Advances in Biolinguistics - The Human Language Faculty and Its Biological Basis

looking into the different aspects of language. Nevertheless, competence and
use are equally worth deep study, and uniting each approach can lead us to a
comprehensive understanding of language. In this model, it is assumed that
universal language competence lies in LoT, whereas languages, which are actu-
ally used and various, are formed in LoC.^5 Chomsky repeatedly insists that there
has been no relevant evolution of the language faculty since the trek from Africa
some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago.^6 This unchangeable faculty exclusively lies
in LoT, whereas various languages which emerged as the result of the historical
change are in LoC. Therefore, this paper assumes that the syntactic derivation
before Transfer is limited to the external merge of semantic features and that
Functional Projections (FPs), where movement and agreement operate, and
morpho-phonological realization exist in LoC after Transfer.
For example, (8b, c) can be assumed to be the derivational process of think-
ing that Jane hit Tom.

(8) a. Jane hit Tom.
b. [√hit √Tom √hit ]^7
c. [√hit √Jane [√hit √Tom √hit ]]

Hit accompanies the theme (Tom) and the agent (Jane). First the theme
(Tom) is merged to hit as in (8b) and subsequently the agent (Jane) is merged
as in (8c). In other words, nothing but a simple merge operation (i.e. external
merge) is postulated in the process of the derivation, with no case, no agree-
ment and no movement presumed. It is conceivable that this simple ability to
merge semantic features marks a watershed between human beings and other
primates. In addition, LoT is related exclusively to a person producing a language
and is never interfered with by the Communicative Interface. In other words,
LoT is literally a perfect language in that SEM1 does not contain any ambiguity.

Figure 13.2 The Dynamic Model of Language.

Feature Selection

(Feature Merge)

Language of Communication (LoC) Language of Thought (LoT)

(Lexical Insertion, Phonological and TRANSFER

Morphological Realization, Functional

Projections, Displacement, etc.)

SEM2 Communicative Interface Conceptual Interface SEM1

Two aspects of syntactic evolution 201