Preprint Article Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Membership Enforcement as a Driver of the Evolution of Language

Version 1 : Received: 15 May 2020 / Approved: 16 May 2020 / Online: 16 May 2020 (17:11:00 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 7 September 2022 / Approved: 7 September 2022 / Online: 7 September 2022 (08:13:41 CEST)

How to cite: Ryabko, D.; Mbeju Moreno, A. Membership Enforcement as a Driver of the Evolution of Language. Preprints 2020, 2020050272. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202005.0272.v2 Ryabko, D.; Mbeju Moreno, A. Membership Enforcement as a Driver of the Evolution of Language. Preprints 2020, 2020050272. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202005.0272.v2

Abstract

A novel hypothesis concerning language evolution is advanced. It posits that languages have evolved as a means of binding individuals to a group, as well as for defining those groups. This means that language evolution has to be considered on the level of groups and not only on the level of individuals. This hypothesis helps to explain the huge diversity of human languages, as well as their complexity. Perhaps more importantly, it explains why adults lose the ability to learn languages with the ease that children possess.

Keywords

language evolution; evolution of altruism; group evolution

Subject

Social Sciences, Language and Linguistics

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 7 September 2022
Commenter: Daniil Ryabko
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
Comment: Updated the literature overview and made other changes taking into account comments of the reviewers of the "Evolution of language" conference.
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