this is backyard biolinguistics
In which I try to build some funky linguistic theories from the ground up, and talk about animal communication, cognitive data structures, evolution, and more.
I do not attempt to be all-encompassing or rigorously empirical, nor do I expect to be completely or even marginally correct about the structure of language in our minds. But hey—why not try!
Often we theoretical linguists are so deep in the weeds of minute theoretical problems, and cross-linguistic data needing to be explained, that we forget to sit back and think: what are we even doing? What does language even look like in the brain?
In this blog, I will write my somewhat stream-of-consciousness thoughts about language. The intuitive theories I come up with will probably flagrantly defy some important cross-linguistic evidence. Furthermore, I will almost certainly be modifying my theories as I go along.
Why am I making this public?
Substack gives you unlimited file storage.1
I kept having shower thoughts about super abstract, theoretical linguistics things, like the nature of Merge and Agree or what phonological theories make the most sense as optimization and storage systems for lexical search-and-return.
As a linguist, I want a reason to do what I do. Making and breaking various syntax trees is fun, but I want to know that what I’m modeling is actually a real thing in our heads.
There’s no other good place to share heretical linguistic theories with the world without getting bashed. Especially that have to do with the evolution of language and animal communication. Ugh… pseudoscience, much?
I want to tell my non-linguists family and friends what I’m thinking about, and what linguistics really is.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: I want YOU to comment, and tell me things I’m missing! Tell me why I’m wrong! Tell me which papers to read!2 Give me that cross-linguistic evidence! Let me know your thoughts! I am a firm believer that blogs are just complicated ways to find cool people and get them to send you interesting things.
so if you’re reading this, please subscribe :)
c’mon, you already got this far!
(if you use my ideas please cite me!)
I think.
I am an undergraduate and am desperately trying to read more expansive linguistics literature!
