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india | 15 years ago

There is a school of thought[1] that believes, that to a certain extent, this is true of natural human languages too! Some rules of grammar might just be hard-wired into the brain and not learnt as we grow up.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_grammar

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Zaak|15 years ago

From that article: "Since their inception, universal grammar theories have been subjected to vocal and sustained criticism. In recent years, with the advent of more sophisticated brands of computational modeling and more innovative approaches to the study of language acquisition, these criticisms have multiplied."

It seems likely that there are properties of the human brain and body which would lead to regularities in human languages. However, I believe that the proponents of universal grammar are overstating the case.