tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post5870530641561105322..comments2024-03-28T05:47:54.177+00:00Comments on Philosophical Disquisitions: Steven Pinker's Guide to Classic StyleJohn Danaherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06761686258507859309noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-62771058039119680062023-01-17T01:16:12.579+00:002023-01-17T01:16:12.579+00:00I no longer have Pinker's book, but what he me...I no longer have Pinker's book, but what he means by this is that the spoken language is what's called "biologically primary". Yes, it must be learned, but children pick it up VERY easily and without formal instruction. Evolution selected for this attribute.<br /><br />This isn't true for the written language, though, which is considered "biologically secondary". Without formal instruction, kids won't learn to read and write, and we have millennia of experience to show this is true. The reason is that written language is new and Evolution hasn't had much time to select for the mental hardware to make this easy.Greg Esreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16323783653994714165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-72455686332147411852021-11-24T08:53:57.838+00:002021-11-24T08:53:57.838+00:00Steven Pinker postulates, in Chapter 2 Para 2, tha...Steven Pinker postulates, in Chapter 2 Para 2, that spoken language is instinctive whereas written language is learned. This is conclusion unscientific. It is common sense that a language whether spoken or written has to be learned. Consider the following examples. (1) A person born in the wild where there is no access to language cannot speak. (2) A person born deaf cannot speak because he could not learn to utter words because he could not not hear the spoken words from the very beginning. (3)In a culture where the parents speak a language in restricted codes, their children cannot speak in extended codes unless they learn from other sources. Therefore the theory that speech is instinctive and the writing is learned is far removed from science and even common sense.Timothy Bochuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17224588762238940257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-80372955588785472552021-11-24T08:46:44.874+00:002021-11-24T08:46:44.874+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Timothy Bochuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17224588762238940257noreply@blogger.com