MIT claims to have found a “language universal” that ties all languages together
Well, there’s a new candidate for the elusive title of “language universal” according to a paper in this week’s issue of PNAS. All languages, the authors say, self-organise in such a way that related concepts stay as close together as possible within a sentence, making it easier to piece together the overall meaning.
Related : “So, more on topic, having reread the article to let it sink in, this sounds a bit like numerology: if you try hard enough and at a sufficiently abstract level, you're bound to find a characteristic that fits all languages. This might be why there are apparently many candidates for a "language universal" and why they're controversial.” - daemonios
(Image: David Fulmer)