Practice question · Multiple choice
Writing is characterised as a cultural technology rather than a biological faculty. What follows from this distinction for the scientific study of language?
Hints
- Does every human society develop writing in the same spontaneous way children acquire speech?
- Why would a linguist prioritise naturally emerging behaviours over learned cultural inventions?
Show the answer
A. Linguists treat spoken forms as the primary object of study
Why
Confusing the cultural artefact with the innate capacity leads to prescriptive bias. Because speech develops universally without explicit tutoring, it reveals our underlying cognitive architecture, whereas orthographies reflect historical design choices.
Practise Writing Systems
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