It might be argued that the model of language proposed here is not
specifically linguistic, and that the concepts of predictability and redundancy
are applicable to many aspects of psychological activity (e.g. memory) and
social behaviour. Nevertheless they are particularly clear when applied to
language, and the theory has been most explicitly developed with reference
to linguistic examples. Furthermore, as the concern with autonomous
linguistics mellows, it may be useful to start looking for a basis of linguistic
organisation in wider psychological and social competence. It is not entirely
plausible that linguistic competence is as distinct from other cognitive
abilities as some linguists have proposed.