Reflections on Steven Pinker’s Biolinguistic Perspective

Biolinguistics is a new trend of linguistic research. As a leading researcher in biolinguistic studies, Steven Pinker proposes the concept of the “language instinct” and studies the biological properties of human languages. The language faculty has evolved gradually in response to the adaptive value of communication. There exists an independent language module in the human brain, and universal grammar is encoded in human genes and possesses the genetic properties. What Pinker has proposed gains support from genetic research and modern techniques. In this sense, linguistic study is a sub-field of biological research. Biolinguistic research could offer a promising solution to the question of construction, acquisition, usage and evolution of language; ultimately we may probe into the nature of human mind/brain.