The internal, the external and the hybrid: The state of the art and a new characterization of language as a natural object

The state of the art of the debate between externalist and internalist concepts of language is reviewed in this paper, and a new conceptualization of language as a “developmental hybrid” is suggested that entails that it equally comprises environmental and organism-internal component pieces, in an u...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sergio Balari, Guillermo Lorenzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Open Library of Humanities 2018-02-01
Series:Glossa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.glossa-journal.org/articles/330
Description
Summary:The state of the art of the debate between externalist and internalist concepts of language is reviewed in this paper, and a new conceptualization of language as a “developmental hybrid” is suggested that entails that it equally comprises environmental and organism-internal component pieces, in an ultimately non dissociable way. The key for understanding this hybrid status is to be found in development, for when individually evolving, a general dynamic is observed in which organism-internal facilities selectively apply to certain designated aspects of the environmental stimulus, which in their turn have a facilitatory impact on these very same facilities. These kinds of loops inspire the conclusion that the internal and the external compose a single, integrated developmental unit.
ISSN:2397-1835