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The idea that recursion is an essential property of human language (as Chomsky suggests) is challenged by [[linguistics|linguist]] [[Daniel Everett]] in his work ''Cultural Constraints on Grammar and Cognition in Pirahã: Another Look at the Design Features of Human Language'', in which he hypothesizes that cultural factors made recursion unnecessary in the development of the [[Pirahã language]]. This concept, which challenges Chomsky's idea that recursion is the only trait which differentiates human and animal communication, is currently under debate.
Andrew Nevins,
Recursion in linguistics enables 'discrete infinity' by embedding phrases within phrases of the same type in a hierarchical structure. Without recursion, language does not have 'discrete infinity' and cannot embed sentences into infinity (with a '[[Matryoshka doll|Russian nesting doll]]' effect). Everett contests that language must have discrete infinity, and that the Pirahã language - which he claims lacks recursion - is in fact finite. He likens it to the finite game of [[chess]], which has a finite number of moves but is nevertheless very productive, with novel moves being discovered throughout history.
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