Theoretical Linguistics, 36: 69-76 ‘Parameters in minimalist theory: The case of Scandinavian’ ( henceforth, PMT), by Anders Holmberg, is an interesting attempt to defend the view that ‘deep parameters’ should be part of the grammatical system. PMT argues that parameters should be seen as points of ‘underspecification’, and in part as 3rdfactor effects in the […]

Biolinguistics, 4, 1 Biolinguistics aims to shed light on the specifically biological nature of human language, focusing on five foundational questions:(1) What are the properties of the language phenotype?(2) How does language ability grow and mature in individuals?(3) How is language put to use?(4) How is language implemented in the brain?(5) What evolutionary processes led […]

Biolinguistics 3 (4), 404-406 Languages with stress group syllables into metrical feet (Halle and Idsardi 1995,Hayes 1995)—non-exhaustive groups of contiguous syllables. The size of feet innatural languages ranges from unary (a single syllable) to unbounded (as manysyllables as possible); in addition syllables can also remain unfooted. Under theseconditions, the number of possible metrical footings for […]

Munibe El reciente análisis de ADN fósil de dos Neandertales procedentes de la Cueva El Sidrón (Asturias) ha revelado que los Neandertales poseían las mutaciones del gen FOXP2 consideradas específicas de los humanos modernos. Dado que FOXP2 está implicado en el desarrollo y uso del lenguaje, tal hallazgo está provocando una revisión de las capacidades […]

Of minds and language: A dialogue with Noam Chomsky in the Basque Country As all of you know, every time I listen to a talk by Randy Gallistel, I think I have made a career mistake–I should have studied a different animal. But anyway, in the interests of interdisciplinarity, I will talk about human animals, […]