?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=A+theory+of+glossogenesis&rft.creator=Kastner%2C+Charles+W.&rft.subject=Historical+Linguistics&rft.description=We+present+a+theory+of+glossogenesis%2C+i.e.+a+theory+of+the+origin+of+language%2C+based+on+the+following+ideas%3A++1)+on+the+road+to+present-day+human+language%2C+man+developed+a+series+of+protolanguages+++of+gradually+increasing+complexity%2C+2)+there+exists+within+human+language+a+well-defined+hierarchy+of+syntactic+structures%2C+with+higher+level+structures+dependent+on+all+lower+level+structures%2C+3)+the+above-mentioned+hierarchy+is+linear%2C+so+that+one+can+define+the+nth+protolanguage+to+be+the+language+containing+the+nth+syntactic+structure+in+addition+to+all+n-1+syntactic+structures+above+it+in+the+hierarchy%2C+4)+the+hierarchy+of+syntactic+structures+can+be+deduced+from+the+physical+world%2C+5)+the+selection+process+at+work+involved+competing%2C+hostile+groups+speaking+different+protolanguages+or+the+same+protolanguage+with+different+levels+of+proficiency%2C+6)+a+group+speaking+one+protolanguage+had+better+survival+chances+than+a+rival+group+speaking+the+same+protolanguage+with+less+proficiency+or+a+less+complex+protolanguage+within+the+same+environment%2C+everything+else+being+equal%2C+7)+as+one+approached+modern+human+language+in+the+hierarchy%2C+the+selection+advantage+for+the+individual+with+greater+linguistic+proficiency+became+increasingly+important.++The+above-mentioned+hierarchy+is+shown+to+lead+to+mathematical+structures+from+category+theory.++%0A%0AThe+theory+is+testable+in+that+it+predicts+that+simulations+of+language+evolution+must+generate+syntax+elements+in+a+certain+order.++It+also+provides+a+broad+explanation+for+the+evolution+of+human+culture+as+reflected+in+the+material+record%2C+providing+an+explicit+timeline+for+the+development+of+syntax+structure.+++This+timeline+indicates+that+language+developed+slowly%2C+starting+with+the+ability+to+associate+words+with+objects+about+1.5+million+years+ago.+++%0A&rft.date=2003&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2839%2F1%2Fglossogenesis0.pdf&rft.identifier=++Kastner%2C+Charles+W.++(2003)+A+theory+of+glossogenesis.++%5BPreprint%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2839%2F