A Brief Survey of Multidisciplinary Approaches in Evolutionary Linguistics

Abstract

We briefly review several research approaches from a variety of disciplines that could contribute to evolutionary linguistics. These disciplines include anthropology and archaeology, animal behaviors, genetics, neuroscience, and computer simulation and behavioral experiments. Apart from language, they also examine language users, nonhuman primates and other animals, human cultures and brains. All these aspects could cast their influences on language evolution. Together with a summary of recent contributions in these disciplines, we discuss how these multidisciplinary approaches yield important insights on our comprehensive understanding of language and its evolution. 本文介绍来自其他学科的、对演化语言学有所贡献的一些研究方法。这些学科包括：人类学和考古学、动物行为学、基因学、脑科学，及计算机模拟和行为实验。除语言外，这些学科还关注语言使用者、非人灵长类和其他动物、人类大脑以及文化。所有这些因素都可能对语言演化施加影响。通过简要总结这些学科的一些最新成果，作者探讨了跨学科研究如何为全面了解语言及其演化提供重要见解。