Is Universal Grammar ready for retirement? A short review of a longstanding misinterpretation

In this paper I consider recent studies that deny the existence of Universal Grammar (UG), and I show how the concept of UG that is attacked in these works is quite different from Chomsky’s, and thus that such criticisms are not valid. My principal focus is on the notions of ‘linguistic specificity’ and of ‘innateness’, and I conclude that, since the controversy about UG is based on misinterpretations, it is rendered sterile and thus does unnecessary harm to linguistic science. I also address the underlying reasons for these misunderstandings and suggest that, once they have been clarified, there is much scope for complementary approaches that embrace different research traditions within current theoretical linguistics

Los indígenas quiteños a través de sus testamentos: dinámicas socioculturales en el siglo XVII (Estudios)

This article analyzes Quito’s 17th century Native Indian population by means of studying their own personal testaments. Utilizing the microsocial scale, the author identifies the links that the Indian population established between themselves and different social groups (the Spaniards, mixed-race, mulatto and others). These relationships demonstrate the role that Indian women shouldered within the framework of urban dynamics, placing great emphasis on their impact in the social and economic environs. Furthermore, the article strives to shed light on Quito’s Indigenous socioeconomic circumstances and daily routine by placing them in a heterogeneous, urban communal frame of reference.El artículo analiza la sociedad indígena de Quito en el siglo XVII mediante el estudio de testamentos. Penetra en el ámbito de lo microsocial para exponer los vínculos que los indígenas establecieron entre sí y con diferentes grupos sociales (españoles, mestizos, mulatos y otros). Estas conexiones evidencian el papel de las mujeres indígenas dentro de las dinámicas urbanas, especialmente en los ámbitos económico y social. Además, se analiza la situación socioeconómica de los indígenas de Quito y su cotidianidad, en un contexto social urbano heterogéneo

Did language evolve through language change? On language change, language evolution and grammaticalization theory

The relation between language change and the process of language evolution is controversial in current linguistic theory. Some authors believe that the two processes are completely unrelated, while for others the evolution of language is (at least in part) a consequence of linguistic changes. Both models imply a very different assessment of what is changing when languages themselves change. I present an explicit model of what changes when languages change, and I show that the claim that language change is a crucial factor in explaining the evolution of human language, although suggestive and very popular, faces problems of a theoretical and empirical nature

If everything is syntax, why are words so important? An a-morphous but non-lexicalist approach

This paper presents the hypothesis that words (and not morphemes) are the minimal units of connection between sound and meaning in human languages. Such a proposal implies the definition of the word as a categorized syntactic derivation that is linked in memory to a representation in the sensorimotor system. The main implications of the hypothesis are the following: (i) A non-lexicalist model is compatible with the phenomena of lexical integrity and lack of productivity that motivate lexicalist models. (ii) It can be concluded that bound morphemes (roots and affixes) are neither syntactic nor conceptual entities, but purely morpho-phonological ones. Morphemes are side effects of linguistic change operating as resources to optimize the processing and memorization of words. And (iii) a neo-constructionist conception of words is made compatible with a paradigmatic morphology

In Defence of FLB/FLN: A Reply to Wacewicz et al.

“Language in language evolution research” (Wacewicz et al., in press) is a valuable synthesis of recent research on the origin and evolution of language. Its central message, however, is surprising: instead of encouraging the clearest possible specification of the object of study in research on language evolution, that is, a specification of what evolves when we say that language evolved, the authors argue that the lack of agreement on what language is has served to facilitate the significant progress made in research on language evolution over the last decade..

On the innate building blocks of language and scientific explanation

Although Haspelmath’s target article does not explicitly say it, the conception oflanguages (and of linguistics as a science) that the author presents is the same asthe one found in Saussure’sCours de linguistique generale(Saussure 1916): Lan-guages are social constructs and linguistics is a social science.1This view is notdemonstrably wrong in and of itself, but I do believe that it is an incomplete andinsufficient foundation on which to build a comprehensive science of language.By establishing a Saussurean notion of languages, Haspelmath effectivelyhints that the naturalistic and internalist conception of language developed bygenerative grammar (GG) does not represent progress in the evolution of ourdiscipline. I will argue here that Haspelmath’s assessment of GG is inadequate,because it is based on a misconception of the scientific nature of GG and of theassumptions under which it operates

Two languages, two minds? Horrifying Schrödinger

One of the most important theoretical physicists of the twentieth century, Erwin Schrödinger, considered “obvious” that there is only one human consciousness, and that the feeling of having an individual mind is just that, a feeling (Schrödinger 1944). With all due respect for the father of the wave equation of quantum mechanics (for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1933), I will continue to assume we all have our own minds and our own self- consciousness, but just only one. It is not difficult to imagine the Viennese genius turning in his grave if he could read the paper “Two languages two minds” (Athanasopoulos et al. 2015), because if the authors were right, an extra proliferation of minds in people would be involved. Athanasopoulos et al. echo the famous statement by Charlemagne that speaking another language is like possessing another soul, and they update it implying that speaking two languages is like having two minds. The phrase is good as a headline (although not as suggestive as that of Charlemagne), but it implies a rather drastic devaluation of what we usually mean by mind and (I suspect) a somewhat simplistic view of the relationship between language and cognition..

Durability of resistance to Meloidogyne mediated by R-genes in solanaceous and cucurbitaceous crops

Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus, and eggplant, Solanum melongena, are two major crops commonly grafted onto resistant rootstocks for controlling soilborne diseases. However, there are currently no commercially available rootstocks resistant to Meloidogyne for cucurbit crops, and also a narrow diversity for fruiting solanaceous crops. Then, the main aim of this thesis was to determine the durability of resistance to Meloidogyne of Citrullus amarus and Solanum torvum as potential rootstocks for watermelon and eggplant, respectively. The response of two C. amarus accessions, BGV0005164 (Cl64) and BGV0005167 (Cl67), and of S. torvum rootstock cultivars Brutus (TB), Espina, Salutamiu and Torpedo against Meloidogyne isolates from Spain, including some Mi1 .2 (a)virulent M. javanica (MJAV), and a N-virulent isolate of MINC was assessed in pot experiments, and against M. incognita (MINC) in a plastic greenhouse experiments. The watermelon cv. Sugar baby (SB) and the eggplant cv. Cristal (MC) were included for comparison. The population growth rate and the resistance level of the four S. torvum cultivars against MINC was assessed under plastic greenhouse conditions in two cropping seasons. The response of ungrafted and grafted SB onto both CI accessions and MC onto TB were submitted to increasing densities of MJAV and MINC, and MC onto TB to MJAV to determine population dynamic parameters and biomass productivity in pot experiments. In plastic greenhouse conditions, the ungrafted and grafted watermelon onto both CI accessions and eggplant onto TB were cultivated for two consecutive years in the same plots to assess the level of resistance to MINC and crop yield. After the second crop, the putative selection for virulence in the nematode subpopulation originated in the ungrafted and grafted plants· were assessed in pot experiments. Both C. amarus accessions performed as resistant to M. arenaria, and from highly to moderately resistant to MINC and MJAV in pot experiments. In the plastic greenhouse experiment, both accessions performed as resistant to MINC. The maximum multiplication rate, the maximum population density and the equilibrium density values of both Meloidogyne species were lower in grafted than ungrafted watermelon. In the plastic greenhouse experiment, the galling index and the number of eggs per plant were higher in ungrafted than in grafted plants both years. The CI accessions performed from highly resistant to resistant to MINC and yielded more kg per plant than the ungrafted in both years. Two consecutive grafted watermelon crops did not select for virulence but had an infective and reproductive fitness cost. AII the S. torvum rootstocks responded as resistant to the MINC isolates and from highly resistant to susceptible against MJAV isolates. The population growth rate of MINC on ungrafted eggplant differed from that grafted in both cropping seasons. The maximum multiplication rates of MJAV and the equilibrium densities were lower in grafted than in ungrafted eggplant. The grafted eggplant was tolerant to the range of nematode densities assessed but the ungrafted did not. In the plastic greenhouse experiment, the galling index and the density of nematodes in soil and in roots were higher in ungrafted than in grafted plants both years. The grafted eggplant performed as resistant in 2017 and as highly resistant in 2018. Eggplant yield did not differ irrespective of grafting when cultivated over 4.5 months, but it differed when cultivated over 8.3 months. Two consecutive grafted eggplant crops did not select for virulence but had an infective and reproductive fitness cost. The results of this study highlight the poor host status of the rootstocks studied; the stability of the resistance; and the beneficial effect on yield when cultivated in Meloidogyne infested soils. The causes for lost of fitness in the nematode, as well as the durability of this characteristic should be investigated.Sandía, Citrullus lanatus var. Lanatus y la berenjena, Solanum melongena, son dos cultivos comúnmente injertados en portainjertos resistentes para controlar las enfermedades transmitidas por el suelo. Sin embargo, actualmente no hay portainjertos disponibles comercialmente resistentes a Meloidogyne para cultivos de cucurbitáceas, y también una estrecha diversidad para cultivos frutales solanáceos. El objetivo principal de esta tesis fue determinar la durabilidad de la resistencia a Meloidogyne de Citrullus amarus y Solanum torvum como posibles portainjertos para sandía y berenjena, respectivamente. La respuesta de dos accesiones de C. amarus, BGV0005164 (CI64) y BGV0005167 (CI67), y de los cultivares de portainjertos de S. torvum cv. Brutus (TB), Espina, Salutamu y Torpedo contra aislados de Meloidogyne de España, incluyendo algunos de M. javanica (MJAV) (a)virulentos al gen 1.2 (a), y un aislado de M. incognita (MINC) virulento al gen N, se evaluó en experimentos de maceta, y contra MINC en experimentos de invernadero de plástico. La sandía cv. Sugar baby (SB) y la berenjena cv. Cristal (MC) se incluyeron como control. La tasa de crecimiento de la población y el nivel de resistencia de los cuatro cultivares de S. torvum contra el MINC se evaluaron en condiciones de invernadero de plástico en dos temporadas de cultivo. SB sin injertar e injertado en accesiones de CI, se sometieron a densidades crecientes de MJAV y MINC, y MC en TB de MJAV, para determinar los parámetros dinámicos de población y la productividad en experimentos en macetas. En condiciones de invernadero de plástico, SB sin injertar e injertada en ambas accesiones de CI y MC en TB se cultivaron durante dos años consecutivos en las mismas parcelas para evaluar el nivel de resistencia al MINC y el rendimiento del cultivo. Después del segundo cultivo, la posible selección de virulencia en la subpoblación de nematodos originada en las plantas no injertadas e injertadas se evaluó en experimentos en macetas. Ambas accesiones de C. amarus fueron resistentes a M. arenaria, y desde altamente a moderadamente resistentes a MINC y MJAV en experimentos con macetas. En el experimento del invernadero de plástico, ambas accesiones se desempeñaron como resistentes a MINC. La tasa máxima de multiplicación (a), la densidad de población máxima (M) y los valores de densidad de equilibrio (E) de ambas especies de Meloidogyne fueron menores en sandía injertada que en no injertada. En el experimento de invernadero, el índice de agallas (GI) y el número de huevos por planta fue mayor en plantas no injertadas que en injertadas en ambos años. Las accesiones CI se comportaron desde altamente resistente a resistente a MINC y tuvieron mayor producción que las no injertadas en ambos años. Dos cultivos consecutivos de sandía injertada no seleccionaron virulencia pero tuvieron un costo de aptitud infecciosa y reproductiva en el nematodo. Todos los portainjertos de S. torvum respondieron como resistentes a MINC y desde altamente resistentes a susceptibles contra MJAV. La tasa de crecimiento de la población de MINC en berenjenas no injertadas fue mayor que la de la injertada en ambas temporadas de cultivo. Los valores de a y E de MJAV fueron menores en la berenjena injertada que en no injertada. La berenjena injertada fue tolerante al rango de densidades de nematodos evaluado pero la no injertada no. En el experimento de invernadero, el GI y la densidad de nematodos en el suelo y en raíces fueron mayores en las plantas no injertadas que en las injertadas en ambos años. La berenjena injertada se desempeñó como resistente en 2017 y altamente resistente en 2018. El rendimiento de la berenjena no difirió independientemente del injerto cuando se cultivó durante 4.5 meses, pero sí cuando se cultivó durante 8.3 meses...