be seen as key factors driving feature competition and selection, ultimately leading to language change. I propose that the ways in which linguistic features emerge, coexist, compete and get selected can find parallels in processes of natural selection in nature.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Competition as a valuable heuristic tool in linguistics
- 3.On the role of idiolects, infinitesimal variations and their powerful effects on language change
- 4.Darwin’s perspective on variation in natural selection
- 5.On the relevance of Swadesh lists: Insights into variation, competition and selection
- 6.Conclusion
Acknowledgement Notes References
References (19)
Aboh, E. O. & DeGraff, M.
2017. A null theory of Creole formation based on Universal Grammar. In
The Oxford Handbook of Universal Grammar, I.
Roberts
(ed.), 1–67. Oxford: OUP.
Bates, E. & MacWhinney, B.
1987. A functionalist approach to the acquisition of grammar. In
Functionalism in Linguistics [Linguistic and Literary Studies in Eastern Europe 20], R.
Dirven & V.
Fried
(eds), 209–264. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. & Yang, W.
1986. Spatial distance and lexical replacement. Language
62: 38–55.
Clark, R. & Roberts, I.
1993. Computational model of language learnability and language change. Linguistic Inquiry
24: 299–345.
Costa, A., Colomé, A., Gomez, O. & Sebastián Gallés, N.
2003. Another look at cross-language competition in bilingual speech production: Lexical and phonological factors. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
6: 167–179.
Crain
S., Goro, T. & Thornton, R.
2006. Language acquisition is language change. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
35(1): 31–49.
Darwin, C.
1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London: John Murray.
DeGraff, M.
1999. Language Creation and Language Change: Creolization, Diachrony, and Development. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Duzdevich, D.
2014. Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: A Modern Rendition. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press.
Kroll, J. M. & de Groot, A. M. B.
(eds). 2005. Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Approaches. Oxford: OUP.
2006. Multilingualism in linguistic history: Creolization and indigenization. In
The Handbook of Bilingualism, T. K.
Bhatia & W. C.
Ritchie
(eds), 460–488. Oxford: Blackwell.
Santos, M. E. M., Torrão, M. M. F. & Soares, M. J.
2007. História Concisa de Cabo Verde: Resumo da História Geral de Cabo Verde. Lisbon & Praia: IIPC.