语言——自然选择的一种适应

Language as an Adaptation by Natural Selection

该文认为人类的语言能力是一种生物学意义上的适应，是自然选择的产物。人类的语言与自然界中其它复杂的生物学适应相类似，也具有特定的机能。语言的特定机能在于编码叙事性信息并与他人分享，这与人类认知活动中因果推理所具有的高度社会性特点相一致。两个新的研究领域，进化博弈理论和分子进化选择理论，都证实了语言是一种受到自然选择的进化适应。

This paper defends the theory that the human language faculty is a biological adaptation and， like other examples of complex adaptive design in the natural world， it is a product of natural selection. Language is designed to code propositional information for the purpose of sharing it with others， and thus fits with other features of the distinctive human