Author Archive for: Dan

About Dan

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Entries by Dan

Dark Matter of the Mind

The logical issue of claims of recursion

Hauser, Chomsky, and Fitch (2002) claimed that recursion is the fundamental basis for language, the sole member of the FLN (Narrow Faculty of Language): “We hypothesize that FLN only includes recursion and is the only uniquely human component of the faculty of language.” In Everett (2005), however, I argued that the Piraha language of Brazil […]

June 19, 2019 /1 Comment/by Dan

Dark Matter of the Mind

Translation for an interesting Piraha text

Sept. 29 A MFX3 (younger guy) 0001C6.MP4 00:00:17 Ti baabihia saagoai ‘Am I getting ill?’ (joking comment made by Kaiowa to himself as he waits) 00:00:25 Dan to Kaiowa: Baihiigi ‘(taping) goes slowly’ Kaiowa to Dan: Xai baihiigi. Xaio. ‘Yeah. Slowly. That’s right.’

March 6, 2017 /0 Comments/by Dan

News & Announcements

Play based on Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes

Simple8, a theatre company based in London, has produced a play based on my book Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes. It opened March 22, 2016 and there have been great reviews so far in The Times, London Theatre, The Reviews Hub, and What’s on Stage, to name a few, plus an interview with the actor who […]

March 24, 2016 /0 Comments/by Dan

The logical issue of claims of recursion

19 June 2019 - Dan

Hauser, Chomsky, and Fitch (2002) claimed that recursion is the fundamental basis for language, the sole member of the FLN (Narrow Faculty of Language): “We hypothesize that FLN only includes recursion and is the only uniquely human component of the faculty of language.” In Everett (2005), however, I argued that the Piraha language of Brazil […] [...]

Thoughts on Diversity

26 June 2017 - kris

My newest article appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education on April 30, 2017. “In a Pirahã village along the Maici River in Brazil, I squeezed mustard onto a piece of bread. An old woman from the village watched me. “Why do you eat bird shit?,” she asked. There was irritation in her voice. Then […] [...]

Translation for an interesting Piraha text

6 March 2017 - Dan

Sept. 29 A MFX3 (younger guy) 0001C6.MP4 00:00:17 Ti baabihia saagoai ‘Am I getting ill?’ (joking comment made by Kaiowa to himself as he waits) 00:00:25 Dan to Kaiowa: Baihiigi ‘(taping) goes slowly’ Kaiowa to Dan: Xai baihiigi. Xaio. ‘Yeah. Slowly. That’s right.’ 00:00:30 Kaiowa to himself: Xitaibigaisi kapiigakagakaa ‘Sarah writes a lot’ 00:00:43 Dan […] [...]

A discussion of “Understanding Recursion and Looking for Self-Embedding in Pirahã”

19 December 2016 - Dan

A discussion of “Understanding Recursion and Looking for Self-Embedding in Pirahã”

A discussion of Understanding Recursion and Looking for Self-Embedding in Pirahã, by Raiane Oliveira Salles, Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/26480/26480.PDF In the decades since I began field research on the Pirahã language, in December of 1977, 39 years ago, no one else has done any descriptive linguistics field research on this language. Brazilian […] [...]

Talk the Talk Podcast

19 October 2016 - Dan

An interview in which I discuss serious problems with the very concept of Universal Grammar. Listen Now [...]

Blog: Dark Matter of the Mind

The logical issue of claims of recursionJune 19, 2019 - 1:46 pm
Hauser, Chomsky, and Fitch (2002) claimed that recursion is the fundamental basis for language, the sole member of the FLN (Narrow Faculty of Language): “We hypothesize that FLN only includes recursion and is the only uniquely human component of the faculty of language.” In Everett (2005), however, I argued that the Piraha language of Brazil […]
Thoughts on DiversityJune 26, 2017 - 12:21 pm
My newest article appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education on April 30, 2017. “In a Pirahã village along the Maici River in Brazil, I squeezed mustard onto a piece of bread. An old woman from the village watched me. “Why do you eat bird shit?,” she asked. There was irritation in her voice. Then […]
Translation for an interesting Piraha textMarch 6, 2017 - 6:10 pm
Sept. 29 A MFX3 (younger guy) 0001C6.MP4 00:00:17 Ti baabihia saagoai ‘Am I getting ill?’ (joking comment made by Kaiowa to himself as he waits) 00:00:25 Dan to Kaiowa: Baihiigi ‘(taping) goes slowly’ Kaiowa to Dan: Xai baihiigi. Xaio. ‘Yeah. Slowly. That’s right.’
A discussion of “Understanding Recursion and Looking for Self-Embedding in Pirahã”December 19, 2016 - 1:52 pm
A discussion of Understanding Recursion and Looking for Self-Embedding in Pirahã, by Raiane Oliveira Salles, Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/26480/26480.PDF In the decades since I began field research on the Pirahã language, in December of 1977, 39 years ago, no one else has done any descriptive linguistics field research on this language. Brazilian […]