The Language Instinct Summary

Why is it easier for children to pick up a language than adults? Steven Pinker explores our inborn ability to communicate, proving that language goes beyond learned rules—it's instinctual.

1. Human language is hardwired into our brains from birth.

Language is not a skill we learn from scratch but an ability we are born with. Steven Pinker explains that our brains are preprogrammed to recognize and use the complex structures of language. This is the foundation of linguist Noam Chomsky's Universal Grammar theory, which posits that all human languages share a common structure.

One piece of evidence comes from children’s ability to construct grammatically correct sentences even when they haven't been explicitly taught the rules. For instance, children as young as toddlers can form complex questions like “Where is the dog that is sitting by the door?” without making basic errors adults might anticipate. This suggests an innate grammatical sense.

Another example involves deaf children. Even when exposed to imperfect sign language from parents, deaf children naturally organize their signs grammatically without instruction. A boy named Simon, studied by psychologists, demonstrated perfect grammar in sign language despite his parents' grammatical errors in communication.

Examples

• Preschoolers intuitively avoid common grammatical pitfalls, like misplacing verbs and nouns in complex sentences.
• Deaf children innovate grammatically correct sign language without formal lessons.
• Chomsky's idea of Universal Grammar supports the claim that human brains are wired for language.

2. Language doesn't shape perception as much as folklore suggests.

Many believe the structure of language molds our understanding of the world, as proposed by linguistic relativity or the Whorfian Hypothesis. However, Pinker explains that language reflects, rather than dictates, how we think.

Benjamin Whorf suggested that Native American languages influenced their worldview. For example, the Apache phrase "whiteness moves downward" for dripping water allegedly showed a holistic, unfragmented perspective. Yet Whorf's interpretations lacked evidence, and the same "mystical" translations could be manufactured in any language, including English.

An enduring myth claims Eskimos have dozens of words for snow, implying a deeper "snow awareness." Yet, linguistic studies reveal that Eskimos have about 12 terms, paralleling English's specific terms like sleet or slush. This demonstrates vocabulary doesn't necessarily alter perception, but accommodates contexts.

Examples

• Benjamin Whorf speculated that language shaped Apache culture without direct study or contact.
• Claims about Eskimos' rich snow vocabulary were debunked; language reflects environmental needs, not altered perception.
• English provides multiple terms for snow-related concepts proving all languages adapt similarly.

3. Human communication relies on sound-symbol connections and grammar.

Two major principles guide all human language: the arbitrary pairing of sounds to meanings and the generative power of grammar. These make our ability to form sentences fluid and expressive.

Words themselves rarely resemble what they describe. For example, the sounds “dog” and "apple" have no direct relation to the objects they name. Communities agree on these associations out of shared learning, enabling quick and efficient communication.

Moreover, grammar is what allows us to create infinite sentences from a limited vocabulary. Pinker contrasts two phrases—“dog bites man” versus “man bites dog.” While made of the same words, their sequence transforms the meaning, illustrating grammar's role in structuring thought.

Examples

• The word “dog” doesn't resemble its meaning; the connection is learned within communities.
• People interpret sentences like “dog bites man” differently from “man bites dog” due to grammar.
• Grammar rules enable limitless combinations, from simple phrases to complex ideas.

4. Pluralization and word creation emerge without formal teaching.

Children implicitly absorb the rules of creating and modifying words in language. These systems, known as morphology, allow humans to interpret and create words naturally.

A famous experiment by Jean Gleason involved the invented word "wug." Children shown one "wug" easily pluralized it to "wugs" using the -s suffix, despite never hearing the word before. This demonstrates that children learn and apply morphological rules instinctively.

Pinker also compares English to languages like Kivunjo in Tanzania. In Kivunjo, verbs include up to seven affixes, adding layers of meaning. English, while less inflectional, excels in word derivation, creating terms like “learnable” from existing roots.

Examples

• Children pluralize imaginary words like “wugs” automatically, applying a rule they learned intuitively.
• Kivunjo verbs evolve through multiple prefixes reflecting subtler meanings than English.
• English uses derivational changes like adding “-able” to create new words, expanding vocabulary.

5. Listening and understanding speech is akin to having a sixth sense.

Deciphering spoken language involves a remarkable skill: parsing meaning from fluid, continuous sound waves. Pinker highlights challenges like coarticulation, where phonemes (units of sounds) merge, making word gaps indistinct.

For example, when you say "beat," the sounds "b," "ea," and "t" blend together, with each phoneme's acoustic wavelengths overlapping. Computers struggle to replicate this human ability, often misinterpreting words because they fail to recognize these blended sound patterns.

Humans decipher speech faster than context can provide clues. If someone randomly says “butterfly,” you understand immediately, not because you predicted it. This showcases the human brain's ability to detect and decode sound wave patterns instinctively.

Examples

• Coarticulation of sounds makes "b" in "bat" different depending on the following vowels.
• Computers can’t reliably handle fluid soundwave transitions like human conversations.
• Your brain comprehends words like “butterfly” even when randomly inserted into dialogue.

6. Parsing skills allow us to make sense of written language.

Parsing, or dividing sentences into grammatical units, is central to understanding written text. Pinker explains that the brain organizes sentences quickly by identifying components like subjects, verbs, and objects.

Two types of parsing exist: breadth-first search, where your brain analyzes each word’s possibilities, and depth-first, where it jumps to likely meanings for the entire context. Incorrect assumptions, especially with ambiguous sentences, often lead to errors. Take “The man who hunts ducks out on weekends.” Without full parsing, many assume “ducks” refers to animals and miss the intended meaning.

This level of sentence analysis challenges computers and demonstrates how specialized our brains are for language comprehension.

Examples

• Ambiguity like “hunts ducks” confuses people and shows the limits of depth-first parsing.
• Your brain computes grammatical functions of subjects and objects almost instantly.
• Breadth-first parsing entertains multiple meanings for “bug,” such as an insect or a spying device.

7. Children’s mastery of language happens quickly in early years.

During early childhood, the brain acts like a magnet for language. Pinker estimates that by six, a child knows approximately 13,000 words. Their ability to memorize new words every waking hour proves their unique mental setup for learning.

Mnemonic devices, helpful for adults, don't explain children’s success with individual words. Despite their limitations, young brains absorb meaning simply by exposure within social contexts.

However, as adulthood approaches, this knack diminishes. Psychologist Elisa Newport found that immigrants arriving before age eight spoke grammatically like native English speakers. Those arriving later frequently faced struggles, underscoring a window of opportunity in early development.

Examples

• Six-year-olds acquire massive vocabularies of 13,000 words without flashcards or tutorials.
• Early childhood marks a critical period for brain language development.
• Genie, a neglected child, could not master grammar when discovered after critical years.

8. Language ability evolved as part of human survival.

Humans' capacity for language likely evolved through natural selection. Pinker suggests that communication provided adaptive advantages such as cooperation, planning, and problem-solving.

Critics question this, arguing that language seems unnecessarily complex. However, just as cheetahs evolved speed beyond essential needs, human brains may have developed advanced language abilities over many generations due to small survival benefits each step of the way.

Chimpanzees, lacking the same language capabilities, share common ancestors with us. Evolution functions like a branching tree—our unique adaptation for language did not necessarily pass down to all primates.

Examples

• Our ancestors might have used emerging language abilities to coordinate hunting or warn of danger.
• Cheetah speed evolved incrementally, suggesting language evolved similarly step by step.
• Chimpanzees’ lack of language doesn’t negate its evolutionary advantage in humans.

9. Grammar rules are a moving target tied to society.

Pinker reveals that grammar is less rigid than many believe. Words like “ain’t” or split infinitives (e.g., “to boldly go”) were ridiculed in history but often align with how people naturally talk.

Descriptive grammar, which reflects how we use language in everyday life, differs from prescriptive rules taught in school. Linguists study descriptive rules because they are the foundation of natural communication.

Prescriptive rules often have arbitrary origins. For example, eighteenth-century scholars mimicked Latin’s strict structure for English grammar, rejecting split infinitives simply because Latin didn’t allow them.

Examples

• Prescriptive rules “forbidding” split infinitives originated from unrelated Latin traditions.
• Historical shifts show grammar rules evolve based on societal norms and contexts.
• Linguists focus on descriptive grammar to understand language as it’s naturally spoken.

Takeaways

1. Foster language development in children early, exposing them to as much language as possible to maximize their innate learning ability.
2. Embrace language as a tool of communication rather than obsessing over outdated prescriptive grammar rules.
3. Recognize how your innate language ability reflects the brain’s evolutionary design for human survival.