![]() This schema, with two subunits embedded inside a larger expression, would then be generalized to other categories (beyond agents and patients) and to richer levels of complexity. Concretely, hierarchical structure in syntax would mirror a basic schema that links agent-only events (“A lashes out”) to patient-only events (“P hurts”) via a notion of “cause” in a conceptually hierarchical manner: causes (“A strikes P”) ( 14, 18). The idea is that syntax represents the generalization of a compositional schema derived from event cognition. Here, we refer to this as the agency detection hypothesis. Given the curious parallels between how humans perceive events as agent-driven and how languages prioritize agency through grammar, the hypothesis emerges that the evolution of event syntax (i.e., the compositional expression of events in language) has built on this cognitive bias of processing events as component parts ( 14– 16). Intriguingly, languages tend to privilege agents in their grammar rules: In most languages, agents are by default placed first, rank highest in syntactic hierarchy, and receive the simplest marking ( 2– 6). Languages differ in how they express this basic structure, but once the rules are known (e.g., word order in English and case markers in Ukrainian), listeners can rapidly and efficiently identify the agent and patient regardless of lexical content. This task is facilitated by the fact that both speaker and listener share the same basic “who-did-what-to-whom” structure, conveyed in the sentences of their language. ![]() One of the challenges in language comprehension is to reconstruct a compositionally organized event encoded by the speaker with a linear speech stream. Language is largely structured around the description of events ( 1) and allows speakers of any language to communicate not only “who did what” but also “to whom,” “where,” “when,” or “how.” “Tom chases the dog,” “the monkey stole the sandwich,” and “the ball hit the car” all describe how agents, animate or inanimate (Tom, the monkey, and the ball), interact (chase, steal, and hit) with a patient-like entity (dog, sandwich, and car) in goal-directed ways.
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