Discovering the Symbolic Potential of Communicative Signs: The Origins of Speaking a Language

Abstract

The problem of the origin of language may be framed as an issue in 'behavioral evolution'. That is to say, speaking a language can be considered as a form of communicative behavior, hence its origin can be understood as a change in such behavior. The change in question is one in which the ancestors of modern humans discovered they could use their communicative signs to refer to things, even in the absence of those things; that is, they could use those signs as symbols. One of the key elements required for such discovery is the <i>coordination</i> of behavior among two or more group members. We analyze the nature of inter-individual coordination, as preliminary to identifying features of hominid evolution which might support the coordination that led to discovery of the symbolic potential of communicative signs. Many of those evolutionary features, by themselves, have nothing to do with communication: taken together, they provide conditions which might affect it in the way we prescribe. Throwing missiles (stones or spears) with deliberate aim paves the way for pointing with the forelimb. Decrease in body hair combined with increase in post-natal brain growth promotes active carrying of infants, hence increased opportunity for joint attention—including inter-individual coordination of pointing and other gestures. Making a trace of such a gesture in a plastic medium allows it to be witnessed as an object, hence to be useable as a symbol.