From the newsroom of the United Press International, Monday, February 6,
2006 .....

Study: Grammar ability hardwired in humans


ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- University of Rochester scientists
studying why characteristics of grammar are found in all languages say
the use of grammar is hardwired in our brains.


The
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20
060206-19051000-bc-us-grammarbrain.xml#> study examined deaf individuals
who were isolated from conventional sign, spoken and written language
their entire lives, and yet still developed a unique form of gesture
communication.


"Our findings suggest that certain fundamental characteristics of human
language systems appear in gestural communication, even when the user
has never been exposed to linguistic input and has not descended from
previous generations of skilled communicative partners," said Elissa
Newport, a professor of
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20
060206-19051000-bc-us-grammarbrain.xml#> brain and cognitive sciences
and linguistics


"We examined a particular hallmark of known grammatical systems and
found these signers also used this same hallmark in their gestured
sentences," said said. "They designed their own language and wound up
with some of the same rules of grammar every other language uses."


The research was recently published in the Proceedings of the National
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20
060206-19051000-bc-us-grammarbrain.xml#> Academy of Sciences.


Copyright 2006 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.





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