Q&A: A Short Article About Birds That Might Interest You
A Short Article About Birds That Might Interest You
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I came across a short article about birds that I thought might interest you. Especially the part that talks about the research they did on the development of birdsong under conditions of isolation, and how after a few generations the language converged toward the majority language even without their having come into contact with the majority.
Best regards,
Answer
Yes, but there is some contradiction there. On the one hand, he claims that language is not innate but acquired. On the other hand, after realizing that isolated communities arrive at similar results, he goes back and says that they have an innate aesthetic sense. But this is not an aesthetic sense; it is linguistic ability. Chomsky already spoke about this with regard to human beings. It is possible that in order to bring this potential from latency into actuality, a community is required, but that does not mean that language is not innate. Just as one needs a geometry teacher, even though the insight is embedded within us from birth.