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The hypothetical would be, as a thought experiment, what if Mars was colonized by a bunch of newborn human babies? Leaving aside the question of how they'd surv
by inimino 7y ago
The hypothetical would be, as a thought experiment, what if Mars was colonized by a bunch of newborn human babies? Leaving aside the question of how they'd survive, would they develop languages like the ones we have today within a few generations? I think the very idea is ridiculous, but you may disagree.
Nicaraguan sign language was not developed in a vacuum, it was developed by children living in a completely normal human society with the full use of all their senses but one. Far from "nothing".
- thaumasiotes 7y agoIt was developed by children living in a completely normal human society with zero exposure to language. So yes, ignoring the question of how they survive, a community of children will develop its own language without the need for external input. Why do you think differently? "I think the very idea is ridiculous" isn't much of an argument.
- inimino 7y ago> It was developed by children living in a completely normal human society with zero exposure to language. If they are living in a normal society, they are exposed to language nearly continuously, from visible printed language to visible body language to the visual evidence of language being spoken all around them.