What do all languages have in common? - Cameron Morin

Prevodilac: Katarina Čolić Lektor: Ivana Korom

Language is endlessly variable.

Jezik se neprestano menja.

Each of us can come up with an infinite number of sentences

Svako od nas može da sastavi beskrajan broj rečenica

in our native language,

na našem maternjem jeziku

and we’re able to do so from an early age—

još od najranijeg uzrasta -

almost as soon as we start to communicate in sentences.

gotovo čim počnemo da govorimo u rečenicama.

How is this possible?

Kako je to moguće?

In the early 1950s, Noam Chomsky proposed a theory

Ranih '50ih Noam Čomski je predstavio teoriju

based on the observation that the key to this versatility seems to be grammar:

zasnovanu na opažanju da ključ ove raznolikosti leži u gramatici:

the familiar grammatical structure of an unfamiliar sentence

nepoznata gramatička struktura jedne nepoznate rečenice

points us toward its meaning.

nam ukazuje na njeno značenje.

He suggested that there are grammatical rules

Pretpostavio je da postoje gramatička pravila

that apply to all languages, and that the rules are innate—

koja su primenljiva na sve jezike - i da su ta pravila urođena -

the human brain is hardwired to process language according to these rules.

ljudski mozak je direktno povezan tako da obradi jezik u skladu sa tim pravilima.

He labelled this faculty universal grammar,

Nazvao je ovu karakteristiku univerzalnom gramatikom

and it launched lines of inquiry that shaped both the field of linguistics

koja je nametnula niz pitanja koja su oblikovala polje lingvistike

and the emerging field of cognitive science for decades to come.

kao i novonastalo polje kognitivne nauke decenijama koje će uslediti.

Chomsky and other researchers set out to investigate

Čomski i ostali istraživači su naumili da istraže

the two main components of universal grammar:

dve glavne komponente univerzalne gramatike:

first, whether there are, in fact, grammar rules

prvo, da li zapravo postoje gramatička pravila

that are universal to all languages,

koja su univerzalna za sve jezike

and, second, whether these rules are hardwired in the brain.

i drugo, da li su ona povezana u mozgu.

In attempts to establish the universal rules of grammar,

U pokušajima da se ustanove univerzalna gramatička pravila,

Chomsky developed an analytical tool known as generative syntax,

Čomski je razvio analitičko oruđe, poznato kao generativna sintaksa,

which represents the order of words in a sentence in hierarchical syntax trees

koja predstavlja red reči u rečenici putem hijerarhijskih grana sintakse

that show what structures are possible.

koje pokazuju moguće strukture.

Based on this tree, we could suggest a grammar rule

Na osnovu tih grana možemo da pretpostavimo gramatičko pravilo,

that adverbs must occur in verb phrases.

a to je da se prilozi nalaze u glagolskoj frazi.

But with more data, it quickly becomes clear

Ali uz više podataka ubrzo postaje jasnije

that adverbs can appear outside of verb phrases.

da se prilozi mogu javiti i van glagolskih fraza.

This simplified example illustrates a major problem:

Ovaj pojednostavljeni primer opisuje jedan veliki problem:

it takes a lot of data from each individual language

potrebno je dosta podataka iz svakog jezika posebno

to establish the rules for that language,

da bi se utvrdila pravila za taj jezik

before we can even begin to determine

pre nego što uopšte počnemo sa utvrđivanjem

which rules all languages might have in common.

koja pravila svi jezici imaju zajednička.

When Chomsky proposed universal grammar,

Kada je Čomski predložio univerzalnu gramatiku,

many languages lacked the volume of recorded samples

mnogim jezicima su nedostajali zabeleženi primeri

necessary to analyze them using generative syntax.

potrebni za analizu generativnom sintaksom.

Even with lots of data,

Čak i sa mnogo podataka,

mapping the structure of a language is incredibly complex.

mapiranje struktura jednog jezika je izuzetno složeno.

After 50 years of analysis, we still haven’t completely figured out English.

Nakon 50 godina analize, još uvek ne razumemo u potpunosti engleski jezik.

As more linguist data was gathered and analyzed,

Kako se više lingvističkih podataka sakupljalo i analiziralo,

it became clear that languages around the world differ widely,

postalo je jasno da se jezici širom sveta umnogome razlikuju,

challenging the theory that there were universal grammar rules.

što je dovelo u pitanje teoriju da postoje univerzalna gramatička pravila.

In the 1980s, Chomsky revised his theory

1980-ih, Čomski je revidirao teoriju

in an attempt to accommodate this variation.

u pokušaju da se prilagodi ovoj varijaciji.

According to his new hypothesis of principles and parameters,

Prema njegovoj novoj hipotezi principa i parametara

all languages shared certain grammatical principles,

svi jezici dele određene gramatičke principe

but could vary in their parameters, or the application of these principles.

ali mogu da variraju u parametrima ili u primeni ovih principa.

For example, a principle is “every sentence must have a subject,"

Na primer, princip je da „svaka rečenica mora da sadrži subjekat”,

but the parameter of whether the subject must be explicitly stated

ali parametar da li se subjekat eksplicitno podrazumeva

could vary between languages.

varira među jezicima.

The hypothesis of principles and parameters

Hipoteza o principima i parametrima

still didn’t answer the question of which grammatical principles are universal.

i dalje nije odgovorila na pitanje koja su to gramatička pravila univerzalna.

In the early 2000s, Chomsky suggested that there’s just one shared principle,

Ranih 2000-ih, Čomski je predložio da postoji samo jedan zajednički princip,

called recursion, which means structures can be nested inside each other.

rekurzija, odnosno da strukture mogu biti ugnježdene jedne unutar druge.

Take this sentence,

Uzmimo ovu rečenicu,

which embeds a sentence within a sentence within a sentence.

koja sadrži rečenicu unutar rečenice unutar rečenice.

Or this sentence, which embeds a noun phrase in a noun phrase

Ili ovu rečenicu koja sadrži imeničku frazu u imeničkoj frazi

in a noun phrase.

u imeničkoj frazi.

Recursion was a good candidate for a universal grammar rule

Rekurzija je bila pogodna za pravilo univerzalne gramatike

because it can take many forms.

jer može da poprimi više oblika.

However, in 2005 linguists published findings

Međutim, 2005. godine lingvisti su objavili rezultate

on an Amazonian language called Piraha,

o amazonskom jeziku Piraha

which doesn’t appear to have any recursive structures.

koji nije imao rekurzivne strukture.

So what about the other part of Chomsky’s theory,

Šta je sa drugim delom teorije Čomskog,

that our language faculty is innate?

da je naša jezička sposobnost urođena?

When he first proposed universal grammar,

Kada je prvi put predložio univerzalnu gramatiku,

the idea that there was a genetically determined aspect of language acquisition

ideja da postoji genetički predodređen aspekt učenja jezika

had a profound, revolutionary impact.

imala je dubok, revolucionarni uticaj.

It challenged the dominant paradigm, called behaviorism.

Poljuljala je dominantnu paradigmu nazvanu bihejviorizam.

Behaviorists argued that all animal and human behaviors, including language,

Bihejvioristi su tvrdili da je ukupno ponašanje ljudi i životinja, kao i jezik,

were acquired from the outside by the mind,

nastalo spolja putem uma,

which starts out as a blank slate.

tačke koja ne sadrži ništa.

Today, scientists agree that behaviorism was wrong,

Danas se naučnici slažu da bihejviorizam nije bio u pravu

and there is underlying, genetically encoded biological machinery

i da postoji osnovna, genetički kodirana, biološka mašinerija

for language learning.

za učenje jezika.

Many think the same biology responsible for language

Mnogi misle da su isti biološki mehanizmi odgovorni za jezik

is also responsible for other aspects of cognition.

takođe odgovorni za druge aspekte spoznaje.

So they disagree with Chomsky’s idea

Stoga se oni ne slažu sa idejom Čomskog

that there is a specific, isolated, innate language faculty in the brain.

da postoji specifična, izolovana, urođena sposobnost za jezike u mozgu.

The theory of universal grammar prompted the documentation and study

Teorija univerzalne gramatike je uticala na dokumentovanje i izučavanje

of many languages that hadn’t been studied before.

mnogih jezika koji se nisu izučavali ranije.

It also caused an old idea to be reevaluated and eventually overthrown

Zbog toga se takođe stara ideja ponovo evaluirala i na kraju je odbačena

to make room for our growing understanding of the human brain.

kako bi se dala šansa našem novom razumevanju ljudskog uma.