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Spontaneous Language

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science
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Synonyms

Creolization; Grammaticalization; Language acquisition; Origin of language

Definition

Spontaneous language is the phenomenon in which all or part of a language is constructed based on innate assumptions combined with input from an environment that underspecifies the language. Input signals may be the product of a language or have a less formal source. The resulting language is consistent with the input, though it may not exactly reflect the process by which the input was generated.

Introduction

Natural human language is a complex phenomenon, with individual and communal components. It consists of highly structured signals with rich semantics, transmitted through vocalizations, facial expressions, and manual gestures. Normal individuals each have a body of knowledge about their native language called I-language. At the community level, an E-language is the amalgam of the I-languages of all individuals and may not exactly match any individual’s I-language.

I-languages are...

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Correspondence to Garrett W. Mitchener .

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Mitchener, G.W. (2016). Spontaneous Language. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3332-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3332-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Spontaneous Language
    Published:
    28 July 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3332-2

  2. Original

    Spontaneous Language
    Published:
    18 April 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3332-1