human language development a quick overview Language Origin

human language development a quick overview

Language Origin. . . human brains, have been armed by habits and methods, mind-tools and information, drawn from millions of other brains which are not ancestral to [them]. . Comparing our brains anatomically with [any other nonhuman brains] would be almost beside the point, because our brains are in effect joined together into a single cognitive system that dwarfs all others. They are joined by an innovation that has invaded our brains and no others: language. [Dennett, D. 1995. p. 381]

human language & pre-history 50 -35 kyr ago technological & cultural change symbolism semantically & syntactically rich Ln by 35 kyr (probably much earlier)

human physiology for language brain function. . . Universal Human Grammar and innate language organ [Chomsky, N. 1986 & others] Language Acquisition Device [Searle, J. 1992. & others]. • hard-wired • overlaps general learning and imprinting mechanisms • builds syntactic, semantic and word meaning knowledge into cognitive substrates physiologically housed in some (possibly distributed) language organ.

human physiology for language speech. . . discrete, digital system using limited set of phonemes approx 40 phonemes for English some make big deal of low human larynx position • allows a diverse set of phonemes but: choking; infant larynx; developed 2 myr-300 kyr and: aquatic apes, minor birds, !Kung & Khosa

human physiology for language speech perception. . . • normal speech 10 -15 phonemes / sec • phonemes smear into each other • listeners can perceive upto 45 phonemes/sec (though brain probably hypothesises some) NB: Morse code operators only recognise 3 tokens/second clicks repeated 15 -20 times/sec is heard as a buzz.

selection pressures • ie: why language evolved • issue highly colored by contemporary social beliefs. NB: social traits, behavioural patterns and cognitive functionality appear different to simple evolutionary but subject to the same evolutionary mechanisms NB 2: there is a logic to evolution, eg: rings & flashes – water buck & springbok

task related SPs • toolmaker "Man the Toolmaker" [K. Oakley in 1949] • agriculturalist • hunter gatherer • defence: man the warmonger

socially driven Darwinian signal-evolution theory invites us to abandon traditional assumptions about honest communication and instead ask questions about competition and co-operation, selfishness versus altruism, manipulation as opposed to communication. [Knight, C. 1998 b]. . . primate intelligence - including our own - originally evolved to solve the challenges of interacting with one another. [Cheney et al 1986] an individual is most in competition with others from its own species, from the same social group: the extended clan, smaller coalitions, even its family [Ridley, M. 1993]

socially driven deceit & negotiation • interesting primate activity is often concerned with conflicting goals in a social setting. • deception requires a Theory of Mind - enhanced by means of communication refering to actions/events which spatially/temporally distant. peer pressure & politics • chatter replaces grooming, evolves to contain socially relevant infm & leads to emergence of structure/grammar gender differences & female co-operation • pregnancy, childbirth & infant parenting (midwifery & bipedalism) • controversial gender differences in use & development of Ln • leads to sexual selection for language other evidence supports social foundation

other issues • adaptation or exaptation • the Baldwin effect • memetics • theory of mind • empathy • social intelligence