Biolinguistics in the context of linguistics

Resumo

This chapter seeks to situate the field of biolinguistics within the broader framework of linguistics, both in terms of its value regarding conceptual shifts and derived issues, and its role in methodological developments that promote interdisciplinarity. It also serves to contextualize the field of biolinguistics within the internal and external dimensions of advances in knowledge about language. In regard to conceptual shifts, the indisputable presence of cognitivism and the comprehensive brain-mind-language perspective (neurocognitive approaches, the ‘connectome’ model, ‘theory of mind’, among others) are of particular significance, along with the impact of these on topics such as the origins of language, plus others that can usefully be revisited in light of convergent evidence, such as language acquisition. The value of a multidisciplinary methodology becomes evident in experimental techniques with novel objective instruments of observation and measurement (evoked potentials, eye tracking, metabolic scanners) that underpin behavioural tests. These techniques are combined with documentation protocols and the evaluation of samples from diverse sources (corpus). The aim is to complement empirical evidence and increase guarantees of convergence. Biolinguistics hence cuts across linguistic practices. It is present in grammar, pragmatics, and linguistic typology. Its marked presence in current linguistics is a result of the undeniable significance of the neuropsychological nature of language, which has been widely acknowledged in linguistics over the past 30 years. External contextual factors have made possible the integration of bio-related issues into topics of language and communication.