Steven Pinker提出了“语言是人的一种本能”这一大胆假设,分析了语言的本能属性及心智模块的共性特征,加深了对语言的思索和理解。语言本能的命题是探索人类心智结构的先决条件,在此基础上的心智活动则是语言本能得以激发和外显的必要保证。本文拟对语言本能和心智模块学说加以细述和分析,在本源上对语言的性质和发生做出解释,并从元语言本能的角度拓展语言研究的视阈。 Steven Pinker proposed the bold hypothesis that “language is a human instinct,” analyzes the natural attributes of language and the common features of mental modules, and deepens the thinking and understanding of language. The proposition of linguistic instinct is a prerequisite for exploring the structure of human mind, on the basis of which mental activity is the necessary guarantee for the instinct of language instinct to be stimulated and explicit. This paper intends to elaborate and analyze the linguistic instinct and mental module theory, interpret the nature and occurrence of language on the origin, and expand the visual threshold of linguistic research from the perspective of metacognitive instinct.