LB374,379 晟維

II. A CONCISE STATEMENT OF THE THEORY
(p.374)
(1) Language is the manifestation of species-specific cognitive propensities. It is the consequence of the biological peculiarities that make a human type of cognition possible.* The dependence of language upon human cognition is merely one instance of he general phenomenon characterized by premise (i) above. There is evidence (Chapter Seven and Eight) that cognitive function is a more basic and primary process than language, and that the dependence-relationship of language upon cognition is incomparably stronger than vice versa.

(1)語言是物種特定認知傾向的表現。生物獨特性的結果使得人種的認知變得可能。* 語言的獨立性之於人類認知，僅為上述的假設(i)所描述的普遍現象的一個例子。證據(第七章與第八章)顯示，認知的功能是比語言更基礎、更原始的過程，而語言之於認知的獨立關係更是天差地別地強過認知之於語言。

(2) The cognitive function underlying language consists of an adaptation of a ubiquitous process (among vertebrates) of categorization and extraction of similarities. The perception and production of language may be reduced on all levels to categorization processes, including the subsuming of narrow categories under more comprehensive ones and the subdivision of comprehensive categories into more specific ones. The extraction of similarities does not only operate upon physical stimuli but also upon categories of underlying structural schemata. Words label categorization processes (Chapter Seven and Eight).

(2)構成語言基礎的認知功能是由無所不在的分類過程之應用以及相似性的抽取所構成。語言的接收與產生可在各個階層簡化成分類過程，包括將狹隘的類別歸納到較廣泛的類別下，以及將廣泛的類別細分成較特定的類別。相似性的抽取不只在在物理性刺激上運作，也在底層結構組織類別上運作。文字標記著分類過程(第七章與第八章)。

(3) Certain specializations in peripheral anatomy and physiology account for some of the universal features of natural languages, but the descriptions of these human peculiarities does not constitute an explanation for the phylogenetic development of language. During the evolutionary history of the species form, function and behavior have interacted adaptively, but none of these aspects may be regarded as the "cause" of the other. Today, mastery of language by an individual may be accomplished despite severe peripheral anomalies, indicating that cerebral function is now the determining factor for language behavior as we know it in contemporary man. This, however, does not necessarily reflect the evolutionary sequence of developmental events.

(3) 周邊解剖學及生理學中的某些特化能夠解釋自然語言中的共同特性，但儘管將人類特質的種種描述聚集起來，仍然無法解釋語言系統化的發展。在物種演化歷史中，功能與行為相輔相成，但這些觀點都無法視為彼此的「因」。現今，儘管仍有許多明顯的表面不規則，但個體還是可以完整的掌握語言，這顯示了現代人大腦的功能是語言行為的決定性因素。然而，這並不一定能反映發展中事件的演化順序。

* It is true that statement introduces some profound problems in the theory of evolution, but our preoccupation with language should not oblique us to solve, at the same time, the general problems that affect all evolutionary phenomena. The emergence of celestial navigation in birds or the diving abilities of whales are no less mysterious than the emergence of a language-enabling cognition.

*某些陳述的確介紹了演化理論中的精深問題，但我們對語言的專注力不該只用來解決這些問題，還有那些影響演化現象的普遍問題。鳥類絕佳的領航技術或鯨魚潛水能力的展現，與賦予語言靈魂的認知能力，兩者同樣的神奇奧妙。

(p.379)
(13) Even though biological constitution of the individual is as essential replica of its progenitors, there are, naturally, individual variations.In fact, there are two distinct levels that are relevant to language: in the formation of the latent structure and in the actualization process from latent to realized structure. The former may be due to variations in the operation of cognitive processes or due to variations in the maturational course; the latter is primarily due to variations in peripheral function and structures such as the vocal tract of the ears. Variations on these two levels explain the main facts about language constancies, language change, and language universals.

(13) 儘管個體生物組成似乎是前代的複製品，但還是存在著自然而然的個體差異。事實上，與語言相關的層級有兩個：潛在的結構的形成，以及從潛在到外顯結構的實體化過程。前者也許取決於認知過程運轉中的變異，或是成熟化過程中的變異；而後者則主要因為周邊功能及結構的差異，如雙耳的聽道。這兩個層級上的變異解釋了語言恆定、語言改變、語言普遍性的主要狀況。

(vocabulary searching)
p.374
ubiquitous 到處存在的,普遍存在的
vertebrate(s) 脊椎動物 / a.有脊椎的;脊椎動物的
subsume 把...歸入,納入 / 把...包括在內,包含
subdivision 再分,細分[U] / (細分的)一部分,分支,分部[C] /【美】供出賣而分成的小塊土地[C]
phylogenetic系統發生的 / 動植物種類史的
anomaly 不規則;破格 /【天】近點角 / 反常(事物);異常(現象)
cerebral 大腦的 / 理智的;有智力的;用腦筋的
celestial a.天的,天空的天國的;神聖的,精妙的;極佳的 / (C-)天朝(指古時中國)的n. 神仙,天堂裡的居民[C] celetial bodies 天體

p.379
replica 複製品;複寫;酷似
progenitors人、動植物的)祖先【文】前輩,先驅,始祖 / (文件的)原本,正本

latent潛伏的,潛在的 /【植】休眠的,潛伏的 /【心】潛在的,隱性的
潛伏性病毒latent virus
actualization 實現