Language: the perspective from organismal biology

The evolution of language and its mechanisms has been a topic of intense speculation and debate, particularly considering the question of innate endowment. Modern biological sciences – neurobiology and neuroethology – have made great strides in understanding proximate and ultimate causes of behavior. These insights are generally ignored in the debate regarding linguistic knowledge, especially in the realm of syntax where core theoretical constructs have been proposed unconstrained by evolutionary biology. The perspective of organismal biology offers an approach to the study of language that is sensitive to its evolutionary context, a growing trend in other domains of cognitive science. The emergence of a research program in the comparative biology of syntax is one concrete example of this trend.