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1、UniversalGrammarCharlesHenryRiceUniversityHouston,TexasInternet:chhenry@rice.eduIn:CommunicationandCognition-ArtificialIntelligence,Vol.12,Nos.1-2,pp.45-61,SpecialIssueSelf-ReferenceinBiologicalandCognitiveSystems,LuisRocha(ed.)AbstractOneaspectofthestu
2、dyofnaturallanguageisthequestforauniversalgrammar,asystemthatwouldexplainconclusivelythewayalllanguagesareorganizedandfunction.Thisisinpartasearchforanunderlyingprincipleoforganization.Thispapercontendsthatauniversalgrammarisnottobefoundbytheusualmethod
3、ofstudyingwords,abstractingcategoriesofwords,andoverlayingastructurebasedonthosecategories.Weshoulddiscardthisapproachaltogetherandadoptadifferenttechniquethatemphasizesthebiologyoflanguage:languageasaproductofthebrain.Grammar,andgenerallytheorganizingp
4、rinciplesoflanguage,canbeseenassharingbiologicalrulesofconstraintandaresubjecttoevolutionaryprinciples.Further,languagemayitselfbeanexpressionofsimilarrulesthatinformthematerialprocessesofevolution;onethusmaybeabletounderstandinformationtransferinliving
5、organisms(genotypetophenotype,synapticchemicalcommunication)byananalysisofnaturallanguage. Thatlanguagefunctionsresideinthebrainisatruism.Earlystudiesofbraindamagedpatientsledtothebeliefinisolationofbrainareasforspecificlinguisticfunctions(Broca,Warn
6、ke),anapproachpopularizedbyWilderPenfield'sexperimentsofexcitingbrainareasofpatientswhowouldthenrecalloftenvividlyaparticularpastevent.Thisgaverisetotheorieswhichpositedthatmemoriesresidedintotoinbraincells,thebrainakindofquiescentrepositoryofdiscreteev
7、entsneatlycompartmentalized.Yetrecenttechnologiessuchaspositronemissiontomographyhavedistinguishedonlyverygenerallanguageareas(DamasioandDamasio),andamorebroadlybasedinteractionofdifferentbraindomainsinresponsetoverbalstimuli. Penfield'spatients,itis
8、nowbelieved,actuallyconfabulatedtheirearlier'memories,'creatingstoriesengenderedbyacascadingofassociationsbroughtonbytheelectrodeintheirbrain.Allattemptstodiscoveraone-to-onecorrespondenceofbraincellswithspecificmemorieshavefaile
