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Re: Feasible Learnability as a Universal Constraint on All, even Alien, Languages

From:Yahya Abdal-Aziz <yahya@...>
Date:Tuesday, November 1, 2005, 6:25
Hi all,

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005, Tom Chappell wrote:

> It's a fact that every human natlang must be learnable by an infant > who knows no language at all.
... [snip]
> This fact actually puts non-trivial constraints on the class of all > possible human natlangs. Knowing these constraints, in turn, aids > the learner in learning the language from the sparse data available. > The same is true when an adult learns an L2.
... [snip]
> A good story would be: > Two linguists -- a human and a non-human -- are assigned to teach > each other one each of their own languages, and learn each one of the > other's languages.
... [snip]
> What does anyone think? > Any comment welcome.
Tom, I think you're onto some interesting ideas here. Remembering that most people don't find the study of languages (other than their L1) inherently valuable, if you mean the above sketch as a possible plot line for a novel or longer short story, you might need to find some way to make the protagonists more appealing to a broader audience. I've always been fascinated by all aspects of learning; the most amazing fact is that it's possible at all. So I think that any attempt, such as yours in the message above, to model the constraints and the resulting constrained behaviour in learning, must be worthy of serious consideration. You've gone further than any- one I've seen in a lay (non-academic) context to model those constraints. With regard to the constraints you have listed, I have two questions: (1) Did you arrive at them a priori, or do you have objective evidence for them? (2) Given that some alien lifeform may have a system of communication ("language") that uses different senses than human natlangs do. to what extent might this invalidate your constraints, or require their extension? Regards, Yahya -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.6/152 - Release Date: 31/10/05