Language universal from "summary" of Decoding the Universe by Charles Seife
The idea of a language universal is a tantalizing one. It suggests that there may be a fundamental language that underlies all human communication—a common grammar that is shared by every language on Earth. This concept is not as far-fetched as it may seem at first glance. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that there are certain universal features that are present in all human languages. One of the most famous proponents of the idea of a language universal was Noam Chomsky, a linguist who argued that all human languages share a deep structure that is hard-wired into the human brain. According to Chomsky, this universal grammar is what allows children to learn language so quickly and effortlessly, no matter what language they are exposed to. While Chomsky's theory has been the subject of much debate, there is some empirical evidence to support the idea of a language universal. For example, all languages have nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and all languages use recursion to create complex sentences. These features are found in every language on Earth, suggesting that there may be a common linguistic structure that underlies all human communication. Another piece of evidence for the existence of a language universal comes from studies of the Pirahã people of the Amazon. The Pirahã language is unlike any other language in the world, yet researchers have found that it still obeys certain universal principles of language. For example, the Pirahã language uses tone of voice to convey meaning, just like every other language on Earth. While the idea of a language universal is an intriguing one, it is still a topic of much debate among linguists. Some researchers argue that there is no such thing as a universal grammar, and that language is simply a cultural construct that varies from one society to another. However, the evidence for a language universal is compelling, and suggests that there may be some fundamental principles of language that are shared by all human beings.
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