LINGUIST List 10.1682

Fri Nov 5 1999

FYI: Quantum Linguistics/Evolutionary Model of Lang

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

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  • Dan Moonhawk Alford, FYI: Quantum Linguistics and Evolutionary Model of Language

    Message 1: FYI: Quantum Linguistics and Evolutionary Model of Language

     Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 11:36:43 -0800 (PST)
    From: Dan Moonhawk Alford <dalfordhaywire.csuhayward.edu>
    Subject: FYI: Quantum Linguistics and Evolutionary Model of Language


    Quantum Linguistics is a new subfield launched at the quantum physicists' "Quantum Approaches to Consciousness" conference in Flagstaff AZ this summer. Based on the foundations of *consciousness* (different languages appropriate to different states of consciousness), *non-locality* (human language is a special case of what is known as telepathy), and *relativity* (a la Whorf and Einstein), QL is intended as complementary to normal linguistics as quantum physics is complementary to classical physics. I am interested in discussing these ideas with linguists -- if any -- who are interested in this 21st-century approach to language based on 20th- rather than 19th-century science.

    On the flip side, I've also developed over the last 20 years an actual evolutionary approach to language which some linguists might be interested in. Caution: like the above, this is not for the faint-hearted or untenured-insecure since it rejects the notion that "language" is a convenient shorthand for "human language" -- showing instead, evolutionarily. both what is unique to humans about language and what is shared with the rest of the animal kingdom. Based on brainwave rhythm levels and our evolutionarily nested brains, this "4-BrainMind Model of Language" demonstrates that Piaget's four developmental levels of thinking correspond to four levels of language (motor, emotional, social, formal), each with its own unique form of grammar and consciousness which cannot be comprehended by formal approaches alone. I'm interested in discussing this approach with any linguists looking for evolutionary approaches to human language beyond the normal "poof!" alternative currently endemic to our profession.

    Prelimary thoughts about these issues are to be found on my webpage, and I encourage respondents to read beyond the above paragraphs before responding.

    warm regards, moonhawk

    Visit Moonhawk's new webpage at http://sunflower.com/~dewatson/alford.htm for recent presentations and hard-to-find classic articles. (111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321)