Beschreibung
The present book "Biologically Based Universality of Move F and Merge in Wh-questions" reveals the biological nature of language. Move F is a universal feature checking operation in wh-questions localized in the left hemisphere of the brain. Merge, as a basic property of language, is localized in BA 44. Natural languages can be divided into four types concerning the syntactic behavior of wh-movements. The four types of natural languages exhibit the same syntactic universality of Move F and Merge of wh-words, and such universality is brain based. It is also argued that syntax semantics and phonology are processed in different parts of the brain, as the universality of merge is localized in BA 44, the universality of Move F in BA 45/ 47, and the questions affixes in Chinese wh-questions are localized in BA 44/ 6. The modularity of language is thus demonstrated in the localization of the different neuronal areas in the brain. The diversity of organisms is revealed by the different types of natural languages displaying different syntactic behaviors in wh-questions, while the uniformity of organisms is shown in the universality of Move F and merge.
Autorenporträt
Ma Daoshan, male, professor of English at School of Humanities, Tianjin Polytechnic University. He has published 64 research articles in various kinds of academic journals, 36 translated articles, and 3 monographs, and edited two books of collected papers. His academic interest is in syntax and comparative study of English and Chinese languages.
