causal

Languages Adapt To Human Biology Via Trade-offs

Individual languages evolve historically to fit human biology — features that are easier to learn, easier to produce, and that give the best trade-off between effort and reaching one's communicative goal are more likely to circulate and persist.

causalpending

Speaker

N.J. Enfield

Evidence Quote

things that give the best trade-off between effort and reaching your goal and so on, those are the things that will be more likely to circulate

Source

203 | N.J. Enfield on Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Not ScientistsSean Carroll's Mindscape
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:18:59 AM

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