Why, if speech is simply a reaction to statistics we are tracking and behaviours that have been rewarded, would the first utterances have been made?
That criticism can be lobbed at all abilities that we claim came about due to evolution - which, to be clear, is all of them. The statistical model would be the mechanism, but it wouldn't be the reason why it evolved. That answer is relatively boring, and is the same one as all evolutionary processes: it appeared randomly from mutation, and it provided benefit to those that had it.
"That answer is relatively boring, and is the same one as all evolutionary processes: it appeared randomly from mutation, and it provided benefit to those that had it."
Not just boring, but a totally banal and useless answer.
What kinds of mutations? In what sequence? How did it provide a survival benefit? What were the earlier forms of language like, and how did they become the languages spoken today?
Just saying "evolution did it" is about as informative as saying "God did it."
Excellent questions! That I hope someone will investigate. But brockf seemed skeptical that it was even possible for there to be an evolutionary process that produced humans with a statistical-learning-engine in their brains for language. Which I find curious, since - and this is my point - the same can be said for everything that is a result of evolutionary processes. That is, his complaint has nothing to do with language and statistical processoes. The same complaint could be lobbed at eyes.
Just to clarify my position (as it is misunderstood above): I believe it is one of the most important factors in acquiring language. 100%. However, I personally believe that it's a domain-general tool exploited by a domain-specific language module adhering to evolved instincts in language acquisition.
And why can't that domain-general tool be some kind of statistical machine? I ask this because I don't see why what you said is incompatible with it - in fact, I agree with what you said - but I suspect that the mechanism is probably statistical in nature.
That criticism can be lobbed at all abilities that we claim came about due to evolution - which, to be clear, is all of them. The statistical model would be the mechanism, but it wouldn't be the reason why it evolved. That answer is relatively boring, and is the same one as all evolutionary processes: it appeared randomly from mutation, and it provided benefit to those that had it.